Draft 2025 Budget process continues with meeting November 19, 2024

Peterborough, ON – City Council continues the City of Peterborough’s 2025 Budget process with a review of the draft budget documents in a meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 before the expected adoption of the 2025 Budget on December 9, 2024.
Council began its detailed deliberations on the Draft 2025 Budget during a meeting on Monday, November 18, 2024. It reviewed the draft budgets for City Council, the Chief Administrative Officer's Office, Finance and Corporate Support Services, and Infrastructure, Planning and Growth Management.
On Monday, it made the following recommendations related to the draft budget:
- That advertising expenses for Strategic Communications be reduced by $15,000;
- That preventative maintenance and custodial costs for facilities be reduced by $153,000 or 20%
- That the Climate Change Coordinator full-time-equivalent position proposed in the budget be eliminated;
- That staff prepare a report on strategies on how to generate revenue and fully utilize the parking garages at Simcoe and King streets in addition to surface parking, to accommodate future growth and development and that the DBIA be consulted;
- Proposed changes to the City's parking by-law to implement parking penalty increases;
- Establishing five full-time employee positions in the Municipal Law Enforcement Services Division and creating a capital budget for patrol vehicles; and
- That staff report back by the third quarter of 2025 on a strategy to reduce rates of speed, including the feasibility of 40 kilometres per hour rate city wide.
On Tuesday, November 19, Council is expected to review the draft budgets for the Municipal Operations and Community Services departments. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 500 George St. N. It is open to the public and can be watched online at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil.
There are no public delegations at this meeting. It is expected Council will discuss items within the budget documents during the meeting and consider making recommendations that would then be presented at the December 9 Council meeting before adoption of the 2025 Budget.
Council heard from public delegations on the Draft 2025 Budget at a meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
Draft 2025 Budget information is posted at peterborough.ca/Budget, including a new interactive tool, OpenBook, to provide new ways for residents to view City budget information through tables, charts and graphs.
The Draft 2025 Budget outlines the City’s plan for investments in services and infrastructure next year.
To generally maintain current levels of service and fund infrastructure projects, the Draft 2025 Budget includes a recommended all-inclusive rate increase of 7.8%. To meet Council’s direction of a 5% all-inclusive rate increase, staff have identified discretionary spending areas across various services for Council’s consideration.
A 7.8% increase would equal a $12.13-per-month increase for every $100,000 of property assessment, or $145.56 total change for the year.
The Draft 2025 Budget 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 includes $147.4 million for 174 projects such as the Transit Garage Replacement, renovations for police stations, major infrastructure work on Brealey Drive between Lansdowne and Sherbrooke streets, updating and replacing equipment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and various road projects.
Factors affecting the Draft 2025 Budget include impacts such as staffing costs, inflationary factors, 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.
The Draft 2025 Budget was presented on Monday, November 4, 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.
Upcoming public meetings on the Draft 2025 Budget
- General Committee review, discussion and debate on the Draft 2025 Budget, no public delegations, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., November 18 and 19, 2024, at City Hall, 500 George St. N.
- Mayor tables the Mayor’s 2025 Budget for the City of Peterborough, anticipated adoption of the budget, registered delegations can present to Council, Monday, December 9, 2024.