2025 Budget process continues with meeting on January 20, 2025
Peterborough, ON – Peterborough City Council will continue its review of the City’s Draft 2025 Budget during a meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 500 George St. N., starting at 9 a.m. on Monday, January 20, 2025.
The meeting is open to the public and can be watched online at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil. A recording will be posted following the meeting. Budget documents and information are available at peterborough.ca/Budget.
Council plans to consider final approval of the City’s 2025 Budget at its meeting on February 3, 2025.
At its meeting on December 9, 2024, Council deferred its consideration of the Draft 2025 Budget until its January 20, 2025 General Committee meeting to review options to decrease the proposed all-inclusive rate increase to 7%.
After a series of Council meetings in November and December 2024, the Draft 2025 Budget currently reflects an all-inclusive rate of 8%, which would equal a $12.43-per-month increase, or $149.16 total change for the year, for every $100,000 of property assessment.
To reduce the all-inclusive rate increase to 7%, Council will consider several recommendations, including:
- Reduced budget increases submitted by Peterborough Police Services and Peterborough County City Paramedics;
- Insurance premium reductions
- Reducing expenses for graffiti management, forestry, and street cleaning
- Reducing Transit cleaning supplies and contractual services expenses
- Reducing corporate training
- Delaying the purchase of a Municipal Law Enforcement Services vehicle
- Increases for certain recreation and parks user fees
- Transitioning stormwater funding from the tax base to a dedicated user fee effective April 1, 2025, using a simplified interim rate structure
Unlike many municipalities that have dedicated stormwater networks and raise the necessary funding through a user fee, the City of Peterborough currently funds the program through the tax base. The Draft 2025 Budget includes $4.34 million that is being raised through the tax levy and transferred to the Wastewater Reserve Fund to fund stormwater related Capital projects. Staff recommend that a Stormwater Management User fee be created with 2025 as a transition year with a simplified interim rate structure for 2025.
To assist with reducing the funding requirements to benefit all rate payers, staff recommend a $620,000 decrease in the stormwater management funding from what is currently in the Draft 2025 Budget. The amount transferred to the new user fee will be $3.72 million, instead of $4.34 million.
The proposed simplified interim rate structure for 2025 will essentially mimic what is being paid by property owners through the tax base but remove the levy requirement from the tax base and place the charge on the utility bill.
Consultation will take place in 2025 as part of the Stormwater Utility Program development Capital Project to provide recommendations on the structure of the stormwater management fee moving forward.
Numerous benefits to implementing a Stormwater Management Fee include:
- dedicating a funding stream allocated back to providing the service
- awareness and transparency showing owners what they pay for the service and what is required for capital and operating costs
- fairness where owners may pay based on stormwater contribution as opposed to property assessment
- introduces the opportunity for economic incentives, giving owners the opportunity to reduce their costs associated with delivering the service
The Budget details investments in municipal services and infrastructure, such as water and wastewater infrastructure and treatment, garbage collection, the Green Bin program, the landfill and composting facilities, affordable housing, homelessness services, roads, recreation and parks, arts and culture, policing, fire services, paramedics, and public health.
The Draft 2025 Budget as presented on November 4, 2024 includes $411 million in operating expenses, with $185.9 million from property taxes and the remainder funded by other revenues such as grants from other governments, user fees, and service charges.
On the capital side, the Draft 2025 Budget as presented on November 4, 2024 includes $147.4 million for 174 projects such as the Transit Garage Replacement, police station renovations, major infrastructure work on Brealey Drive between Lansdowne and Sherbrooke streets, updating and replacing equipment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and various road projects.
The Draft 2025 Budget is affected by factors such as inflationary costs, staffing, capital financing expenses, and a projected decrease in parking revenues.
The City started the 2025 Budget process in March 2024 with community consultation, including a survey and public meetings that were held through March and April. Council held General Committee meetings in June to review information and consider input from the community. Council considered detailed breakdowns of budget implications for services and capital projects before recommending guidelines for preparing the Draft 2025 Budget.
Council heard from public delegations on the Draft 2025 Budget at a meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
The City held informal public meetings on November 7 and November 12, 2024 to present information, respond to questions and get feedback on the Draft 2025 Budget ahead of Council’s deliberations on the budget.
At its meeting on December 9, 2024, Council gave final approval to certain projects and programs in the 2025 Budget to allow that work to proceed while Council considers the remainder of the Draft 2025 Budget. Council also approved the 2025 User Fees and Charges.
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