City of Belleville representatives are hoping conversations had at the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association conference this week lead to some real results.
Councillor Sean Kelly says they had a meeting with Solicitor General Michael Kerzner Tuesday in Toronto.
“Discussing more funds for the Belleville Police Service. The OPP all around the Belleville area, they get funds from the province and we’re hoping for more support from the government for Belleville Police Service.”
The Belleville Police Service’s proposed 2026 budget is more than $33.5 million, a 15% increase over 2025.
Kelly says they also talked about the city needing more financial support to run the courthouse.
The Belleville East Arterial Road is still on the province’s radar.
The City of Belleville has been advocating for a new east-end exit off Highway 401 for years.
Kelly says their delegation also met with Hastings Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee .
“The province has said they are looking at that. They’ll be doing a study and hopefully we’ll get some good news by July regarding that expansion of the 401. It’s certainly needed and has been needed for many years now with the growth of the city and the traffic.”
ROMA ran from Sunday through Tuesday bringing together representatives from hundreds of small and rural municipalities to discuss priorities with each other and provincial leaders.
