Special Council Meeting - Budget

11:27Alright, good morning everybody. How's everyone? Go Jays. That's good, eh? Alright.

11:38I call the meeting to order for the special city council budget meeting,

11:42sort of presentation day in front of us here and right off the top we are looking to go into a closed

11:48session. It's only under the two items titled Mayor Draft 2026 budget update with a closed memo

11:58and the second is the organizational structure review, a phased approach.

12:03The first is section 239, 2B and D of the Municipal Act regarding personal matters about

12:08non-identifiable individuals including municipal or local board employees and labor relations

12:12or employee negotiations and the second is section 239, 2B and D of the Municipal Act regarding

12:20personal matters about non-identifiable individuals including municipal or local board employees

12:24and labor relations or employee negotiations, the same. Before I call the vote is there any

12:31disclosure, pecuniary interest or any general nature thereof for the items we're considering to go

12:35into closed on? Hearing and seeing none. I will call the vote on that after I get someone to move

12:43in second if you don't mind. Richardson and Gibson, thank you and I'll call the vote is anyone

12:50against that? Nobody that's unanimous so we will move into a closed session for a bit

12:57and just so everyone knows Councillor Boussatil is going to be trying to join us very shortly.

13:03Okay. With no other regrets I'm aware of so thank you very much. We'll be back when we're done.

1:32:19All right everybody I'd like to call the open session meeting to order. We did have a closed

1:32:24session that we went into discuss under two topics, Mayor's Draft 2026 budget update.

1:32:31There as a summary there was no direction given on any of those items at all and on the second

1:32:38one organizational structure review a phased approach again there was just receiving of

1:32:42information no direction was given at all so that's the highlights and summary of those two

1:32:49in-camera discussions and with that if we could stand please if you're able so that we can recognize

1:32:55our national anthem thank you. Thank you as we continue just a moment of silent reflection.

1:34:36Thank you and our territorial acknowledgement as we gather let us take time to reflect on our

1:34:41privilege to live and work here in Guelph a city built over rich indigenous histories

1:34:46we're guests here and should reflect upon the responsibility to care for this land

1:34:50and the people who live here today and the generations to come. If our actions today can

1:34:55move us towards reconciliation we should take pause and make those decisions with intention

1:34:59and gratitude. This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for

1:35:04many peoples over time but more specifically the Anahuanarok and the Honolenshoni and this land

1:35:10is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

1:35:15Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Holloman track as part of a long established traditional

1:35:19hunting grounds for the six nations of the Grand River. Many First Nations Inuit and Metis people

1:35:24who have come from a cross-turtle island call Guelph home today and with that is ready disclosure

1:35:32of pecuniary interest any general nature thereof seeing and hearing none. Today is basically its

1:35:43presentation day in regards to the draft budget we're going to be wading our way through a lot

1:35:52of departments and a lot of different staff coming up and presenting and so we look forward to that.

1:35:58I thought I would just quickly just do some opening remarks in regards to what's in front of us today.

1:36:05So for those that might be watching online or maybe listening later or for our media partners

1:36:12in earlier this year being the mayor's budget I had to give direction to staff in regards to what

1:36:20to work on and that direction at that time indicated that I would like to see three options.

1:36:29The first was what would it what would this look like if we had a 2.5 percent budget?

1:36:37What would it look like at 3.5 percent? And what would it look like if we sort of stuck with the

1:36:42status quo at the 4.5ish sort of range of what was originally proposed? So over several months I

1:36:50just want to stop right now and give a huge thank you to staff. It's a ton of work. It's a lot of

1:36:58work. People do not see what I see and I just wanted to say that our staff did a lot of heavy

1:37:04lifting on this issue and for several months they did come to me with options of that 2.5,

1:37:113.5 sort of leaving everything as a status quo and I'm just going to be upfront with everybody

1:37:17that the 2.5 options would have really really stung. They would have really hurt our community in my

1:37:28view. They were a lot of cuts. A lot of service delivery would stop in certain areas.

1:37:40I believe that it was going to put some risk on our community from a financial lens,

1:37:49asset repairs, moving the city forward in different areas, housing, infrastructure and so on.

1:37:56They would not have been good for our community so I'll just put it to be stated, stating that up

1:38:01front. So when we moved through other options, I should say where I landed on a presentation

1:38:14of the draft budget sitting at around 3.17% and just up front that did not include the hospital

1:38:22levy. We're in our last year of the hospital levy so I'm sorry I'm going by memory but I think it's

1:38:27.21 am I right? Yes thank you. Seeing nods. So the hospital levy is separate from that.

1:38:35There has already been changes from that date and time so the draft was a date and time as of

1:38:42September the 24th. So there's three items that have actually already been added back into the

1:38:51budget. So everyone is aware transparently. So $300,000 for the bicentennial. $60,000 is

1:39:01going to be earmarked for potential termite control and about $40,000 in the addition of

1:39:10another seniors ride transit free day. We'd sobble to 16% increase year over year on that and

1:39:21the Guelph-Valentine Seniors Association has asked that it's been a pretty successful pilot

1:39:28and to see about expanding that for our seniors in the community for an extra day. So those three

1:39:32things are actually already in. I just thought I would just mention that out loud. And then the

1:39:38final thing I would just say is very important that this is what is under our direct control.

