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Home My WebLink AboutFIN 11-25Report to Council Report Number: FIN 11-25 Date: June 23, 2025 From: Stan Karwowski Director, Finance & Treasurer Subject: Ontario Transfer Payment Amending Agreement for the Building Faster Fund File: F-4910-011 Recommendation: 1.That Report FIN 11-25 regarding the amendment to Ontario Transfer Payment Agreement with the Province of Ontario be received; 2.That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute the amended Ontario Transfer Payment Agreement with the Province of Ontario for the Building Faster Fund; and 3.That the appropriate City of Pickering officials be given authority to take the necessary actions to give effect thereto. Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to authorize the execution of the Building Faster Fund (BFF) amended Transfer Payment Agreement (TPA) with the Province of Ontario. The program’s original end date was March 31, 2026 and it is now being extended to March 31, 2028. The BFF is a provincial performance-based funding program established in 2023 to support municipalities in addressing housing supply challenges. The program awards funding based on a municipality’s progress toward annual housing targets. Relationship to the Pickering Strategic Plan: The recommendations in this report respond to the Pickering Strategic Plan Corporate Key: Good Governance/Customer Service Excellence. Financial Implications: The City of Pickering has been allocated $5.2 million for year 2 of the program, with total BFF funding of $10.4 million to date. (The City also received $5.2 million in 2024). The 2025 Capital Budget anticipated the City receiving these grant dollars and these dollars have been mainly allocated to the 2025 road re- surfacing program. Discussion: The purpose of this report is to authorize the execution of the BFF amended TPA with the Province of Ontario. A key change to the program is the FIN 11-25 June 23, 2025 Page 2 _____________________________________________________________________ extension of the end date from March 31, 2026, to March 31, 2028. This means that recipients will have until March 31, 2028 (an additional two years) to spend program funds earned from Years 1, 2, or 3 (based on performance in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively). The BFF is a provincially funded program established in 2023 designed to incentivize municipalities to tackle housing supply issues, by providing performance -based funding for housing and community infrastructure, based on meeting its provincially assigned housing targets. It is a three-year program that will provide $400 million per year to municipalities that have achieved 80% or more of their annual housing targets. The funds are awarded based on the percentage of the housing targets met, with bonuses for exceeding the target (up to a maximum of 25% over target). As communicated by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the City of Pickering has qualified for $5.2 million for Year 2 of the program based on its 2024 performance. Inclusive of 2024, the City has been granted $10.4 million that have been applied to projects that contribute to towards meeting the housing targets. The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s authorization for the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the amended TPA, which is due to the Province of Ontario no later than June 27, 2025. Attachment: 1.Ontario Transfer Payment Amending Agreement for the Building Faster Fund Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Raghu Kumar, CPA,CMA Stan Karwowski, CPA, CMA, MBA Senior Financial Analyst, Director, Finance & Treasurer Development Charges & Capital Management Original Signed By:Original Signed By: FIN 11-25 June 23, 2025 Page 3 _____________________________________________________________________ Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Original Signed By: 1 ONTARIO TRANSFER PAYMENT AMENDING AGREEMENT for the Building Faster Fund This Amending Agreement No.1 effective as of the 1st day of January, 2025. B E T W E E N : HIS MAJESTY THE KING IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO as represented by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (the “Province”) -and – [enter the full legal name of the Recipient above] (the “Recipient”) BACKGROUND 1.The Province and the Recipient entered into an Ontario Transfer Payment Agreement for the Building Faster Fund effective as of the 1st day of April, 2024 (the “Agreement”). 2.The Parties wish to extend the Agreement to June 30, 2028. 3.The Parties wish to otherwise amend the Agreement in the manner set out in this Amending Agreement No.1. IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereto agree as follows: 1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this amending agreement No.1 (the “Amending Agreement No.1”) have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement. Attachment 1 to Report FIN 11-25 2 2. Section A1.2 of Schedule “A” is amended by adding the following definition in alphabetical order: “Additional Reporting Period” means the period commencing on January 1, 2027 and ending on March 31, 2028. 3. Section A1.2 of Schedule “A” is amended by replacing the definition of “Investment Plan” with the following definition: “Investment Plan” means an investment plan identifying the Recipient’s proposed use of Funds in a form to be provided by the Province. 4. The definition of “Program Year” in Section A1.2 of Schedule “A” is amended by adding the following new clause (c) after clause (b): (c) in the case of the third Program Year, the period commencing on January 1, 2026 and ending on December 31, 2026. 