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From today's Spec:

City must be quick to snag capital funding

January 04, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 4, 2008)
The city is on a tight deadline to pick a capital project for the province to fund.

The government announced a new $300-million infrastructure investment initiative this week. The one-time program will pay up to 100 per cent of a project's cost and doesn't require the city to match funding.

"We're definitely going to apply," said Joe Rinaldo, the city's finance chief. He said staff have already met to start discussing what project the city could submit.

The city is still waiting for specific criteria, but Rinaldo said he expects the program will want to pay for something already in the works that could be completed quickly. Municipalities must apply by Feb. 15. The money will be awarded the following month.

Rinaldo doesn't expect the program will lessen the city's budget load for 2008 but might help address the backlog of capital projects in Hamilton. "It will give us greater flexibility," he said.