1:39:47Approximately 35% of the budget impacts are going to be outside of our direct control and that is

1:39:55because they are our outside boards and social services. Release, library, Grand River Conservation

1:40:03Authority, Elliott Long-Term Care Home, Public Health, Social Services from the county and the

1:40:12downtown Guelph Business Association. I don't think I'm forgetting anything. I think those are those

1:40:17seven and they will be coming separately from our budget of operating in capital that we are doing

1:40:25and they come separately. They are decoupled and they come separately and they in a way they slide

1:40:32the invoice across the table to us for their independent budgets because they are separate

1:40:38entities from the city. So make no bones about it. When you add in the projected look at what those

1:40:49outside boards and services are, I would not be surprised if we are staring and the community

1:40:55is staring at a potential maybe 6% increase. And I say that to set the stage today that coming back

1:41:03to what is under our control. I would prefer that we really do take a hard look at affordability

1:41:12yet balancing that affordability with value. I think there's a huge role of value of what we

1:41:16provide to our city as well as we move forward and hopefully that has been portrayed to our

1:41:23outside boards and local services as well and we can go from there. My budget will be signed off

1:41:33between November 10 and 13 but I will be blunt. I am aiming for November 10. So if everyone can

1:41:40kind of talk to me before then on things that they might want to see deleted or added and that goes

1:41:46for the community at large, please reach out. This is your opportunity to sort of see where we are

1:41:52at and what is in and what is out. And then after November 10 and 13 range, I will sign off on that

1:41:58and then it will become part of our discussions moving forward for amendment night as that comes

1:42:03forward for council to again delete or add on the budget that is under our control. Finally,

1:42:10and this might be brought home later on by our CAO but I do have a virtual town hall that will be

1:42:18tomorrow night at 6.30 on the mayor, Cam Guthrie Facebook page. All right, so hopefully people

1:42:26can join on that. Thank you. That was all off the cuff trying to remember all the numbers but

1:42:33I appreciate again what staff have done and we will just go through everything. I'm sure I'll

1:42:40have some closing remarks too and so Tara Baker, CAO is going to kick us off. Thank you for the

1:42:46opportunity to set the stage. Okay, great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good morning, members of council

1:42:54and everyone in the audience today. Before I get started, I did want to really extend a huge thank

1:43:02you to everyone here, all of our staff, the executive team, the finance team, corporate strategy

1:43:10or strategy team and all the general managers in the back. This is a team effort. It doesn't

1:43:17get here without a significant amount of time and energy and thought and so

1:43:25I'm going to kick off the presentation today. The mayor said a lot of what I was actually going to

1:43:30talk about so maybe I'll just skim through pretty quickly but no, that's okay. It'll speed up my

1:43:38intro here a little bit. So like was said, the public material was released on the website and

1:43:48the dashboard on October 16th and we do continue to work with the mayor on the changes that may be

1:43:56put into the final product that will go live that week of the 13th of November. This is the second

1:44:06budget confirmation year in our 2024 to 2027 multi-year cycle. Like the 2025 confirmation,

1:44:13there continues to be significant change which the team will walk you through this morning.

1:44:23Wrong button. There we go. Okay. So I'm not going to spend much time here but just really

1:44:30reemphasizing that this is about the city services budget today and the seven local boards and shared

1:44:39services agencies are listed on the right side of your screen and those budgets will follow later

1:44:45in December. Before we get into the details of the budget update, also just taking a moment,

1:44:56Mr. Ehrmeyer has already spoke to the first bullet on this slide but I did just want to add

1:45:03that there is on the website a staff's direct response to the mayoral direction that actually

1:45:09walks through and talks about the pieces that were in the for additional reductions that got to the

1:45:172.5% that were not received and so you can you can go there and also read through that material.

1:45:25We were also directed to review the non-tax supported budgets to find a way to reduce the

1:45:30impact of the increases on residents and businesses where possible and then and so those are also in

1:45:36that memo and then also we use the same prioritization criteria as in 2025 to evaluate all

1:45:42investments and disinvestments. This direction informed the preparation of the budget update

1:45:47before you today and this year staff have like I said that formal response is on the website.

1:46:00So as mentioned the 2026 budget update includes significantly more change than we would have

1:46:05expected in a typical budget confirmation year. Change in the in a confirmation year are generally

1:46:10driven by three factors new or changing legislation, new or changed council direction and then changing

1:46:18economic or political conditions and all three of those drivers have been very true looking into

1:46:2526 and so through this year's budget update process staff have reviewed and updated base

1:46:30budget inflationary pressures for the changes that occurred since the 2026 forecast was developed.

1:46:36We've reviewed all operating impacts from capital to identify savings opportunities and

1:46:41refine estimates. We've reviewed the growth and service enhancement investments included in the

1:46:46forecast and in accordance with the budget prioritization criteria. We've developed and

1:46:52presented the mayor with the options for consideration to reduce the tax levy and then updated our

1:46:58development charge collection assumptions and made corresponding updates to the capital budget

1:47:03and the debt strategy to maintain our fully funded capital budget and forecast. So municipal

1:47:13governments including Guelph are navigating increasingly complex changes and challenges

1:47:19including housing affordability, social issues, rising tariffs and economic uncertainty stemming

1:47:24from global trade dynamics. Without a more modern provincial municipal framework these pressures

1:47:30are getting worse. On top of this frequent legislative changes have also shifted more of the

1:47:35financial responsibility for growth enabling infrastructure onto our property taxpayers.

1:47:41All of this continues to strain the city's ability to deliver services and invest in

1:47:46infrastructure in a fiscally sustainable way. While the high inflation of 2021 into 23 seems

1:47:53long ago the city's budget is still catching up with its impacts through the renewal of

1:47:58multi-year collective bargaining agreements and tariff driven cost escalations for automotive

1:48:04parts. Maintaining and enhancing essential services that residents and businesses rely on

1:48:10while striving for affordability requires difficult decisions such as deferring capital

1:48:15investment, extending the service life of existing assets and proposing service level reductions.

1:48:20While these conversations were difficult this ongoing fiscal balancing act reflects the city's

1:48:26commitment to meeting community needs while safeguarding our long-term financial sustainability.

