Draft 2026 Budget Process Update November 18, 2025

Peterborough, ON – City Council reviewed the budget and recommended several changes in the City’s Draft 2026 Budget over November 17 and 18, 2025 to largely maintain current levels of service and to invest in municipal infrastructure.

After Council’s budget deliberations, the Draft 2026 Budget currently reflects an operating budget increase of 2.11%, a 2.16% increase for infrastructure and capital needs, a 0.53% increase in the sanitary sewer fee, and a 1.76% increase related to external agencies that are funded by the City.

When combined, the 6.56% all-inclusive rate increase, including the municipal, education, and sanitary sewer surcharge rates, would equal about $28.31 per month for the median or typical residential property.

To reduce the expected property tax increase, Council has recommended using an additional $3 million from the Legacy Income Retention reserve account in 2026. Money in the Legacy Income Retention reserve account comes from interest earned on investments using the proceeds of the sale of assets of Peterborough Distribution Inc. The $3 million injection from the Legacy Fund reserve fund reduced the tax requirement in the Draft 2026 Budget by 1.32%.

Council also wants to hear if there could be potential reductions in the Police Service budget. Council directed that the Police Service budget be returned to the Police Service Board. The Police Services Board 2026 request of $41,506,841 is an increase of 9.8%, or $3,704,600, over 2025.

The City’s 2026 Budget is anticipated to be presented for adoption on December 8, 2025. Residents can register to be a delegation during the Council meeting through an online form at Peterborough.ca/delegations or by calling 705-742-7777 ext. 1820.

With the recommendations approved by Council, the Draft 2026 Budget includes $434.2 million in spending on municipal services and $139.2 million in capital investments.

The $434.2 million is funded by revenues of $235.8 million from non-municipal property tax sources such as user fees, grants from other governments, recoveries, interest from investments, and service charges, resulting in a tax requirement of $198.4million.

Capital projects include items such as the police station renovation and expansion, Lansdowne Street West between Spillsbury Drive and Clonsilla Avenue, Wastewater Treatment Plant revitalization, extending a taxiway at the Peterborough Regional Airport, road paving, purchasing transit buses, and water service distribution infrastructure.

A list of major capital projects and a breakdown of what a taxpayer pays for various municipal services is available at peterborough.ca/budget.

Through its budget deliberations, Council made various changes or directions related to the Draft 2026 Budget, such as:

• Reducing the proposed employee benefits cost requirement by $665,000 from what was included in the draft budget documents;
• The City was informed that its Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grant will be $269,000 more than anticipated;
• On November 3, Council awarded RFP48-25 for shelter services and daytime drop-in program to One City, which added $1.12 million to the Draft 2026 Budget;
• Increasing the net tax levy by $90,137 in 2026 for the Community Development Program to offset a reduced funding from Peterborough County;
• Reducing the net tax levy requirement by $204,477 to reflect the increased final current value assessments from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation;
• That the Police Service budget be returned to the Police Service Board for potential reductions;
• Deferring until 2027 consideration of a $900,000 project for a public washroom at Jackson Park;
• Deferring $25,000 that had been requested to convert a washroom space into a kitchenette at City Hall;
• Deferring until 2027 consideration of a $375,000 budget for the Coldsprings Growth Area – Planning Studies;
• Extending the Community Service Agreement with Electric City Culture Council (EC3) for January 1 to December 31, 2026, including $100,000 for EC3 operations plus $50,000 for EC3 to provide Artsweek and the Individual Artists program, as well as increasing the funding by an additional $25,000 toward the Individual Artists program; and
• Increasing funding for the Peterborough Public Library collections acquisition by an additional $32,000 funded from the Library Materials Acquisition Reserve.

Beyond the immediate budgetary considerations, Council made several recommendations on program direction on items that will return to Council for consideration in the future, such as:

• That Ashburnham Memorial Park be given priority for the next round of park improvements;
• That a preferred option for a pedestrian crossing involving the Crawford Trail Extension Project - Monaghan Road to Townsend, be at the signalized intersection of Monaghan Road and Lansdowne Street; and
• That staff be directed to bring forward a report to the 2027 Budget to explore parking and other revenue opportunities at the Riverview Park and Zoo.

The official minutes of the meeting with all of Council’s endorsed motions from the meeting will be available at peterborough.ca/agendas.

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