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Communities in the Central Okanagan are about to become safer, thanks to funding from the provincial government.

The Central Okanagan Regional District and its four municipalities have received more than $2 million in combined funding to invest in local priorities, such as policing, service delivery and infrastructure.

“There is only one taxpayer – and these grants mean projects will go ahead without reaching further into their pocket," said Premier Christy Clark, MLA for Westside-Kelowna.

• Lake Country has received a small community grant worth $222,372 and $59,950 in traffic fine revenue for a total of $282,322
• Peachland has received a total of $361,659 from a small community grant of $343,719 and $17,940 in traffic fine revenue
• Both Kelowna and West Kelowna have received traffic fine revenue worth $1,121,017 and $152,647 respectively
• Central Okanagan Regional District has received a regional district grant worth $88,871

“With more than $82,000 going to Lake Country alone, I am delighted that some very important safety needs will be addressed," said Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick.

Small Community Grants generally apply to municipalities with populations under 20,000 and are unconditional, along with Regional District Grants, meaning that the local governments can spend the funding according to their needs and priorities

Traffic fine revenue comes from ticket fines and court-imposed fines on violation tickets. The program returns 100 per cent of net revenues from these fines tickets to communities with the funds to be spent on community safety and policing.

Since 2009, the small community, regional district and traffic fine revenue sharing grants have provided more than $792 million in funding for B.C. communities.