1:48:35So this budget has three key themes that I'm going to talk about before we get into the details.

1:48:40So first this budget includes a significant new investment in value for our community. While the

1:48:47primary focus of the budget update has been focused on affordability it also includes meaningful new

1:48:54investments that we and we can't do everything but we're still doing a lot and we'll get into what

1:48:59those are but I just really wanted to highlight that that there are new new exciting value in

1:49:05this budget for the community. The budget update also responds to slower growth. We are all aware

1:49:11that development is slowed across the province and in response to the current economic conditions

1:49:15for building. Slower growth has a pervasive impact on our business and in this budget through lower

1:49:22revenue assumptions for development charges and building permit fees, lower utility hookup growth

1:49:28and lower assessment growth. There are also substantial base budget changes in the update

1:49:33including compensation adjustments to address lagging inflationary pressures as well as impacts of

1:49:40changes to WSIB legislation for emergency services folks which have contributed to negative

1:49:46variances over the past couple years. Tariffs have also put pressure on the cost of fleet parts

1:49:51and at the same time we've outgrown our facilities which means we are outsourcing more fleet

1:49:56maintenance work than in the past. On a more positive note we have projected savings from

1:50:02the elimination of the carbon tax and staff have also identified opportunities for service

1:50:07delivery optimization administrative savings including insurance and mobility phone mobility contracts.

1:50:15With those key themes in mind I'll now hand it over to Jody Sales to further walk us through the

1:50:22key opportunities and risks that we've identified in this budget and also the impacts and how they're

1:50:27linked to our strategic plan. Thank you. As you can see on the slide there are some key risks and

1:50:39opportunities in this budget. I'll start with the risks. We're working with a tighter budget due to

1:50:44years of service reductions, phase staffing and stricter financial planning. As a result we have

1:50:49less capacity to absorb in your impacts. We have low contingency reserve balances because we've used

1:50:55these reserves to phase in financial impacts over the multi-year budget period including five years

1:51:01of the hospital levy funding. At the same time tighter budgets and smaller surpluses have left

1:51:06us with fewer opportunities to replenish these reserves and a projected 2025 deficit has pushed

1:51:12them to an uncomfortably low level. This reduces the city's flexibility to manage new pressures.

1:51:17We've added a recommendation to the budget companion report to prioritize using surplus funds to

1:51:24rebuild contingency reserves and to explore including allocations to rebuild them in the next

1:51:29multi-year budget. There is also uncertainty about the timing of recovery of development

1:51:34activities and related revenues including assessment growth which we expect to be close to the budget

1:51:39amount in 2026 but may need to be reduced in 2027 and future years. We also face ongoing

1:51:46uncertainty in growth revenue due to frequent legislative change increasing complexity of

1:51:51managing development charges. A key change resulting from bill 17 is the delay in development

1:51:57charge collection for residential projects from building permit to occupancy. This means municipalities

1:52:03receive funds later reducing upfront capital for growth related infrastructure. Deferring capital

1:52:09repair work puts pressure on the operating budget by driving up maintenance costs for aging assets

1:52:14and global uncertainty including tariffs conflicts and shifting alliances is driving up our costs.

1:52:19In some cases limiting staff capacity to deliver municipal services. While these risks present

1:52:25real challenges there are also important opportunities in this budget. First our strategic and integrated

1:52:31approach to grant management has been very successful and we will continue this approach

1:52:35pursuing all opportunities offered by the federal and provincial governments. Our strategic advocacy

1:52:41framework has helped us focus our input to upper levels of government highlighting our key challenges

1:52:46and the high impact investments needed to support municipal services. And the development of our

1:52:51prioritization criteria and capital prioritization framework has been transformational in our ability

1:52:57to make data driven budget recommendations to Marin Council and we will continue to leverage it as we

1:53:02navigate through the uncertain environment we face. We're actively managing these risks and

1:53:08opportunities and will continue to report on them through the quarterly budget variance monitoring

1:53:12reports. But I want to take some time to speak about our prioritization criteria that helped us

1:53:17guide updates to the 2026 budget. The full criteria are outlined on the slide and remain the same as

1:53:232025 with the addition of the phased implementation of the equity lens added this year. Implementation

1:53:31of our future wealth strategic plan remain an important factor in determining priorities for

1:53:35the 2026 budget update. However as the city balances progress towards council's objectives with

1:53:41affordability pressures the pace of implementation in some areas has slowed. Similar to the 2025

1:53:47confirmed budget further prioritization of initiatives within the strategic plan occurred

1:53:52for the 2026 update and focus focus areas continue to be tied to housing affordability and infrastructure

1:53:58renewal. I'm going to walk you through the four key themes from the strategic plan highlighting how

1:54:03the budget update fits within each theme starting with the city building theme. This budget includes

1:54:11investments in policy and technology initiatives that support housing and infrastructure to help

1:54:16enable new housing starts including zoning bylaw amendments, community land use studies, and a

1:54:21special policy area review. An increase to the affordable housing reserve transfer, upgrade of

1:54:27the biosolids facility and the verney booster pumping station, and the reconstruction of

1:54:33windham street north which will support growth in the downtown. Implementation of the recreation and

1:54:39trails master plans remains slowed as part of capital prioritization but an increase in city

1:54:44investment for the community led city supported wealth to Goddard's trail enhancements has been added.

1:54:51The construction of Baker district redevelopment and the south end community center are on track

1:54:55and expected to open in late 2026. Advancing the objective of making it easier to get around this

1:55:01budget prioritizes transit system investments while slowing the cycling and active transportation

1:55:07programs of work. Transit investments for 2026 include route 98 speed rail enhancements beginning

1:55:13in September 2026, digitization of subsidy applications to streamline the affordable bus

1:55:19pass process, the permanent addition of seniors and youth ride free programs piloted in 2025,

1:55:26and the activation of digital signs approved through previous capital budgets.

