Funding for NC Priorities & Community Safety

Courtesy of the BC Government Caucus:

Communities in the North Cariboo have received nearly $405,000 as part of almost $40 million being invested into communities across B.C. to meet local needs including more policing, new equipment, increased community safety initiatives, infrastructure and service delivery priorities.

"Small communities throughout B.C. rely on these grants to fund various important projects in their communities," said Cariboo North MLA Coralee Oakes. "These funds will go a long way in ensuring that the priorities of local citizens are met."

Quesnel has received $71,726 in traffic fine revenue along with a Small Community grant worth $146,778. The District of Wells has received a $136,821 Small Community grant, while the Cariboo Regional District has been given a $49,504 Regional District Grant.

Traffic fine revenue comes from ticket fines and court-imposed fines on violation tickets. The program returns 100 per cent of net revenues from these fines tickets to communities with the funds to be spent on community safety and policing.

Small Community Grants generally apply to municipalities with populations under 20,000 and are unconditional, along with Regional District Grants, meaning that the local governments can spend the funding according to their needs and priorities.

These are the first of two annual payments to Quesnel, Wells and the Cariboo Regional District. A further payment of $75 million from the provincial government will be made to B.C. communities in June.

Since 2009, the Small Community, Regional District and Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing Grants have provided more than $718 million in funding to support B.C. communities enabling them to invest money in projects that are identified as priorities at the local level.