Ontario residents enjoy services and facilities that few cities can rival. From first-rate fire and police departments, exemplary parks and recreational facilities, and senior and youth programs, these services and many others are what make Ontario a wonderful place to live, work, and visit.
The City of Ontario prides itself on maintaining a high level of service through fiscal responsibility and efficiency. The City is proud to have recently passed an operationally balanced budget for the next fiscal year that preserves funding for the services that our residents enjoy.
Despite having an operationally balanced budget, challenges remain to fund needed maintenance and enhancements to existing infrastructure and facilities, as well as the construction of new improvements. The City has identified approximately $1.2 billion in unfunded infrastructure and neighborhood improvement projects that over time will become more expensive to address.
Many of these projects will support critical components of our City’s services, including public safety, emergency response, local drinking water supplies, traffic congestion, affordable housing and homeless services, entice investment and business growth, and much more. It is the City’s ability to incorporate these generational investments in the community that will move us from being merely operationally balanced to being structurally balanced.
Projects & Services
Here are a handful of vital projects the City hopes to complete within the next 10 years:
Local Drinking Water & Flood Control
$242 MILLION in improvements to our water and sewer systems. This includes $100 million in enhancements to our storm drain infrastructure, and a $100 million Advanced Water Purification Facility to reclaim more than 2.9 billion gallons of wastewater per year and to help Ontario withstand drought conditions.
Parks, Recreation, & Community Beautification
$59 MILLION to construct new park attractions and improvements to playgrounds, skate parks, picnic areas, snack bars, and citywide soccer and ballfields.
Public Safety & 911 Emergency Response
$41 MILLION in public safety enhancements including a state-of-the-art Real Time Crime Center to monitor and even prevent crimes, and two new police annex buildings supporting 25 additional police officers.
City-Wide Fiber Internet Services
$118 MILLION to provide low-cost high-speed fiber optic services to residential, commercial and public spaces, establish free community WiFi access, and to enhance police and fire coordination and emergency response.
Homelessness & Mental Health
$15 MILLION to support individuals and families experiencing homelessness and mental health illness with additional shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing featuring wraparound services.
The City is exploring long-term solutions to fund and enhance the services that Ontario residents and businesses have come to expect, all of which will allow Ontario to remain self-reliant and answerable to our residents. The City continues to engage all community members to learn what matters most to you and to ensure the growth and continued progress and prosperity of Ontario for future generations.