1:55:31Under the environment theme the city continues to invest in climate adaptation and mitigation

1:55:36including major investment in the wealth transit and fleet services facility that is

1:55:40foundational to continued expansion and electrification of our transit fleet.

1:55:45We're also making new investments for climate change leadership.

1:55:48Investments in these areas have been offset by a reduction in capital funding dedicated to support

1:55:53other corporate energy projects. Investment in stormwater management focuses on the highest

1:55:58risk areas across the city to address aging water, sanitary and stormwater infrastructure

1:56:04and upsize water main and sanitary sewers to support growth. A special focus area is the

1:56:09exhibition park neighborhood for which work will begin in 2026. From the people and economy theme

1:56:18there are continued investments in emergency services to support the city meeting its response

1:56:22times with two additional paramedic shifts and the citywide implementation of the provincially

1:56:27mandated next generation 911 dispatch system. There's also continued progress towards the

1:56:32implementation of the downtown of structural renewal program with construction beginning on

1:56:36wind of street north and design work beginning on the macdonald street reconstruction macdonald

1:56:41bridge and the alley structure beginning in 2026. Other downtown investments include enhanced

1:56:47security and bylaw response in the downtown area. There is also renewed and expanded community

1:56:53benefit agreements to enhance services for seniors waste reduction and supports for vulnerable

1:56:58individuals and businesses. Finally the foundation theme includes investments and staff wellness

1:57:05through additional occupational health and safety supports maintaining investments in core it renewal

1:57:11to support accountability through improved cybersecurity data driven decision making

1:57:16and process efficiencies. However investments to modernize privacy and information management have

1:57:22been delayed. Funds for advisory committees of council reimbursements and training are included

1:57:27and will support enhanced city government. We're continuing to prioritize investment in

1:57:33infrastructure as part of the capital budget update assets associated with higher risks

1:57:38and those directly associated with new housing developments were maintained

1:57:42while others were deferred out of the 2026 to 2028 period due to low dc collections.

1:57:48As the asset management backlog continues to be a challenge service interruptions

1:57:52resulting from asset condition may occur more frequently and lastly while investments for the

1:57:57implementation of the equity lens were maintained a planned program expansion was shifted to a

1:58:02future year. I will now pass it to shanna to dig a little more into the details. Okay thank you jody

1:58:16um so we'll now look at the operating budget in a bit more detail. Similar to previous years we

1:58:24present the operating budget in categories that help provide understanding of what the driver of

1:58:29that budget change is. Those categories are outlined on the slide and include base budget

1:58:34inflationary operating impacts from capital growth service enhancement service reduction

1:58:40capital funding and new this year council respectful requests and mayor budget enhancements.

1:58:46Most of these categories are pretty self-explanatory but there is more detail in the budget materials

1:58:50for anyone who would like it. This slide provides an overview by category of the 26 operating budget

1:59:03update. We'll go through the categories one by one to discuss the key 2026 investments and changes

1:59:09from the forecast but a few key notes to highlight while we are on this slide. So as has been mentioned

1:59:15the city services tax levy increase has been reduced from 4.51 percent um down to 3.17 percent.

1:59:24The Guelph general hospital levy which has not been added in prior years due to having been

1:59:28reserve funded is 0.21 percent. We'll provide an update on the status of the contingency

1:59:34reserves a bit later in the presentation to help explain this further but staff strongly recommend

1:59:39against taking this from reserve in 2026. The base budget inflationary category is the largest

1:59:46driver of the 26 increase at 2.28 of the 3.17 percent followed by capital funding at 1.38 percent

1:59:54and operating impacts from capital at 1.13 percent. To accommodate the increases in these

1:59:59categories investment in other categories had to be deferred and service reductions were required

2:00:06to reduce the levy increase. The last thing I'll highlight here is that we are now close to our

2:00:112026 assessment growth target of 1.15 percent which is great news. We will know for sure in

2:00:18mid-November. If we fall short we'll use the growth reserve fund to manage the 2026 impact

2:00:24as outlined in the revenue budgeting policy. However missing the target would impact the 2027

2:00:30budget update. The other important information to be aware of is that assessment growth is often a

2:00:36lagging indicator. So this means that the slower growth of 2024 and 25 may be more fully reflected

2:00:43in the 2027 and future assessment growth figures than it is in 2026. So we want to highlight here

2:00:50that we will likely need to look at that and revise the assessment growth assumption downward

2:00:55through the next budget update for 2027. And so with that I'll pass it over to Stephen O'Brien

2:01:02and Colleen Clack-Bush to review the details of these categories. Thank you Shanna and good morning.

2:01:14So as noted the base inflationary tax levy impact for 2026 is 2.8 percent. That is over 70 percent

2:01:27of the total city services tax levy increase that is driven by rising costs required to

2:01:33maintain our current service levels. Despite these pressures the city continues to operate with a

2:01:38lean budget by actively minimizing inflationary impacts through contract renewals where possible

2:01:43and by focusing on efficiency and innovation. The 2026 investments in this category include

2:01:50updated revenue projections across the culture and recreation department, environmental services,

2:01:56clerks and finance to reflect current sales volumes and service levels. An increase in

2:02:02wealth transit revenue driven by higher ridership and anticipated growth from both the U-PASS program

2:02:08and the transit fare strategy. Increased budget for building repairs and maintenance to address

2:02:13multi-year budget pressures from aging infrastructure and inflationary adjustments for

2:02:18employee compensation and benefits, utilities, fuel, fleet maintenance, operating supplies

2:02:25and software ensuring that our service delivery remains uninterrupted. There are a number of

2:02:31changes from the 2026 forecast in this category and those include compensation and benefits

2:02:37adjustments of $2.9 million to reflect the renewed collective bargaining agreements. Support for the

2:02:44mental health and workplace safety of our frontline emergency services professionals has increased

2:02:50with a net impact of $710,000 which is after the provincial and county contributions for the

2:02:56paramedics portion. Fuel and utility savings of $1.9 million have been estimated from the removal

2:03:03of the consumer carbon tax. Fleet repair and maintenance costs though are projected to rise

2:03:11by $1.8 million due to market uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and tariff impacts.

