While the September 22nd meeting of Peterborough City Council saw most items passed on consent, one agenda item continued to be a point of contention despite its ratification Monday night. Amid recent encampment evictions comes a report from city staff regarding the cost of previous eviction actions in May of this year which does little to illustrate the true financial scope of the City of Peterborough’s enforcement of its Parks and Facilities By-law. 

Expenses for the City’s enforcement strategy for evicting encampments during the week of May 27th—including staffing across various city departments—were relegated to a small section of an unaudited financial report from June 30th, 2025.

The original motion from June 9th directed city staff to provide “a comprehensive breakdown of all costs associated with the enforcement strategy…including but not limited to staff time, temporary shelter at the Morrow Building, Public Works, By-law Enforcement, and any other related expenses.”

The relevant section in the report details that staffing for the Morrow building and staff overtime across multiple departments totaled out to approximately $7,907. A subsequent graph showing that in the activity of a $1-million contingency fund—budgeted for the 2025 fiscal year for unforeseen expenditures between city budgets—$125,600 was used in “other potential commitments.” 

The “potential commitment” line in this contingency fund combines legal fees related to the appeal of development charges and operating expenses for the temporary shelter on Carnegie Avenue.

Despite this unclear line, Finance and Corporate Support Services Commissioner Richard Freymond indeed confirmed at a general committee meeting last week that the overall operating cost of the Carnegie shelter was around $75,600 of that $125,600. The temporary shelter is only expected to be operational for up to 90 days. 

A week later, staff and council still fielded concerns about the “buried” information in this report. As the only delegate of the night, resident Gavin Muir, was critical of what he perceived as a lack of fidiucary care in council’s acceptance of the report as is.

“If anyone came back to their manager with that type of response to a clear directive to provide comprehensive details, there would be a reprimand and they'd be sent back to complete the task, if they were lucky,” Muir told council.

Muir then deferred to how a previous delegation regarding the approval of a $25 million budget update to Peterborough Police Services renovations called the move “reckless” without requiring concrete and costed details.

“It's equally but fiscally irresponsible, however, and equally a breach of the fiduciary duty owed to the taxpayers of the city to each and every one of them not to know and understand the costs associated with these enforcement activities,” Muir said. 

“It has been made all the worse considering the council directed that the information be produced, and is indifferent to the fact it’s passing this,” he continued. “I'm wondering what that's going to cost me, what that's going to cost my fellow taxpayers.” 

Muir stressed how city staff’s response to council’s questions on the enforcement costs the week prior were a “master class in evasion,” especially in respect to the claim that staff doesn’t have access to certain information despite their role in planning enforcement actions and procuring resources for those evictions. 

“As taxpayers, we're entitled to know the cost and effectiveness of these enforcement strategies,” Muir stressed. “It's council's fiduciary responsibility to ensure that we do.”

When asked by Ashburnham Ward Councillor Keith Riel about the usual accounting practices from a “business background,” Muir suggested that the undertaking of enforcement actions should have documentation made available to the public.

“...I would think that before we undertake massive operations such as these enforcement activities, normally you do a cost-benefit analysis before you start,” he replied to council. “I would expect that's what I would do as a business person.”

After Muir’s delegation, all items save for the unaudited financial report were ratified unanimously on consent, including a staff report with the timeline for a delayed youth transit pass program.

As for the unaudited financial report, council had no further discussion on its presented enforcement costs, but Town Ward Councillor Alex Bierk pulled the financial report to ask city staff about a transfer made under the delegated authority of City Treasurer Richard Freymond. 

A chart in the report details how Freymond approved a transfer of $17,000 for further upgrades to the Doris and Sutherland meeting room not identified in the project’s initial scope.

Councillor Bierk sought clarification for these costs, as he observed that little changes were made to both rooms, and asked staff for a costed breakdown of the upgrades. 

“The only visible changes that appear to me from these upgrades have been a fresh coat of paint, and the old curtains in the Sutherland room have been replaced with blinds,” Bierk told city staff.

“The tables and chairs remain the same. So the other thing is, there's no updated technology. There's no key FOB access to the southern room, and I know this because we have to use that room.”

Commissioner Freymond was quick in his reply. 

“I don't believe all the updates have actually happened yet, because I think furniture is on the list,” Freymond said. “I don't have those details in front of me, but I can certainly return to the email and give Council a list of all the upgrades.”

After that brief discussion, council approved the financial report 9-2, with Town Ward councillors Joy Lachica and Alex Bierk voting against. 

Shortly after the report’s passage, councillor Bierk attempted to speak to the enforcement cost portions of said financial report, only to be abruptly stopped by Mayor Jeff Leal.

According to Leal and city clerks, Bierk was speaking to the wrong agenda item: a motion not recommended from last week’s general committee directing staff to create a costed proposal with the land’s potential sale revenue to sever all excess lands not required for the secondary police station at 1421 Lansdowne St. West. 

After this procedural brouhaha, council voted unanimously to approve a slew of prioritized heritage designations. These were just a few of the locations on the City’s Heritage Register identified by the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee which require full heritage designation due to changes to the Heritage Act. 

Council voted to approve by-laws to the Bell Building at 183 Hunter St. West, the Stevenson Hall at 216 Simcoe St, St. Andrew’s Church at 441 Rubidge St. and the Stothart Farmhouse at 1290 Hilliard St. as designated heritage locations.