Budget - Information Technology

Information Technology Division is responsible for the delivery of Information Technology (IT) services to all City divisions. This includes desktop office automation resources, access to corporate applications on various technical platforms across both local and wide area networks, and links to various external resources.

The IT Division provides market competitive, technology-based products and services in a secure environment that contributes to improving services, and/or reducing costs, for the City of Peterborough.

Highlights

The 2026 Information Technology budget is impacted by a number of significant decisions that are outside of IT staff's control. These decisions include the move of the Peterborough Utilities Commission (PUC) and IT staff to the City including all associated technology costs; the Peterborough Utilities Inc decision to end the shared IT service with the City, the decision to dissolve the Peterborough and Kawartha's Economic Development Corporation and the decision by the Peterborough Police to staff their own IT department. The IT costs associated with the move of the PUC to the City are offset by the PUC revenues that are also transferred to the City.

As City divisions implement new technology to improve and modernize services, this results in an initial capital investment to add new corporate applications. In addition to the capital investment there is also an impact to the operating budget for annual maintenance and support which is approximately 25% of the initial capital cost.

There continues to be a shift that has resulted in software companies offering their applications as a hosted solution or Software as a Service. This is resulting in a shift from purchasing licenses that are a capital cost to annual subscription fees. Examples include, ERP, the Memorial Centre ticketing system, Recreation and Facility booking system and Office 365.

IT costs are charged to City Departments if an activity either receives a fee for the service they provide (e.g. the Building Division receiving fees for building permits), or if there is funding provided by an external organization that is related to the cost of providing services (e.g. Social Services receives funding from the Province).

IT Security continues to be an area of focus as security threats become more advanced and sophisticated. Additional investment is required for security, advanced monitoring, and detection tools. Investments in technology continue to increase as departments leverage technology to improve efficiencies. This can be in the form of additional hardware such as mobile devices, servers and applications, all of which require IT support.

Recommendation

That any unused Information Technology budget, at the end of 2026, be transferred to the Information Technology (IT) Reserve, subject to the overall year-end position, and that if actual costs exceed the 2026 budget, funds may be drawn from the IT reserve.