2:03:19Renegotiated corporate agreements have resulted in $355,000 in savings including reductions in

2:03:25insurance and mobility costs and finally operational efficiency reviews and historical trend analysis

2:03:31have identified another $1.9 million in savings. Over the past several years strategic capital

2:03:40investments have been made to support our growing community and enhance some municipal services.

2:03:45The operating impacts from the capital category reflect the operating investments that are required

2:03:51to activate those capital investments. Later in the presentation we will provide an estimate of the

2:03:57operating impacts associated with the 2026 capital budget but right now we are talking about the

2:04:03operating costs in 2026 that arise as a result of capital budget decisions in prior years.

2:04:11These operating impacts from capital represent just over 35% of the city's total tax levy increase

2:04:18or a levy impact of 1.13%. Of course we're preparing to open the South End Community Center in the

2:04:26fall of 2026 and so to ensure it's ready to serve the community when it opens the 2026 budget includes

2:04:32a net increase of $1.1 million to operate this facility. This will enable us to hire and train

2:04:39the people who will run programs, maintain the facility and welcome you through its doors.

2:04:44This is not the full investment in staffing required for this facility additional costs

2:04:49are included in 2027 as well. At the same time we're also phasing out the temporary capital

2:04:55funding related to the Baker District phase in aligning the timing of the new resources with

2:05:00its planned opening also in 2026. This is a $314,000 reduction in this category with operating

2:05:08costs for the park aid and library reflected in other areas. Technology is another cornerstone

2:05:14of our future and includes a $1.4 million investment to support the ERP system, upgrade

2:05:20point of sale software and maintain the digital infrastructure that keeps our city running smoothly.

2:05:26Transit is evolving too with $882,000 in new funding we're enhancing Route 98,

2:05:33maintaining bus shelters, activating the digital signs and continuing the phase in of transit

2:05:39route enhancements launched in 2025. We're also expanding our solid waste services to keep up

2:05:45with community growth adding a new packer operator and equipment to keep our downtown clean and

2:05:50efficient with a $422,000 investment. Fire services includes a $200,000 investment to

2:05:57maintain the new NG911 dispatch system ensuring rapid response and public safety. And lastly this

2:06:05year's budget includes $173,000 to operate new snow clearing equipment to maintain our growing

2:06:11network of roads and sidewalks and $40,000 to maintain new parks and trails. All of the operating

2:06:18impacts from prior years capital investment have been reviewed and updated to reflect the most

2:06:22current cost estimates available. Next up are the highlights of the growth category in 2026

2:06:31and these include 524,000 in funding for two new paramedic shifts and a superintendent at

2:06:38paramedics to support growing service demands and ensure continued high quality emergency response

2:06:44across the city and the county. $82,000 to strengthen human resource and occupational

2:06:50health capacity to support employee well-being and organizational resilience. Capital plan

2:06:56resourcing strategy positions were deferred from 2026 to 2027 resulting in an increase of $176,000

2:07:04due to phasing new staffing roles over multiple years. Our housing pledge resourcing was reduced

2:07:10by 157,000 to reflect the current slowdown in building and development activity and an equity

2:07:18program and expansion totaling $77,000 and an information and access coordinator investment

2:07:23totally $66,000 were both deferred to 2027. I'll now pass it over to Stephen to walk you through

2:07:30the rest of the categories. Thanks and good morning Mayor Guthrie and members of council.

2:07:40The service enhancement category includes $280,000 investment for bylaw officers to increase

2:07:46staffing levels and meet growing service level expectations. $80,000 investment is also

2:07:52included to potentially implement internet voting as an alternative voting method for the 2026

2:07:57municipal election as approved by council. Funding for community benefit agreements to

2:08:03strengthen partnerships and deliver shared outcomes in the areas of waste diversion of $62,000

2:08:09of that amount and senior services $152,000 of that amount. Another $66,000 for transit technology

2:08:17expertise to enhance system performance and again as DCO Clack Bush mentioned activate digital signs.

2:08:24Changes from the 2026 forecast include the deferral of $77,000 for a transit control center

2:08:33supervisory capacity, a change in the bylaw investment from security guards to bylaw officers

2:08:39to enable revenue generation to help offset the cost resulting in a reduction of $61,000.

2:08:44Now that you've heard about some of the key service enhancements including this budget,

2:08:50I'll walk through some of the proposed service reductions. Given the substantial base budget

2:08:55and inflationary pressures, increases for operating impacts from previous capital decisions,

2:09:01and the need to increase capital funding to support the capital budget and forecast,

2:09:06it was not possible to meet the mayor's direction to reduce the 2026 tax levy

2:09:11without considering service reductions. So staff developed service reduction options for

2:09:16the mayor's consideration and several reductions have been included in the draft update before you

2:09:21today. For the purpose of the presentation we've grouped them into four categories new and increased

2:09:26revenue fees, reduced community facing services, reduced financial capacity to meet strategic

2:09:33objectives, and administrative changes. Starting with the new and increased user fees,

2:09:38this budget includes a transition to 24-7 paid parking in city lots, replacing the current

2:09:448am to 6pm Monday through Saturday model. This change will boost revenue and reduce the amount

