City urged to fund downtown cleanup
One City Peterborough employed homeless, marginalized people to clean the streets
A pilot program that paid homeless and marginalized people to clean the downtown streets last summer could resume and expand this year if city council is willing to help pay.
The One City Peterborough program operated from July 1 to Sept. 30; over that time, 13 people were paid to clean the downtown streets.
But there could be as many as 48 people hired this year, Warming Room director Christian Harvey said at a public budget meeting on Wednesday — provided council is willing to help pay.
The 2018 pilot project was funded by the Downtown Business Improvement Area, Harvey said, and operated in partnership with Warming Room Community Ministries.
On Wednesday, Harvey was asking the city to pay $98,000 in 2019 toward the total cost of $168,000 for a renewed One City program. The DBIA would contribute $55,000 toward the project this year, he said, and organizers will fundraise.
The DBIA had paid the full cost of the pilot project in 2018, Harvey said — $25,000.
The meeting at City Hall on Wednesday was held to allow people to speak to councillors about what they’d like to see funded in the 2019 city budget.
Councillors didn’t debate or make motions on Wednesday; the idea was to hear from the public about any projects they’d like to see added or deleted from the 2019 budget.
Starting on Monday, councillors will spend four evenings debating a draft municipal budget for 2019 that calls for a 2.5 per cent budget increase.
Harvey was one of 20 people to make presentations Wednesday.
Various requests were made, although in several cases people were asking for money to help combat homelessness.
Geri Blinick of A Way Home Peterborough — a network of community agencies and citizens who want to fight youth homelessness — asked council to create a $2 million fund to keep people housed, for instance.
The money could be invested in areas such as homelessness prevention programs and rent supplements, she said.
Joanne Bazak-Brokking, an advocate for the marginalized, also asked council to fund more housing solutions.
Other people asked council on Wednesday to consider funding projects to curb climate change.
For example, members of the group For Our Grandchildren asked council to consider charging what they call a Climate Emergency Fee of $32 per household to fund carbon-reduction projects.
It would raise about $1.3 million annually, said Trish Campbell of For Our Grandchildren.
Al Slavin, also of For Our Grandchildren, told councillors that a UN report says carbon emissions must be reduced by 45 per cent in 11 years or else there will be “runaway climate change” that will make the planet uninhabitable for humans.
“We are in a crisis,” Slavin said. “A climate crisis is already with us.”
Councillors will sit down to municipal budget talks at City Hall every evening next week, starting on Monday.