Peterborough has a budget! Councillors gave it their final approval at the city council meeting on December 11, 2023. During the council meeting, councillors made a couple of last-minute changes to lower the tax increase  to 7%, including dipping ever further into the city's reserves and voting to raise transit fares by $0.25 per ride.Sebastian, Abbigale, and Will discuss what the implications of these decisions might be. Then, they reflect on the budget process as a whole.Thank you so much for listening to this podcast series. We can't wait for the 2025 budget!!MUSIC: Thanks to Will Ward for his piano improvisations.CREDITS: Hosted by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Abbigale Kernya, and Will PearsonPLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: This podcast was a labour of love. But we still have bills to pay. To help Peterborough Currents produce more in-depth and community-centred journalism, please support us with a monthly contribution. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/

<description>&lt;p&gt;Peterborough has a budget! Councillors gave it their final approval at the city council meeting on December 11, 2023. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;During the council meeting, councillors made a couple of last-minute changes to lower the tax increase  to 7%, including dipping ever further into the city's reserves and voting to raise transit fares by $0.25 per ride.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sebastian, Abbigale, and Will discuss what the implications of these decisions might be. Then, they reflect on the budget process as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you so much for listening to this podcast series. We can't wait for the 2025 budget!!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MUSIC: Thanks to Will Ward for his piano improvisations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CREDITS: Hosted by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Abbigale Kernya, and Will Pearson&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: This podcast was a labour of love. But we still have bills to pay. To help Peterborough Currents produce more in-depth and community-centred journalism, please support us with a monthly contribution. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

The final episode of Arthur Newspaper's and Peterborough Currents's special podcast series about the City of Peterborough's 2024 municipal budget deliberations.

2024 Budget Podcast Episode Five

Episode four of our series on the 2024 municipal budget, which we're producing in partnership with Arthur Newspaper. In this episode, we dive into the capital budget.We start this episode on Sherbrooke Street near the city's western limit, where there's stretch of road that is nasty to navigate as a pedestrian. Folks who walk along this part of Sherbrooke wish the city would build a sidewalk to make their commutes easier and safer.But it doesn't look like they'll get their sidewalk any time soon. That's because the city is struggling to keep up with its infrastructure costs and is prioritizing other road projects first. During November's budget talks, city councillors voted down a proposal to spend $1.8 million on a temporary sidewalk to help pedestrians out until the city pays for a more permanent fix.According to the city's budget documents, Peterborough faces a $70 million infrastructure shortfall every year. That's forcing councillors to make tough choices about which projects they fund and which ones they delay.In this episode of our 2024 Budget podcast series, Brett Throop and Will Pearson dive into the city's capital budget. We cover:<ul><li>The $70 million hole in Peterborough's capital budget</li><li>Major capital projects for 2024, including the new twin pad arena</li><li>Why councillors voted to kill Peterborough's traffic calming program</li><li>The sidewalk on Sherbrooke Street</li><li>Should we think of trees as capital assets?</li><li>And more!</li></ul>City council is expected to give its final approval to the 2024 budget on December 11. We'll have a final wrap-up episode of the podcast series after that. Thanks for listening!CREDITS: This episode was produced by Brett Throop. It was hosted by Brett and Will Pearson.MUSIC: Thanks to Will Ward for his piano improvisations, which were recorded at The John, the event space at Sadleir House.PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: It's not just the city that is budgeting for 2024. So are we. We're making big decisions for the coming year right now. Can we afford to hire new staff and produce more journalism? Or will we have to cut back and produce less? Everything is on the table. If you want us to continue producing in-depth, community-centred journalism next year, please support us if you are able. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/

<description>&lt;p&gt;Episode four of our series on the 2024 municipal budget, which we're producing in partnership with Arthur Newspaper. In this episode, we dive into the capital budget.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We start this episode on Sherbrooke Street near the city's western limit, where there's stretch of road that is nasty to navigate as a pedestrian. Folks who walk along this part of Sherbrooke wish the city would build a sidewalk to make their commutes easier and safer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But it doesn't look like they'll get their sidewalk any time soon. That's because the city is struggling to keep up with its infrastructure costs and is prioritizing other road projects first. During November's budget talks, city councillors voted down a proposal to spend $1.8 million on a temporary sidewalk to help pedestrians out until the city pays for a more permanent fix.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to the city's budget documents, Peterborough faces a $70 million infrastructure shortfall every year. That's forcing councillors to make tough choices about which projects they fund and which ones they delay.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode of our 2024 Budget podcast series, Brett Throop and Will Pearson dive into the city's capital budget. We cover:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The $70 million hole in Peterborough's capital budget&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Major capital projects for 2024, including the new twin pad arena&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why councillors voted to kill Peterborough's traffic calming program&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The sidewalk on Sherbrooke Street&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Should we think of trees as capital assets?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;And more!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;City council is expected to give its final approval to the 2024 budget on December 11. We'll have a final wrap-up episode of the podcast series after that. Thanks for listening!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CREDITS: This episode was produced by Brett Throop. It was hosted by Brett and Will Pearson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MUSIC: Thanks to Will Ward for his piano improvisations, which were recorded at The John, the event space at Sadleir House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: It's not just the city that is budgeting for 2024. So are we. We're making big decisions for the coming year right now. Can we afford to hire new staff and produce more journalism? Or will we have to cut back and produce less? Everything is on the table. If you want us to continue producing in-depth, community-centred journalism next year, please support us if you are able. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

