Peterborough City Staff are recommending an all-inclusive tax rate increase of 9.59% in order to maintain services across the City according to the 2024 Draft Budget that was presented to Councillors on November 6th. This is three times the increase for 2023 which stood at 3.15. 

According to the Draft Budget Report, this rate increase “equates to an additional $167.17 per $100,000 of residential property assessment, or an increase of $434.61 for the median residential property assessed at $260,000.” This assessed value is based on 2016 MPAC reports which the Province of Ontario has instructed municipalities to use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

This 9.59 figure is inclusive of a Base Guideline of 5.5%, which is at the high end of the guideline council set for staff at the end of August. The Draft Budget document explains that in order to fit the budget within Council’s guidelines, Staff was forced to reduce operating requests from departments by $2.55M and capital requests by nearly $12M.  

However, it also includes $3,410,023 in additional funding for Peterborough Police Service, in addition to $68,756 for Peterborough Public Health (PPH), and $95,713 for Peterborough City and County Paramedics (PCCP). 

The Draft Budget includes External Requests from staff which includes an additional $68,902 to bring the City’s Snow removal services in-house and the creation of a new managerial position at Service Peterborough estimated at $129,820. 

The figures to outside organizations like the Police, PPH, and PCCP represent the amount of money these services are requesting above the 4.08 per cent made up by the operating portion of the net tax levy and is in line with the motion which had originally set the 2024 Tax Guidelines of 4.5-5.5%. 

In all, the Police Service is requesting a 15.3% increase, or $4,649,915, over their 2023 budget for a total ask of $35,075,187. This means that the Police budget increase alone accounts for more that 18% of the total proposed tax levy for 2024, making it the second highest operating expenditure behind only the City’s spending on Capital Financing.

Should Councillors wish to claw-back the amounts outlined in the draft budget for any of these organizations, a separate motion would be required in order to do so. As such, Councillors will have their work cut out for them to bring this budget in line with the guidelines they had initially set for Staff, and themselves, back in August. 

Meanwhile, the draft budget includes dozens of potential places Staff suggest that Councillors might consider cutting back in order to bring the tax rate increase back down. Many of these were brought up as potential areas for cuts during Finance Committee meetings in mid-August when staff presented budget scenarios for 3%, 7% and a “status-quo” tax rate increase of 5.59%.   

Examples of potential cuts that City staff lists for Council includes $50,000 for the Individual Artist Grant program, a reduction in library operations of three hours per week ($33,000), community gardens ($50,000), and the city’s public art program ($89,000).

On the Municipal Operations side, Staff list savings of $97,000 for cuts to operations of the Centennial Fountain, a reduction of transit operations on statutory holidays which could save $190,000 per year, and the possibility of increasing transit fares in order to create $100,000 in revenue.

Staff also included a number of staffing needs which are not included in the draft budget. Among the requests is for an Intake and Referral Worker within the City’s Social Services department. The report notes the rising caseloads in Ontario Works, the hiring of additional staff would allow for the easing of case management levels and would have a net tax levy impact of $75,496 in 2024. 

Additionally, Staff noted the need for four full time transit operators. These positions are above the transit enhancements that are already included in the Draft Budget. In a September Report,  Staff noted the request of the Peterborough Transit Liaison Committee for an additional four drivers in addition to the four driver positions and two supervisory staff recommended by Staff. 

These additions, the report notes, would allow for extended service hours and an increase in bus frequency.

The public will have opportunities to have their voices heard on the Draft Budget on November 9th at 6:00 and November 14th at 4:45 during drop-in meetings where City Staff will be available to speak to specific aspects of the Draft Budget. 

The Finance Committee will reconvene on November 14th to hear public delegations and November 15th to  hear delegations from agencies before deliberating over the final form of the budget during the evenings of November 20th-23rd.

If all goes according to plan, and Mayor Jeff Leal doesn’t invoke his veto powers under his new Strong Mayor Powers, then the Budget will be adopted by Council on December 11th.