Where Your Tax Dollars Go
Your tax dollars go toward City services and infrastructure such as:
- maintaining roads, sidewalks and trails
- collecting garbage and maintaining the landfill
- picking up and processing compostable materials from your Green Bin
- building and operating the sanitary sewer and sewage treatment systems to protect public health and the environment
- providing social services
- supporting affordable housing
- running recreation programs
- implementing sustainability initiatives
- Peterborough Transit
- Peterborough Police Service, Peterborough Fire Services, and Peterborough Paramedics
Every day, you use community services or infrastructure in some way.
Through direction provided by City Council, the City drafts a budget that reflects community priorities, expected service levels and legislated responsibilities.
The Draft 2026 Budget includes $433.7 million in spending on municipal services and $140.5 million in capital investments.
View the Draft 2026 Budget book to see details.
Breakdown of what a residential taxpayer pays
Based on $100,000 of residential property assessment
| Service, program, transfers | Tax levy | Percentage of total |
|---|---|---|
| City Council | $7.81 | 0.44% |
| Office of the Chief Administrative Officer | $5.06 | 0.29% |
| People and Culture | $20.50 | 1.16% |
| Office of the Commissioner Financial & Corporate Support Services | $3.44 | 0.20% |
| Financial Services | $17.78 | 1.01% |
| Emergency Management | $6.36 | 0.36% |
| Strategic Communications and Service Peterborough | $11.27 | 0.64% |
| Facilities and Property Management | $20.22 | 1.15% |
| Corporate Information Services | $42.54 | 2.41% |
| Materials Management | $6.08 | 0.35% |
| Office of the Commissioner Legislative Services | $3.29 | 0.19% |
| Legal Services | $7.01 | 0.40% |
| Court Services | $-1.44 | -0.08% |
| Municipal Law Enforcement | $13.08 | 0.74% |
| Realty Services | $4.59 | 0.26% |
| City Clerk | $11.46 | 0.65% |
| Office of Commissioner Infrastructure, Planning and Growth Management | $0.91 | 0.05% |
| Asset Management and Capital Planning | $21.79 | 1.24% |
| Economic Development | $9.43 | 0.54% |
| Engineering and Capital Works | $40.60 | 2.30% |
| Planning, Development and Urban Design | $22.60 | 1.28% |
| Building Services | $0.00 | 0.00% |
| Office of the Commissioner Municipal Operations | $2.06 | 0.12% |
| Public Works | $114.08 | 6.48% |
| Transit | $107.67 | 6.11% |
| Environmental Services | $77.75 | 4.41% |
| Peterborough Airport | $18.25 | 1.04% |
| Community Service Administration | $19.84 | 1.13% |
| Recreation, Parks and Cultural Services | $58.75 | 3.34% |
| Peterborough Public Library | $36.77 | 2.09% |
| Social Services | $129.82 | 7.37% |
| Fire Services | $175.39 | 9.96% |
| Capital Financing Costs | $234.89 | 13.33% |
| Property Taxation Costs | $20.90 | 1.19% |
| Other Revenue and Expenditures | $35.41 | 2.01% |
| Police Services | $344.75 | 19.57% |
| Fairhaven | $14.15 | 0.80% |
| Peterborough County/City Paramedic Service | $65.02 | 3.69% |
| Otonabee Region Conservation Authority | $8.02 | 0.46% |
| Lakelands Public Health | $16.68 | 0.95% |
| Peterborough Humane Society | $4.34 | 0.25% |
| Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster | $1.25 | 0.07% |
| Business Improvement Areas | $1.47 | 0.08% |
| Total Net Expenditures | $1,761.62 | 100% |
Find overviews, highlights, and details on budget for each service program area:
Capital budget
Every year, there are more capital projects and required infrastructure work that are needed than can be funded through the available capital budget. Even with help from the province and federal government, many projects that are needed or wanted are delayed to fit infrastructure spending within the available budget.
The 156 capital projects that make up the 2026 Capital Budget cost of $140.5 million.
Council has previously approved pre-commitments totalling $95.9 million for 2026 – 2029. The total pre-commitments from the 2026 capital budget is $53.6 million.
The $86.4 million in these top 20 projects represents 61.5% of the total $140.5 million Capital Budget.
| Project description | 2026 amount | Total project cost (including previously budgeted amount and estimated future allocations) |
| Police Stations Renovation and Expansion | $23 million | $91.9 million |
| Lansdowne West - Spillsbury to Consilla | $9.1 million | $20 million |
| Effluent disinfection revitalization and expansion | $7 million | $32.75 million |
| Extension of Taxiway Bravo | $6.5 million | $7 million |
| Pavement preservation program | $6 million | $55.6 million |
| TMCC property purchase | $4.75 million | $5 million |
| Fleet replacement and equipment | $3.8 million | $27.2 million |
| City departmental projects | $3.09 million | $15.29 million |
| Distribution rehabilitation projects | $2.45 million | $30.92 million |
| Road surface repair program | $2.4 million | $12.5 million |
| Peterborough landfill site | $2.15 million | $32.8 million |
| Chemong Road - Parkhill Road to Sunset Boulevard | $2 million | $58.76 million |
| Replacement conventional buses | $2 million | $25 million |
| Riverside Park and East City Bowl rejuvenation | $1.99 million | $2.62 million |
| Major Bennett Industrial Park | $1.82 million | $4.4 million |
| Trails and cycling network implementation | $1.82 million | $15.01 million |
| Brookdale watershed improvements | $1.7 million | $33.64 million |
| PW sidewalk construction | $1.62 million | $4.48 million |
| Improvements to Morrow Park | $1.6 million | $3.64 million |
| PSWC - replace office flooring and HVAC equipment | $1.6 million | $1.65 million |
Online property tax calculator
Use our online property tax calculator to see a breakdown of your residential property taxes and where your tax dollars go. The calculator shows 2025 property tax amounts and the 2025 breakdown of where tax dollars go. Properties with commercial or other tax class components will get inaccurate results using this calculator.
Contact Us
City Hall
500 George St. N.
Peterborough, ON
K9H 3R9
Phone: 705-742-7777
Toll Free: 1-855-738-3755
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