2:09:49of tax funding needed to support parking, an increase of $5 for parking fines, increasing

2:09:56public drop-off fees for mixed waste by $10 per ton, adding to the previously planned 2026 fee

2:10:02increase. The introduction of new user fees for overdue accounts receivable, utility arrears moved

2:10:08to the tax bill, and changes to development securities. Next there are some reductions

2:10:14to community facing services including ending snow removal for on-street bike lanes,

2:10:18a reduction in parks programming, including the elimination of the park steward program,

2:10:23scaling back of museum and culture, market square, civic events programming, this includes

2:10:27removing movies in the park, the city's role indoors open and culture days, and the artist in

2:10:33residence program. Reducing active transportation programming including the discontinuation

2:10:39of community events and slower progress on goals related to sustainability and shifting

2:10:45travel modes. It also includes reducing youth subsidies and culture and recreation. This is

2:10:50the second year online council of a two-year phase in of the reduction introduced last year.

2:10:56Moving on to reduced financial capacity to meet strategic objectives, we will see a reduction

2:11:00in asset management programming and initiatives which will slow progress on budget sophistication,

2:11:05sorry which will which will affect data analysis, maintenance practices, and internal initiatives.

2:11:11It's important to note that this may slow progress on budget sophistication and industry leadership.

2:11:16Reducing cleaning services is also contemplated in this budget and fewer supports for meetings and

2:11:20events. A reduction in environmental policy planning capacities included a decrease in

2:11:26dedicated funds for building energy retrofits, heating, ventilation, air conditioning upgrades,

2:11:31lighting retrofits, building envelope upgrades, solar photovoltaic installs, and charging infrastructure

2:11:37for continued non transit fleet electrification. Finally there will be administrative changes

2:11:43which include an adjustment for the solid waste blue box transition included in the 2026 forecast

2:11:49and again as part of the transition of this service to producer responsibility.

2:11:53There will also be the removal of the welcoming streets program. This reduction was included in

2:11:57the 2026 forecast reduction, service reductions as the program was initially extended for one year

2:12:03in 2025. A further 2026 extension is proposed in the mayor's budget enhancements category.

2:12:10So important to note that reduction in the training budget for mayor and council based on

2:12:14trends analysis and actual usage is also included. The next section addresses council respectful

2:12:22requests. During the 2025 budget confirmation process and throughout 2025 council respectfully

2:12:28requested that the mayor consider a number of investments. Details of each request are available

2:12:33on the operating budget page of the website and each of the requests included in the 2026 draft

2:12:39update are shown on the slide here. As you can see the draft update includes the $400,000 increase

2:12:45in the transfer to affordable housing reserve, $50,000 to enhance support for advisory committee

2:12:52of council and members to cover reimbursements and training expenses. Next we'll look at the

2:13:00mayor's budget enhancements that are included in this update. This includes a $210,000 investment

2:13:06to support as I mentioned earlier downtown businesses and vulnerable individuals through

2:13:10the welcoming streets initiative, a one-year funding extension. Also included is a $170,000

2:13:17increase to the transition of the sorry to transition the youth ride free program and the

2:13:21seniors ride free program piloted in 2025 and moving them into permanent initiatives to enhance

2:13:27transit accessibility for youth and affordable mobility for seniors. $128,000 for the community

2:13:34led city supported Guelph to Goddard trail connection between Woodlawn Road and Silver Creek Parkway

2:13:40improving connectivity and recreational opportunities. And $75,000 investment to promote

2:13:46Guelph's community call to climate action and activate the community towards our community

2:13:51race to zero goal three year funding in that regard. Finally we'll look at capital funding.

2:13:59Through the 2025 budget confirmation the level of annual increase for capital funding was reviewed

2:14:04and cut approximately in half. This lower level of capital funding increase became the new baseline

2:14:10assumption that underlies the current 10-year capital budget and forecast. No additional updates

2:14:15were made to the level of capital funding through the 2026 capital budget update. The 2026 budget

2:14:22update invests an additional 4.8 million into tax supported capital reserve funds over 2025.

2:14:28Further details about the updated capital budget reserve forecast will be provided in the coming

2:14:32slides. And with that I'll now pass it back over to Shana for a few final operating budget thoughts.

2:14:43Okay thank you Stephen. So the 2026 budget update proposes a city services tax levy increase of 3.17%

2:14:54and so what that translates to for an average single family home is an increase of 161 dollars

2:15:00and 77 cents for the year based on the 2025 approved tax policy. The Guelph General Hospital levy of

2:15:070.21% adds 10 dollars and 72 cents annually. The local board and shared services budgets will also

2:15:15add to the levy increase and will provide final information about the overall tax increase after

2:15:20the local board budget day in December. Sorry Shana is that sorry is that wrong? It says

2:15:282026 forecast 5103.27 then it says the update it says the same number 5103.27. So that first line

2:15:37is the 2025 increase and so those that's the average taxes the total taxes for the average

2:15:45home in 2025 and then those amounts on the two lines below would be adding on to that.

2:15:54Okay so 4.51% equals 5103.27 for the median residential household? No so the

2:16:05sorry the 5103.27 is the 2025 average tax bill and then the 236 is the 4.51%.

2:16:17That's the 26th increase to that 25 tax bill and then that's been reduced to the 161.77 increase.

2:16:31It's correct it's just maybe a different presentation then yeah okay. Oh you're welcome.

2:16:40Okay so the city maintains several tax supported contingency reserves for various purposes

2:16:46which provide the flexibility to respond to unplanned costs and pressures. This graph compares

2:16:51the projection projected tax supported contingency reserve balances as a group compared to the target

2:16:57balance. The overall target balance is 8 to 10% of own source revenue. We've used the lower end of

2:17:04that target or 8% for the purposes of this graph and the target is represented by the orange line.

