Public meeting to hear delegations on the 2024 Preliminary Budget Guideline

Peterborough, ON – A public meeting for residents to speak to City Council ahead of setting the 2024 Preliminary Budget Guideline that provides direction for drafting the City’s 2024 Budget will be held starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. 

To speak as a delegation during the public meeting, residents can complete the online form at peterborough.ca/delegations or phone 705-742-777 ext. 1820 by 11 a.m. on the day of the meeting. 

The meeting will be live streamed at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil and the video will be posted at peterborough.ca/agendas and on the City’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/@CityPtbo following the meeting. 

The final version of the 2024 Budget Guideline is expected to be presented to Finance Committee on June 19, 2023 before going to the regular Council meeting on June 26 for approval. 

During the public meeting on May 31, members of the public can make presentations or comment to Council about the proposed Guideline. They may also take the opportunity to comment on other aspects of the City’s Operating and Capital Budgets that are not specifically addressed in the Guideline Report. 

The Guideline is used to give direction to staff on putting together the Draft 2024 Budget, which is then reviewed by Council prior to considering approval of the final document toward the end of the year. 

In addition to the official public budget meeting on May 31, the City held two drop-in style sessions that were part of a community engagement approach that also included a survey and the traditional interaction between Council, City staff and the community that takes place outside of organized consultation. 

The 2024 Preliminary Budget Guideline reflects that the current estimate for setting the 2024 Budget to maintain current levels of service and meet previously approved directions from Council would require an all-inclusive rate increase of 4.8% in 2024, which would add $83.59 for every $100,000 of assessment for residential properties. 

Factors related to the increase include employee compensation, annualization of new police hires in 2023, general inflationary costs, insurance costs, fuel prices, and the Transit budget. 

Next steps in the 2024 Budget process: