Your tax dollars go toward City services and infrastructure such as:

  • plowing roads, paths and sidewalks in the winter
  • collecting garbage and maintaining the landfill
  • picking up and processing recyclable items from your blue boxes
  • 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 2023 Budget includes $326.6 million in spending on municipal services and $131.2 million in capital investments.

Use our interactive Capital Budget Map Viewer to look at the projects proposed as part of the Draft 2023 Capital Budget based on their locations.

 2022 Budget

Council approved the City's 2022 Budget on Monday, December 13, 2021.

Breakdown of what a residential taxpayer pays (Draft 2023 Budget)

 What a typical residential taxpayer pays for municipal services (Draft 2023 Budget)

What a residential taxpayer pays for municipal services

Based on $100,000 of residential property assessment
Services and programsTaxesPercentage of total municipal portion
City Council $6.54 0.47%

Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

 $4.67 0.33% 
Fire Services $149.96 10.72% 
Emergency Management $4.03 0.29% 
Communication Services $5.97 0.43% 
City Clerk's Office $7.11 0.51% 
Financial Services $18.61 1.33% 
Facilities Management $9.61 0.69% 
Human Resources $9.90 0.71% 
Corporate Information Services $29.89 2.14% 
Facilities and Planning Initiatives $1.35 0.1% 
Legal Services $5.53 0.4% 
Office of Infrastructure and Planning Services $1.43 0.1% 
Planning $10.70 0.76% 
Peterborough Airport $18.26 1.3%
Building Inspection and Protective Services $6.94 0.5% 
Engineering, Construction and Public Works $102.49 7.33% 
Asset Management and Capital Planning $12.97 0.93% 
Transportation $111.69 7.98% 
Environmental Services $60.80 4.35% 
Community Services Administration $17.22 1.23% 
Recreation $9.73 0.7% 
Arts, Culture and Heritage $42.88 3.06% 
Arenas $18.94  1.35% 
Social Services $96.27 6.88% 
Capital financing costs $268.89 19.22% 
Property taxation costs $24.43 1.75% 
Other expenditures related to capital levy and financing $10.89 0.78% 
Contingency $4.05 0.29% 
Police Services $233.37 16.68% 
Fairhaven long-term care $12.83 0.92% 
Peterborough Paramedics $48.66 3.48% 
Otonabee Conservation $6.68 0.48% 
Primary Health Care Services Peterborough $0 0% 
Peterborough Public Health $10.88 0.78% 
Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development $8.67 0.62% 
Peterborough Humane Society $3.65 0.26% 
Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster $1.16 0.08%
Downtown Business Improvement Area $1.42 0.1% 
Total municipal property taxes per $100,000 of residential property assessment $1,399.04 100%

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 2022 property tax amounts and the 2022 breakdown of where tax dollars go. Properties with commercial or other tax class components will get inaccurate results using this calculator.

Use our online property tax calculator

Services - Draft 2023 Budget operating spending

2022 Budget pie chart showing expenditure by department

 

Infrastructure - 2023 Budget capital spending

2023 Capital expenditures pie chart

The Draft 2023 Budget includes spending $131.2 million in capital spending

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.

 20 largest 2023 capital projects (Draft 2023 Budget)
 
20 largest 2022 capital projects
Project description2023 amountTotal project cost (including previously budgeted amount and estimated future allocations)
New Arena and Aquatics Complex $25 million  $93.52 million (estimate includes aquatics complex portion of the project, which has not yet been approved to proceed)
Source separated organics program implementation $7.62 million  $21.15 million
Transit garage replacement $6.09 million  $54.69 million 
Lansdowne West - Spillsbury to Clonsilla $6 million  $16 million
Pavement preservation program $5.15 million  $50.55 million
Effluent disinfection revitalization and expansion $5 million  $32.75 million 
Curtis Creek watershed improvements $4.87 million  $33.3 million 
Healthy Planet Arena roof and HVAC replacement $3.28 million  $35.39 million
Property acquisitions $3.2 million  $15.2 million 
Waste Water Treatment Plant electrical sub station replacement $3 million  $3.41 million 
Lily Lake Area development network improvements $3 million  $3.36 million 
New Peterborough Police Station $3 million  $68 million
Lansdowne Street rehabilitation - Park Street to Otonabee River $2.8 million  $19 million 
Conventional bus replacement $2.6 million  $13.32 million 
Peterborough Landfill Site $2.28 million  $26.65 million
2023 fleet replacement and equipment $2.21 million  $22.89 million 
Replace digester #1 and #2 $2 million  $7.5 million 
Parkhill Road reconstruction - George Street to Rubidge Street $1.85 million  $3.4 million
Sanitary sewer (relining, renew and repair) $1.75 million $24.58 million
Television Road Bridge over South Meade Creek $1.5 million $12.6 million

Purchasing

The City of Peterborough abides by our Procurement By-Law when we procure goods and services. Our bids and tenders process complies with this by-law.