Council overview package for April 28, 2025

Peterborough, ON - City Council approved the following items during its meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 500 George St. N., on Monday, April 28, 2025:

• An information report on the City of Peterborough's investment activity in 2024;
• A review of Council compensation with recommendations for Council compensation for the 2026-2030 Council term;
• A report on the City's procurement policy and response to the Canada-US trade situation;
• Various recommendations related to housing construction in the City based on recommendations from the Mayor's Housing Task Force for Housing Creation;
• Proceeding with an option for updating building height restrictions and angular plane requirements through an Official Plan amendment, which will be considered by Council;
• Deferring consideration of a new framework that would transition the City's Community Project Grants, Community Investment Grants, and Arts Investment Fund programs into a new Community Wellbeing Fund;
• That staff be directed to proceed as outlined in closed session report of the City Solicitor respecting the Canadian Canoe Museum, Monaghan/Romaine site;
• That staff be directed to proceed as outlined in closed session report of the Commissioner of Infrastructure, Planning and Growth Management and the City Solicitor with respect to Ontario Land Tribunal Case OLT-25-00051, the Batten-White subdivision at 1225, 1261 and 1289 Parkhill Road West; and
• A notice of motion that Council direct staff to provide an update to Council on the Peterborough Public Library 2025 Budget changes and staffing restructuring.

Council agenda

The meeting is livestreamed at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil. Agendas and recordings of meetings are posted at peterborough.ca/agendas.

Before the public portion of the meeting, Council held a closed session starting at 4:30 p.m. to consider two items as permitted under the Municipal Act:

• Section 239(2)(k) a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board - Contract Negotiations
• Section 239 (2)(d) labour relations or employee negotiations - Labour Relations 

2024 investment activity report

Council approved an information report on the City of Peterborough's investment activity in 2024.

In 2024, the City earned $4.64 million in investment income on investments held in the Legacy Fund, compared to $1.5 million it had budgeted. As of December 31, 2024, the City has $67,292,622 held in the Legacy Fund. The effective overall rate of return on the Legacy Fund for 2024 was 6.86%, compared to 3.51% in 2023.

In 2024 the City earned $2.60 million in investment income on General Investments, compared to the $2.78 million it had budgeted. During 2024 the average cash and investment balance was $122.12 million, compared to $157.31 million in 2023.

Overall, the City earned more investment income in 2024 than in 2023 and more than was budgeted for in 2024, primarily due to the equity fund returns from the ONE Fund investments. The General Investments earned less than usual, due to lower than average cash balances throughout 2024 due to cash flow requirements impacted the amount available for investment resulting in lower interest earned for the year.

Council compensation review

Council approved direction for Council compensation for the 2026-2030 Council term.

Each Council term, there is a review of the Council compensation with any changes to take effect the following term.

For the 2026-2030 term of Council, Council endorsed a reset in terms of how Council base remuneration is determined. Using a comparator group of 15 municipalities that has previously been used for employment purposes. The comparator group suggests that current base remuneration for both the Mayor and individual Councillors are paid at the lower end of the spectrum with a percentile ranking of 7.1% / 14.2% respectively.

Council approved calculating the remuneration for Members of Council based on a percentile rank of the comparator group – staff suggest the 75% percentile rank.

Using the 75% percentile, base compensation in 2023 would have been $135,103 for the position of Mayor, and $50,234 for each Councillor. Adjusting the amounts from 2023 to 2026 using CUPE collective bargaining settlements as an indexing guide, places the Mayor’s base compensation at an estimated amount of $147,631 and for each Councillor $54,991.

For 2025, base remuneration for the Mayor is anticipated to be $92,373 plus $23,341 in estimated benefits. The Mayor also receives remuneration for sitting on certain local boards including the City of Peterborough Holdings Inc, and the Police Services Board.

For 2025, base remuneration for each Councillor is anticipated to be $36,185 plus estimated benefits of $10,728. Presently, members of Council do not receive remuneration for sitting on any local boards or committees.

The Council compensation review also includes recommendations that a vehicle/transportation allowance and reimbursement be provided to all members of Council for the 2026-2030 term of Council as follows:

• For the Mayor as head of Council a base allowance of $6,000
• A base allowance for each Councillor at 50% of the Mayor’s allowance - $3,000
• That Council travel expense claims for conferences and training include reimbursement for kilometres using the City's current posted mileage rate

US tariff response - procurement policy

Council approved a report on the City's procurement policy and response to the Canada-US trade situation.

The information report summarizes Peterborough’s response to date and recommend potential further actions that the City can take, including temporary amendments to the City’s Procurement Policy, in response to the tariffs levied by the United States Government on Canadian exports to the US as it impacts businesses and residents in the City as well as the Corporation of the City of Peterborough.

Approved directions include:

• That the weighting of the value of the Social Value Questionnaire on procurements through RFPs and RFSQs be increased from a minimum of 5% to 10% to give greater weight to factors such as local presence and local knowledge
• That staff be directed to pause all non-essential conferences and trips to the US until further notice
• That when formulating the City's Economic Development Strategy for 2025 and future years, staff be directed to apply a goal of increasing the resiliency of Peterborough's economy from the impact of external influences

A sustainability lens is embedded within the framework whereby all City Departments, in conjunction with the Materials Management Division, will seek to achieve the City’s strategic goals through each procurement, and wherever possible and economically feasible, include specifications which will assist the City to meet its goals. These efforts strengthen the local economy and support the City’s Economic Development initiatives.

