October ROMA Board Highlights

ROMA October Board Meeting Highlights:
 

ROMA report will strengthen advocacy on rural infrastructure funding 

• The Board is working with AMO's Policy Team to develop a Rural Infrastructure Strategy. Data shows that rural municipalities face unique infrastructure challenges:
   
  • Rural Ontario municipalities own and operate about $153 billion in public infrastructure yet have the fewest financial resources and tools to fund these critical needs.
     
  • Rural municipalities have 17 per cent of the population in Ontario and are
    responsible for 31 per cent of all roads, bridges, and tunnel assets, by value.
     
  • The provincial and federal governments contribute only about 30 per cent in annual rural municipal infrastructure funding.
     
• Through the strategy, ROMA’s advocacy will focus on more effective, efficient funding arrangements that recognize rural communities’ limited resources and capacity. This includes:
   
  • Consolidating various provincial grant programs into a provincial-municipal transfer fund that is stable, predictable, and long-term. This will allow municipalities to plan, maintain and expand infrastructure more effectively.
     
  • Addressing provincial downloading from the 1990s that included more than 5,000 km of roads and highways, water treatment plans, and non-powered dams to rural communities. The cost of operating and maintaining these assets outstrips the limited property tax base of rural municipalities.

The ROMA Board continues to refine health policy work

• ROMA released its Fill the Gaps Closer to Home report in 2024. The report included 22 recommendations for the province to improve access to primary healthcare for millions of rural Ontarians.
   
• Rural communities are disproportionately impacted by Ontario's health crisis. Despite healthcare being a provincial responsibility, rural municipal governments contribute $480 million dollars annually to health and social service programs. They do not have the tax base to subsidize provincial costs to this degree.
   
• AMO Policy staff are reviewing the 2024 report, along with data from AMO’s recently completed municipal health survey, to update and reprioritize recommendations into a Rural and Northern Healthy Strategy. This report will be delivered to the ROMA Board in early 2026.

ROMA proactively advocating on rural schools

• A province-wide school closure moratorium has been in place since 2017. However, the Minister of Education said that closures may be considered for the five boards under provincial supervision.
   
• This could be a first step in lifting the moratorium altogether, putting small, rural schools at risk of amalgamations and closures.
   
• ROMA is advocating to the Province to exempt all schools from closure that qualify for the Rural and Northern Education Allocation funding as set out by the Ministry of Education.
   
• ROMA is seeking the Province’s cooperation and consultation about potential changes to the moratorium, and development of a criteria and process in collaboration with municipalities that consider the impacts to both students and community wellbeing before a school is closed.
   
• Additionally, ROMA will work closely with the Community Schools Alliance to align advocacy efforts.

Mark your calendars for ROMA 2026

The 2026 ROMA Conference is happening Sunday, January 18 to Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto.

Early bird conference registration is available until Friday, October 31 at 4 p.m.

The request form for delegation meetings is now open. Access the form here.

Don't forget to arrive in time for ROMA's zone meetings and lunch. 

Keynote speaker Chantal Hébert is back at this year's Conference by popular demand. Hébert will provide her keen perspectives on an eventful year and what lies ahead.