YORKTON - The Accessibility Regulations came into force on Dec. 3, 2023, and the City of Yorkton is hoping for some grant dollars to cover some of the cost of implementation.
“These regulations list public sector bodies that are required to develop an accessibility plan under The Accessibility Saskatchewan Act,” explained Brad Hvidston, City Manager with the city at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday. “An accessibility plan is a plan that identifies the actions an organization will take to remove and prevent accessibility barriers for persons who interact with their organization. Municipalities with populations over 10,000 people, including the City of Yorkton, have been identified as organizations that have until Dec. 3, 2025 to complete their first accessibility plan.”
In partnership with the cities of Saskatoon, Estevan, Warman, Martensville, Weyburn, Swift Current, Lloydminster, North Battleford and Moose Jaw, Yorkton is looking to access funds through the Targeted Sector Support Initiative.
“The Targeted Sector Support (TSS) Initiative uses a portion of Municipal Revenue Sharing ($1.5 million per fiscal year) to support projects that strengthen municipalities’ core operational capabilities through increased regional cooperation,” explained Hvidston.
“To be eligible for TSS Initiative funding, applicants must be a municipal government established by or under provincial statute and must partner with at least one other community. The TSS Initiative provides funding assistance on a cost-shared basis. For successful projects, the TSS Initiative offers 75 per cent of the project's eligible costs to the maximum amount of $100,000. Project partners are responsible for the remaining 25 per cent of the eligible costs.”
Hvidston explained at a recent City Manager’s meeting these requirements were discussed as well as the resulting financial impact and time requirements they will have on each City.
“It was agreed that a group of cities would submit an application to the TSS Initiative to assist with funding these recently announced government requirements,” he said.
There are three requirements for the application, said Hvidston.
“The first being multiple municipalities partner together, so this has been met,” he said.
The second is that at least one quote be obtained by an independent supplier, that is currently being worked on, continued Hvidston.
The third requirement is that the application is accompanied with a formal letter of support along with Council resolution.
Council was unanimous is supporting the grant application.
“The City of Yorkton will be required to complete the Accessibility Plan by December 3, 2025 regardless of the success of this application,” added Hvidston.
