Council to debate tax starting point

The city’s 2017 budget may impose a tax hike of three per cent.

Although next year’s budget won’t be hammered out until November, councillors are expected to take a first step toward setting their 2017 budget guidelines on Monday.

At a budget meeting, councillors will debate whether to ask city staff to prepare 2017 budget documents with a three per cent tax increase in mind.

That’s the increase suggested by city treasurer Sandra Clancy. But if councillors say yes, it’s not their final answer: They’ll have to ratify that decision at a forthcoming council meeting.

Meanwhile, they’ll also have ample chance to ask for changes to the budget when they deliberate in November.

For an average taxpayer with a house assessed at $233,500, a three per cent tax increase would add about $112 to the tax bill, the report states.

It would be expected to raise an extra $4.1 million for the city.

Of that three per cent tax increase, two per cent would be for operating costs and the typical construction projects the city undertakes every year.

The additional one per cent could help fund three key construction projects: the twin-pad arena at Trent University, the relocation of the public works yard and the urban park over the Louis St. parking lot.

For 2016, council tacked an extra half per cent tax increase onto its budget in order to get started on those three projects.

That decision came with strings attached: Council said a year ago that it was prepared to consider a tax increase of one per cent, in 2017, just to ensure these three projects don’t stall.

Council didn’t pre-commit to that extra one per cent increase for 2017, though - it’s still debatable, at budget time.

But if councillors say yes, it’s expected to allow the three projects to be completed.

Meanwhile, there are other factors that could end up changing the 2017 budget.

Council is considering selling the city-owned utility, Peterborough Distribution Inc (PDI) to Hydro One.

If that happens, it would earn the city between $40 million and $50 million-money the city could re-invest. Clancy writes that she will have a separate report on that, soon.

A casino is also expected to be built soon in Peterborough - but that’s not necessarily going to have any impact on the 2017 budget.

It’s expected to be built and open sometime late in 2018, so that means no property taxes will be collected until then.

And although Clancy writes that it could cost $5 million to realign roads to accommodate the casino, cost-sharing arrangements would be worked out with the private operator that is building the facility.

Clancy’s report also states that the casino would generate $900,000 in development fees for the city.

Councillors’ budget meeting is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. at City Hall, just before their committee of the whole meeting.

Don’t forget to check The Examiner’s website for livestreaming, live-blogging and tweets from the meeting.