2:17:11The blue bars show the actual balance for 2024 and the projected balances from 2025 to 29. As you

2:17:19can see the balances are well below target and getting lower. The contingency reserves have been

2:17:25heavily used through the multi-year budget to phase in substantial budget increases for 2024

2:17:30over the full multi-year budget period most substantially for the increased social services

2:17:35cost paid to the county. In the 2025 Q2 budget monitoring report a tax supported deficit was

2:17:41projected and this has also been factored into the forecast reserve balances in this chart.

2:17:48In addition to this council has used the contingency reserves to fund the hospital levy for five years

2:17:53rather than adding it to the tax levy. All of this usage has resulted in very low balances in

2:17:59comparison with target. This group of reserves is projected to fall from 20% down to 15% of the

2:18:06target balance from 26 to 29. And so the tax operating contingency reserve is one reserve in

2:18:14this grouping and it's the general contingency reserve which has been used in the past for

2:18:19in-year budget adjustments and that's also the reserve that the hospital levy has been funded

2:18:23from as well. This reserve has a projected balance of $923,000 at the end of 2026 compared with the

2:18:32minimum balance for this reserve under the policy of five million. Given the status of this specific

2:18:37contingency reserve and the overall low level of contingency reserves in comparison with target

2:18:43staff strongly recommend against any additional use of these reserves beyond what is already

2:18:47factored in for 2026. We've also included a recommendation in the budget companion report

2:18:54to direct staff to consider include adding an allocation to rebuild these reserves toward

2:18:59target in the next multi-year budget cycle for 2028 to 31. The city's second largest revenue

2:19:09source after property taxes are the collective water, wastewater, and stormwater utility rate

2:19:14revenues. These are critical housing enabling services that have a significant capital asset

2:19:19inventories that are both aging and in need of upsizing to meet Guelph's increased population

2:19:24and job targets. Similar to the property tax review and prioritization the 26 budget update

2:19:31included a review of the rate supported services with updates based on the outcomes of the prioritization

2:19:36process. Similar to the tax side, base budget inflationary increases are a significant driver

2:19:43of the 2026 increase in this area as well. Revenue projections are based on updated volumetric

2:19:49consumption and current equivalent residential units or ERUs. Compared to the previous forecast

2:19:56for 2026 we've added revenue from increased water and wastewater consumption, updated ERU-based

2:20:02stormwater charges, and new utility billing user fees. Operating impacts from capital include the

2:20:09phase in of the water services project manager added in 2025 for the Arkle Carter management.

2:20:15Growth and growth revenue impacts in 2026 include one million from fixed volumetric and ERU charges

2:20:22tied to development and that is $100,000 less than the 26 forecast due to slower growth activity.

2:20:30It also reflects the deferral of capital program resourcing strategy positions to 2027.

2:20:36The addition of a water distribution operator to enhance secondary disinfection residual program

2:20:42and ensure regulatory compliance and an investment in resources to fully operationalize the in-house

2:20:48utility billing and collections team are also included as service enhancements. Capital transfers

2:20:54are an increase of 8.3 million over 2025, 100,000 less than forecast for 26, and a strategy has been

2:21:02developed to rebalance the water and wastewater capital reserve funds as directed through the

2:21:062025 confirmation process. We'll get into more details on that in the capital funding section

2:21:12of this presentation. I'm pressing the button there. Oh, uh-oh. I might need help. Okay, nope,

2:21:27it still hasn't gone. There we go. Okay, thank you. The 2026 budget update includes a $115.55

2:21:37annual increase to the city portion of utility bills for an average three-person household.

2:21:42This is a 10.14% increase to maintain essential utility services. In addition to the city services

2:21:49side, the Grand River Conservation Authority is funded through the utility rates as well,

2:21:53and their budget will be considered in December as part of the local boards and shared services

2:21:58agencies process. The rate increases for each service are outlined on this slide, and for full

2:22:05details, there's a complete schedule available on the budget dashboard under the user fees, rates,

2:22:11and charges. So non-tax supported contingency reserves are expected to remain between 75 and

2:22:2280% of the target balance as a group from 2026 to 29. In 2025, these reserves continue to be used

2:22:29to support the utility billing and collection transition, which results in a drop in the balance

2:22:34compared to the 2024 balance. Included here is the water contingency reserve, which is projected to

2:22:40go into a negative balance by the end of 2025. If this occurs, staff will evaluate the need for

2:22:46a contribution from water rate revenue to this reserve through the 2027 budget update to rebuild

2:22:52that reserve. And with that, I'll now pass it over to Terry to walk you through an update on the

2:22:59Ontario Building Code. Might need that. Thank you, Shana, and good morning, everyone. So the city's

2:23:12Building Services Division is responsible for authorizing all building construction and demolition

2:23:17activities in Guelph. The administration and enforcement of these activities is entirely

2:23:22funded through building permit fees. The Ontario Building Code or OBC-related budget has been

2:23:28significantly impacted by slower multi-residential development activity, and this is not just a

2:23:33Guelph issue. As part of the 2026 budget update, the OBC budget has been reviewed and adjusted to

2:23:39reflect this trend. Revenues in 24 and 25 have lagged behind expenditures, resulting in a drawdown

2:23:45of the previously healthy reserve fund that supports these services. And while overall permit

2:23:51activity remains strong, staff capacity has been applied to permits that are supporting infill

2:23:55development, additional residential dwelling units, and changes to existing homes to support the

2:24:00evolving housing market. The revenues generated from these types of permits is significant,

2:24:05but not to the degree of a standard sort of multi-residential or larger building. In 2026 update,

2:24:13we've adjusted the estimated revenue downward by 2.3 million as multi-residential permits,