5. Section A4.7 of Schedule “A” is deleted and replaced with the following: A4.7 Saved Funds. The Recipient may save any Funds that it receives in one Program Year for use in a later Program Year or in the Additional Reporting Period. For greater certainty, saved Funds include Funds not committed and not spent, Funds committed but not spent, and any interest earned pursuant to section A4.4. Despite anything else in this Agreement, the Recipient will spend any Funds that it has saved by no later than March 31, 2028. In the event that the Recipient does not spend those saved Funds in accordance with the requirements set out in this section A4.7 or otherwise in accordance with the Agreement, those saved Funds will be returned to the Province. 6. Article A14.0 of Schedule “A” is deleted and replaced with the following: A14.0 FUNDS UPON PROGRAM END DATE A14.1 Funds Upon Program End Date. By March 31, 2028, the Recipient will pay to the Province any unspent Funds remaining in its possession, under its control, or both. 7. Schedule “B” is amended by deleting the Expiry Date of “March 31, 2026” and substituting “June 30, 2028”. 8. Section B1.2 of Schedule “B” is amended by deleting the following sentence: “The Recipient’s eligibility for a given Program Year will be assessed prior to the start of that Program Year.” 3 9. Schedule “B” is amended by adding the following Additional Provision: B4.0 PROGRAM GUIDELINES B4.1 Program Guidelines May be Amended from Time to Time. The Province may update Schedule “G” from time to time without the agreement of the Recipient provided that the changes do not impose substantial additional liability on the Recipient. The Province shall provide any updated Schedule “G” to the Recipient by Notice. 10. Section (1) of Schedule “C” is amended by adding the words “and the Additional Reporting Period,” after “Program Year”, and by adding the words “and in a form to be provided by the Province” after “Schedule “G””. 11. Section (2) of Schedule “C” is amended by adding the words “and the Additional Reporting Period” after “Program Year”. 12. Section (3) of Schedule “C” is amended by adding the words “or the Additional Reporting Period” after “Program Year” in the second bullet. 13. Section (5) of Schedule “C” is amended by adding the words “or the Additional Reporting Period” after the first “Program Year”, and by adding “or July 30th, 2027 for the Additional Report Period” after the second “Program Year”. 14. Section D2.3 of Schedule “D” is amended by deleting “the Expiry Date” and substituting “March 31, 2028”. 15. Section D3.0 of Schedule “D” is amended by adding a new subsection iii. “iii. Incentive payments for the construction of market-rate housing” and by renumbering the remainder of the list accordingly. 16. Schedule “F” of the Agreement is deleted and replaced with Schedule “F”, attached to Amending Agreement No.1 as Appendix “1”. 17. Schedule “G” of the Agreement is deleted and replaced with Schedule “G” attached to the Amending Agreement No. 1 as Appendix “2”. 18. The Agreement is amended to reflect that wherever the conjunction “; and”, or “or” is used before the last item on a list, and the last item on the list has been deleted, or one or more new items have been added at the end of the list, the subject conjunction shall be deemed to have been moved to the end of the penultimate item on the amended list. 19. Amending Agreement No.1 shall be effective as of the date set out at the top of the Amending Agreement No.1. 4 20. Except for the amendments provided for in Amending Agreement No.1, all provisions in the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. The Parties have executed this Amending Agreement No.1 on the dates set out below. HIS MAJESTY THE KING IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO as represented by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing ____________________ Signature Name: Title: ____________________ Date [enter the full legal name of the Recipient above] ____________________ Signature Name: Title: ____________________ Date ____________________ Signature Name: Title: ____________________ Date I/We have authority to bind the Recipient. 5 Appendix “1” Attached to and forming part of the Amending Agreement No.1 entered into between the Province and the Recipient effective as of the 1st day of January, 2025. Schedule “F” Attached to and forming part of the Agreement entered into between the Province and the Recipient dated the 1st day of April 2024. SCHEDULE “F” REPORTS Name of Report Due Date Investment Plan In accordance with Schedule “G” Year End Report In accordance with Schedule “G” Report Due Dates The reporting period is set out in Schedule “G”. Except as noted below, if the due date of any Report falls on a non-Business Day, the due date is deemed to be the next Business Day. Submission of Reports All reports are to be submitted in accordance with Schedule “G”. Report Details 1. The Investment Plan shall include the required information as set out in Schedule “C” and shall be in a form to be provided by the Province. 2. The Year End Report shall provide information on the Eligible Expenditures incurred in the Program Year or Additional Reporting Period, as applicable, and progress made in each project, and shall be in a form to be provided by the Province. Performance Measures - Delivery of all Reports within established timelines - Ensuring all expenditures are in accordance with the Agreement - Timely responses to requests from the Province - # of housing units or homeless shelter beds supported or created (if applicable) 6 Appendix “2” Attached to and forming part of the Amending Agreement No.1 entered into between the Province and the Recipient effective as of the 1st day of January, 2025. Schedule “G” Attached to and forming part of the Agreement entered into between the Province and the Recipient dated the 1st day of April 2024. [PROGRAM GUIDELINES ATTACHED]