A wide-ranging conversation on the City of Peterborough's 2024 capital budget. Episode 4 of our 2024 Budget podcast, produced in collaboration with Arthur Newspaper.

No sidewalks? Blame the city budget.

City councillors went through the 2024 draft budget page by page and line by line last week. By the end of the process, they'd whittled the proposed property tax  increase down from 9.59 percent to 7.38 percent. But they accomplished that by shifting some of the tax burden away from residential property owners and on to business property owners — they didn't make any major cuts to the 2024 spending proposed by city staff.The budget process reveals so much about the city and how it works. In this episode of our podcast series on the 2024 municipal budget, we're covering five stories that came up during councillors' budget deliberations.Why is the city's airport losing millions of dollars every year? Why are city staff taking a "calculated risk" with funding for social assistance medical benefits? Will bus riders see any transit improvements next year? Is the city's bureaucracy too "top-heavy"?And why are the City of Peterborough and Trent University still at loggerheads over the development of campus employment lands?In this episode, Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay and Will Pearson will answer these five questions and share what your city councillors had to say about them as well.PRODUCED AND HOSTED by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Abbigale Kernya, and Will PearsonMUSIC by Will WardTIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Intro 2:44 — Peterborough Transit 6:26 — Social Assistance Discretionary Benefits 11:12 — The Organizational Structure of the City 20:10 — Cleantech Commons 27:40 — The Peterborough Airport PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS We're a grassroots, audience-funded journalism outlet serving the people of Peterborough, Ontario. To help us produce more journalism, sign up as a supporter here: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/

<description>&lt;p&gt;City councillors went through the 2024 draft budget page by page and line by line last week. By the end of the process, they'd whittled the proposed property tax  increase down from 9.59 percent to 7.38 percent. But they accomplished that by shifting some of the tax burden away from residential property owners and on to business property owners — they didn't make any major cuts to the 2024 spending proposed by city staff.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The budget process reveals so much about the city and how it works. In this episode of our podcast series on the 2024 municipal budget, we're covering five stories that came up during councillors' budget deliberations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why is the city's airport losing millions of dollars every year? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why are city staff taking a "calculated risk" with funding for social assistance medical benefits? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Will bus riders see any transit improvements next year? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Is the city's bureaucracy too "top-heavy"?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And why are the City of Peterborough and Trent University still at loggerheads over the development of campus employment lands?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode, Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay and Will Pearson will answer these five questions and share what your city councillors had to say about them as well.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PRODUCED AND HOSTED by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Abbigale Kernya, and Will Pearson&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MUSIC by Will Ward&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;TIMESTAMPS:&lt;br /&gt;0:00 — Intro&lt;br /&gt;2:44 — Peterborough Transit&lt;br /&gt;6:26 — Social Assistance Discretionary Benefits&lt;br /&gt;11:12 — The Organizational Structure of the City&lt;br /&gt;20:10 — Cleantech Commons&lt;br /&gt;27:40 — The Peterborough Airport&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS&lt;br /&gt;We're a grassroots, audience-funded journalism outlet serving the people of Peterborough, Ontario. To help us produce more journalism, sign up as a supporter here: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Episode three of the Peterborough Currents and Arthur Newspaper podcast series diving into the City of Peterborough's budget process for 2024.

Five Stories From The 2024 Budget Talks

In this episode of our podcast series covering Peterborough's 2024 municipal budget deliberations, we discuss the November 14 and November 15 finance committee meetings, where citizens and community groups addressed city council about the draft budget.What happened? A variety of community groups pleaded with councillors to reverse a proposed cut to their municipal grants. The proposed 3.6% cut to community service grants would save the median household $0.67 on their tax bill next year. Meanwhile, Chief of Police Stuart Betts made the case for a 15.3% police budget increase that would cost the same household about $106 in additional taxes next year.EPISODE HOSTS: Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Will Pearson and Evan Robins.APPEARING ON THIS EPISODE: Will Pearson, Evan Robins, Leslie Menagh, Patricia Wilson, Tegan Moss, Andy Cragg, Tricia Clarkson, Su Ditta, Rob Hailman, Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Drew Merrett, Stuart Betts, Nicola Koyanagi, Camila Duarte, Keith Riel, Alex Bierk, Joy Lachica, Randy Mellow.MUSIC: Will WardPLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: We rely on audience funding to produce our journalism. If you value what we do, please contribute financially so we can continue serving the community this way. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/