To respond to the US tariff situation, Peterborough has existing tools at its disposal, including Social Procurement, to meet Council’s objectives. Consider the following:

For procurements of less than $10,000, staff are encouraged to use the City’s Vendor Registry first. There are currently over 70 vendors that are registered and they’ve been able to register as long as they comply with at least one of four criteria, which include:

• Local Business
• Diverse owned business
• Social Enterprise certified
• Their business or the products that they sell are certified sustainable

For procurements greater than $10,000 and less than $100,000, the City can use an invitational solicitation, where at least one supplier is to be considered local, social, or diverse owned company if they exist for the product or service being acquired.

Procurements greater than $100,000 in an Request For Proposal (RFP) or a Request For Supplier Qualification (RFSQ) are required to complete a Social Value Questionnaire and the evaluation is worth 5-25% of the final scoring.

Making determinations on whether a supplier is Canadian, or a non U.S. Supplier is often murky and can be subjective. To suggest an “avoid American” approach vs. a “buy Canadian” approach better aligns with current trade agreements requirements. Further, it is crucial to ensure that any strategy does not adversely affect the local market, as many American-owned companies operate in Canada as subsidiaries employing Canadians.

Throughout the ongoing tariff issue, the City of Peterborough Economic Development team has collaborated with all levels of government and industry organizations to help businesses navigate these changes and explore strategies for maintaining resilience by connecting them with resources to mitigate tariff impacts, explore trade agreements, and identify new global opportunities.

It is recommended that as the City embarks on its Economic Development Strategy for 2025 and future years, staff be directed to apply a goal of increasing the resilience of Peterborough's economy from the impact of external influences. The review will be taken in consultation with local business and stakeholders.

Mayor's Housing Task Force for Housing Creation implementation

Council approved proceeding with various recommendations related to housing construction in the City based on recommendations from the Mayor's Housing Task Force for Housing Creation.

On December 6, 2023, the City of Peterborough pledged to achieve construction of 4,700 new housing units in the City by 2031. As part of the Housing Pledge, the City identified 10 initiatives it will undertake to support the creation of new housing.

To build on these efforts, the Mayor established the Task Force for Housing Creation in January 2024 to bring together housing development professionals to help inform ways of encouraging and promoting the construction of 4,700 new housing units by 2031.

The initial seven recommendations were approved and came in to force effective December 9, 2024, with the remaining 8 recommendations pending a report back with options for implementation.

The report to General Committee on April 22, 2025 provides options for further actions toward implementation of recommendations from the Mayor's Task Force, including:

• Recommendation 2: Identify studies and drawings required for the development approval process within municipal discretion to impose and consider reducing their scope or eliminating, as appropriate
• Recommendation 3: Lapse Provisions for Development Approvals
• Recommendation 7: A report back to consider the recommendation to require sidewalks on one side of local streets in subdivisions
• Recommendation 9: Review engineering fees and the City’s Development Security Collection and Release Procedures;
• Recommendation 10: Permit two stage curbs in new development
• Recommendation 11: Expand Community Improvement Plan incentives to all Strategic Growth Areas, and convert incentives from refunds to waivers
• Recommendation 12: Financially incentivize multi-unit residential development projects

Council approved deferring a recommendation that staff review and report back on updates to the City's tree by-law to provide time for a tree inventory to be completed, as a result of the recent ice storm event.

Building height and angular plane requirements

Council approved an option for considering building height restrictions and angular plane requirements through expediting an Official Plan Amendment to remove building height restrictions and angular plane requirements without a respective implementing by-law (i.e., Zoning By-Law or Community Planning Permit By-Law). This option is intended to address the immediate concern that the Community Planning Permit By-law will not be in effect until next year (i.e., Spring 2026).

The City of Peterborough’s Official Plan and Urban Design Guidelines for the Central Area and Mixed-Use Corridors contain provisions for minimum and maximum building heights and angular planes.

Provisions for minimum and maximum building heights and angular planes are related to the overall goals and objectives of the Official Plan, including encouraging transit-supportive densities, compatible development and a high-quality built environment.

In February, Council passed a motion directing that staff provide an information report in April on options to remove building height restrictions and angular plane requirements in strategic growth areas.

2026 Community Wellbeing Fund

Council approved deferring a new framework that would transition the City's Community Project Grants, Community Investment Grants, and Arts Investment Fund programs into a new Community Wellbeing Fund.

Council endorsed deferring the item until feedback can be provided by the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and other relevant City advisory committees.

After further research and evaluation of the various funding streams, it is being recommended that City grants be consolidated in a Community Wellbeing Fund (CWF).

The CWF would include: Community Project Grants; Community Development Grants (previously Community Investment Grants); and Arts Investment Grants. The goal of consolidating the grants is to improve transparency, streamline budgeting, and facilitate better reporting on grant funds being provided to various sectors and organizations in the community.

The purpose of the CWF remains unchanged. It provides financial assistance to non-forprofit, community-based organizations and charities that provide direct programs, services, or activities that enhance the quality of life for Peterborough residents. This financial assistance builds capacity and resiliency across a variety of sectors including: social services and health, arts, culture, heritage, recreation, and the environment.

The Community Wellbeing Fund, including the three streams within the fund, are anticipated to have a budget of $250,035 in 2026.

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