Peterborough City Council met on the evening of May 31st to discuss the preliminary 2024 budget and open the floor to delegations.

City treasurer Richard Freymond began the meeting with a short presentation outlining the proposed budget. Importantly, council members were not tasked with making a final decision in regards to the budget, but simply to listen to Freymond and public delegations and later reconvene on November 6th to discuss the budget further, in preparation for December 11th, where they will bring forth the final 2024 budget. 

Freymond presented the results of an online budget survey open from March 28–April 21, 2023, offering an opportunity for the residents of Peterborough to engage with the budget process. There were 415 results overall, an increase from 274 last year. In order, the outcome showed the issues participants most valued: affordable housing, social services, sewer management, first responders, environment protection, and support for green projects.

“Here in Peterborough we take a different approach,” said Freymond, emphasizing how important it is that Peterborough open discussions to the general public, rather than imposing a budget with no input from residents. 

Ongoing pressures for the 2024 budget include the 2023 police staff increase—already receiving the most municipal funding of any service—and would cost just over two million dollars (not including any 2024 budget enhancements), $941,000 for public transportation (though given current ongoing debates, the number is subject to change), rising insurance costs of $50,000, fuel costs at $420,000, and Peterborough County-City Paramedic (PCCP) and Peterborough Public Health (PPH) in the best case scenario resting at $685,000, general inflation of $600,000, staff net compensation at $2,599,500, and the contingency budget of $350,000.

The staffing increase by Peterborough Police is the largest contributor to the all-inclusive rate and raises it beyond what is reasonably manageable for the 2024 year. Freymond’s report called for the Police Service Board to review the five-year staffing plan and encouraged them to defer their hiring increase in order to greatly ease pressure on an already maxed-out budget. 

To meet the estimated 2024 general operating budget, Freymond proposed an all-inclusive 4.8% tax increase. 

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Community member, Rob Hailman, spoke during delegations about the ongoing housing crisis in Peterborough, citing a rise in rent from 2008 to the absurd increase in the cost of living seen in the past few years. 

“Sometimes it feels like there are two cities in Peterborough, our council lives in one and I live in the other,” said Hailman.

Hailman told council that a one-bedroom apartment on Hunter Street he rented in 2008 cost $525/month, and now goes for $1,300. To rent the average two-bedroom apartment in Peterborough, two people would have to work full time at $26.25/hour in order to afford the rising cost of living, said Hailman, citing a $2,800/month two-bedroom unit as an example of the extremities renters face in Peterborough.

 “Again there are two cities: people who have wealth and security of home ownership, and those who across almost the entire income spectrum, face constant and worsening insecurity in their homes,” said Hailman.

As reported in the budget survey, housing/accommodations was the number one cause for concern among Peterboroughans.

 “The priorities that came back from the budget are not the same priorities you hear from the people you speak to,” Hailman said, quoting Mayor Jeff Leal’s trouble with the budget presentation not representing the overall concerns of residents. 

“Budgets reflect our value, what are the priorities we want to reflect in our budget?” Hailman asked before telling council that Peterborough has an opportunity to be “a leader in housing” when deliberating on the 2024 budget.

Sue Ditta, the Executive Director of The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) also made an appearance as a delegation, outlining the importance of City Council’s continuous support to Peterborough’s arts community in the proposed budget. On the list of important issues in the budget survey, arts, culture, and heritage was ranked number nine out of thirteen.

City Councillor Joy Lachica asked Ditta what the economic impact of not sustaining the arts downtown would be. Ditta replied, “You have to sustain the funding just like a hospital or university or anything else that provides a crucial public service. You really jeopardize not just the individual organization, but the whole infrastructure that holds the downtown together…it has an impact on every imaginable level.” 

City Council will reconvene on June 19th to approve the recommendations outlined in the delegations, both of which passed unanimously with Councillor Alex Bierk absent.