<description>&lt;p&gt;In this episode of our podcast series covering Peterborough's 2024 municipal budget deliberations, we discuss the November 14 and November 15 finance committee meetings, where citizens and community groups addressed city council about the draft budget.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What happened? A variety of community groups pleaded with councillors to reverse a proposed cut to their municipal grants. The proposed 3.6% cut to community service grants would save the median household $0.67 on their tax bill next year. Meanwhile, Chief of Police Stuart Betts made the case for a 15.3% police budget increase that would cost the same household about $106 in additional taxes next year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;EPISODE HOSTS: Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Will Pearson and Evan Robins.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;APPEARING ON THIS EPISODE: Will Pearson, Evan Robins, Leslie Menagh, Patricia Wilson, Tegan Moss, Andy Cragg, Tricia Clarkson, Su Ditta, Rob Hailman, Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Drew Merrett, Stuart Betts, Nicola Koyanagi, Camila Duarte, Keith Riel, Alex Bierk, Joy Lachica, Randy Mellow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MUSIC: Will Ward&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: We rely on audience funding to produce our journalism. If you value what we do, please contribute financially so we can continue serving the community this way. Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/ &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Budget season continues at city hall. Peterborough Currents and Arthur Newspaper bring you coverage of the latest finance committee meetings.

2024 Budget Podcast: Episode Two

Peterborough city staff presented councillors with a draft of the 2024 municipal budget on November 6. The budget proposes hiking property taxes by 9.6 percent next year to continue delivering municipal services.What's behind the increase? Inflation is one cause. Another is a big budget ask from the Peterborough Police — they're asking for $4.6 million more in 2024 than they received in 2023.But the budget isn't set in stone. Councillors will debate it over the next month before  giving it final approval. Peterborough Currents has teamed up with Arthur Newspaper to bring you a podcast series covering the municipal budget deliberations. In this first episode of the series, we discuss our initial reactions to the draft budget and we also check in with Harry Kitchen, a retired Trent University economics professor with an interest in municipal finance.Kitchen argues that of all the taxes we pay in Canada, municipal property taxes offer the most bang for your buck. He says it’s the “lowest of all the taxes you pay, and you’re getting the most services for that tax.” We hope this podcast helps you understand this year's municipal budget process better. Got any questions? Send them our way and we'll try to answer them on future episodes.CREDITS: Written and produced by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay and Brett Throop. Hosted by Sebastian, Brett, and Will Pearson. Music by Jordan Cook.PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: Peterborough Currents relies on local community members to fund our work. To continue producing journalism in 2024, we need more support. Can you pitch in $15 per month? Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/

<description>&lt;p&gt;Peterborough city staff presented councillors with a draft of the 2024 municipal budget on November 6. The budget proposes hiking property taxes by 9.6 percent next year to continue delivering municipal services.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What's behind the increase? Inflation is one cause. Another is a big budget ask from the Peterborough Police — they're asking for $4.6 million more in 2024 than they received in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But the budget isn't set in stone. Councillors will debate it over the next month before  giving it final approval. Peterborough Currents has teamed up with Arthur Newspaper to bring you a podcast series covering the municipal budget deliberations. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this first episode of the series, we discuss our initial reactions to the draft budget and we also check in with Harry Kitchen, a retired Trent University economics professor with an interest in municipal finance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kitchen argues that of all the taxes we pay in Canada, municipal property taxes offer the most bang for your buck. He says it’s the “lowest of all the taxes you pay, and you’re getting the most services for that tax.” &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We hope this podcast helps you understand this year's municipal budget process better. Got any questions? Send them our way and we'll try to answer them on future episodes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CREDITS: Written and produced by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay and Brett Throop. Hosted by Sebastian, Brett, and Will Pearson. Music by Jordan Cook.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PLEASE SUPPORT PETERBOROUGH CURRENTS: Peterborough Currents relies on local community members to fund our work. To continue producing journalism in 2024, we need more support. Can you pitch in $15 per month? Here's where you can sign up: https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us/&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Peterborough Currents teams up with Arthur Newspaper to bring you coverage of the 2024 municipal budget deliberations. In this episode: Why is Peterborough so strapped for cash, and what can be done about it?

It's City Budget Season!

We are Peterborough Currents — an independent journalism outlet serving the citizens of Peterborough, Ontario, with in-depth and community-centred news. We're paywall-free through the support of our audience. Want to chip in? Head to www.peterboroughcurrents.ca/support-us. Thanks for listening!

Peterborough Currents

Details

Recent Episodes