City of Peterborough Adopts 2026 Budget
/The City of Peterborough’s 2026 Budget was adopted during a City Council meeting Monday, setting a financial plan to maintain current service levels and continue investments in municipal infrastructure.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
To help reduce the property tax increase next year, Council supported using an additional $3 million from the Legacy Fund Income Retention reserve account, a reserve fund that holds revenue or interest earned on investments made using the proceeds of the sale of assets of Peterborough Distribution Inc. Council has identified the Legacy Fund Income reserve as a way to reduce the tax increase and recommended several other changes during its budget deliberation meetings in November. The $3 million injection reduced the tax requirement in the 2026 Budget by 1.32 per cent.
The City’s 2026 Budget reflects an operating budget increase of 2.11 per cent, a 2.16 per cent increase for infrastructure and capital needs, a 0.53 per cent increase in the sanitary sewer fee and a 1.76 per cent increase related to external agencies that the City funds.
The 6.56 per cent all-inclusive rate increase, including the municipal, education, and sanitary sewer surcharge rates, amounts to about $28.31 per month for the median residential property.
“Thanks to all residents who called, emailed and spoke to City Council to provide their perspectives on the budget,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. “Everyone’s input is incredibly helpful to meet our service requirements and ensure that our capital investment is sufficient to repair, rebuild and renew Peterborough’s capital infrastructure.”
The 2026 Budget includes $453.9 million in municipal services spending and $139.2 million in capital investments. The $453.9 million is funded by $255.5 million in revenue from non-municipal property tax sources, including user fees, grants from other governments, recoveries, interest on investments and service charges, resulting in a tax requirement of $198.4 million.
Capital projects include the police station renovation and expansion, the Lansdowne Street West between Spillsbury Drive and Clonsilla Avenue, the Wastewater Treatment Plant revitalization, the extension of a taxiway at the Peterborough Regional Airport, road paving, the purchase of transit buses and water service distribution infrastructure.
A breakdown of the municipal tax dollars:
25.9 per cent - outside/external organizations, such as police, paramedics, and public health
23.9 per cent - Community Services, such as social services, housing, fire services, parks, cultural services, the library, the museum and the art gallery
18.2 per cent - Municipal Operations, such as public works, winter control, transit and the airport
16.5 per cent - financial services, which includes financing costs for major infrastructure projects
6.1 per cent - Finance and Corporate Support Services, which includes the City’s finance administration, emergency management, communications and facilities management
5.4 per cent - Infrastructure, Planning and Growth Management, which includes services such as engineering, managing major infrastructure projects, processing planning and building permit applications, physician recruitment and economic development
2.2 per cent - Legislative Services, such as the Clerk’s Office, legal services, real estate transactions, the Provincial Offences Act office and by-law enforcement
1.4 per cent - Chief Administrative Officer’s office, which includes the City’s People and Culture Division
0.4 per cent - City Council
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
On Nov. 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
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 Jan. 1 to Dec. 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
Increasing funding for the Peterborough Public Library collections acquisition by an additional $32,000 funded from the Library Materials Acquisition Reserve