2:24:18that key revenue source, continue to lag other permit types. We have also reviewed budgeted

2:24:24expenditures, or possible while preserving the capacity of the team to maintain expected levels

2:24:28of service. These adjustments created a budget shortfall with expenses exceeding revenues,

2:24:33and to cover the gap, we budgeted a transfer from the OBC reserve fund. We're reviewing our internal

2:24:38fee structure and plan to hire consulting team to assess whether the rates and updates are needed

2:24:42to align with current and near-term market conditions. The OBC stabilization reserve fund is

2:24:51used to manage these fluctuations in building permit revenue that can happen from year to year,

2:24:56and support the stable and ongoing delivery of services. OBC surpluses are deposited in the

2:25:01reserve fund in years of higher than expected revenues, and OBC deficits are drawn from it

2:25:05in years of lower revenue. At the end of 2024, the reserve fund had a balance of 3.8 million,

2:25:11which is 96 percent of the target. With lower revenue projections in 25 and 26,

2:25:17the reserve fund balance is projected to have a $1 million deficit at the end of 2026.

2:25:23The forecast you see on the slide from 2027 to 2029 includes the same assumptions

2:25:27used in the 2026 budget development. At this point in time, I'd like to invite

2:25:33Shannon back up to provide some introductory comments on the capital budget update.

2:25:45Thanks, Teri. So before diving into this year's capital budget update, I'll start with a bit of

2:25:50a brief history to help set the context. As you'll recall, during the preparation of the

2:25:5624 to 27 multi-year budget, staff built the 10-year capital budget and forecast based on the updated

2:26:02service delivery master plans, and factoring in the high inflation of the previous few years,

2:26:08which had a particularly significant impact on capital project costs. As part of that multi-year

2:26:14budget update, we also built significant increases into the budget for capital funding, including,

2:26:20sorry, I've just lost my spot, including phased in adjustments for inflation, closure of the asset

2:26:25management funding gap, and building up funding for projects supported by the 100RE and service

2:26:31enhancement strategies. Even with the substantial capital funding increase assumptions, there was

2:26:36still a very large difference between the capital budget and the funding available to execute it.

2:26:41Staff recommended that a prioritized and fully funded capital budget and forecast be brought

2:26:46back to council for consideration through the 2025 budget confirmation. To prioritize affordability

2:26:53in the 2025 budget confirmation, the tax-supported capital funding increases were reduced for each

2:26:59remaining year in the multi-year budget cycle, and an assumption was made that this lower level

2:27:04of capital funding increase would be also fixed for the duration of the capital budget and forecast.

2:27:09The development of those assumptions provided the foundation for capital prioritization work,

2:27:15deferring capital spending to fit within the revised projected funding envelope.

2:27:20Those foundational assumptions will be revisited through the next multi-year budget cycle.

2:27:25In 2025, staff delivered a fully funded capital budget and forecast within the revised assumptions

2:27:31as directed. So with that historical context, let's move into the 2026 capital budget update,

2:27:37which is focused on responding to slower growth. There are no major changes to the tax or rate

2:27:45supported capital funding assumptions embedded in the 26 budget update. The major change is

2:27:51related to development charge collections, referred to as DCs. DC collections in 2024 and 2025 to date

2:27:59are significantly lower than forecasts through the 23 background study, and given the slow

2:28:05development environment we continue to see, we've revised the forecasted DC collections

2:28:09downward for 25, 26, and 27. This slide shows the revised DC collection assumptions, as I just

2:28:20mentioned. The orange bars in this chart represent the DC collections that were projected through

2:28:26the 2023 DC background study and that were the basis of collection assumptions included in the 2025

2:28:32budget confirmation. The blue bars show the actual DC collections received in 2024, along with the

2:28:39revised collection projections for 25, 26, and 27 that are included in this budget update. In 2024,

2:28:48the city collected $42.9 million less than forecast, and a similar amount is projected for 2025.

2:28:56Given this trend, the 26 and 27 projections were also reduced, and the result of these updates is

2:29:02of 104 million less in DC collections in that 2025 to 2029 period than previously projected.

2:29:14Through the 2026 capital budget update, staff leveraged the capital prioritization framework

2:29:20that was developed last year, with the highest ranked projects supporting both high priority

2:29:25growth and infrastructure renewal. An example of a project related, or rated five, and that is the

2:29:31highest on the scale, would be the downtown infrastructure work, as downtown is a priority

2:29:36development area, and the work is high priority state of good repair work due to the aging condition

2:29:41of the underground assets. After the work done last year, the projects remaining in the 10-year

2:29:47capital budget and forecast were the following. High and medium priority projects for maintaining

2:29:53state of good repair, housing enabling infrastructure in priority areas, mandated or legislated

2:29:59projects, projects to manage safety concerns, and projects with a grant commitment or specific

2:30:05funding source. Lower priority projects that were deferred within or outside of the 10-year

2:30:10capital plan last year continue to be later in the forecast, or remain outside the 10-year

2:30:15forecast in the 26 update. So this chart has a lot of bars on it, and I'll explain them.

2:30:25So the 26 to 2035 capital budget and forecast includes budget investment totaling $2.5 billion,

2:30:33and it is distributed over the 10 years as represented by the chart in the blue bars,

2:30:37in the chart by the blue bars. As a comparison, the 2025 adopted budget is shown in orange,

2:30:44and the multi-year budget is in gray. As noted, lower than anticipated DC collections required

2:30:51capital deferrals specifically in the 26 to 28 budget years to maintain a fully funded

2:30:57forecast in these individual years. Many medium priority projects were deferred by one year,

2:31:03shifting those originally planned for 26 to 27 from 27 to 28 or 28 to 29,

2:31:10and in total, $111 million was deferred to 2029 and beyond. Additional smoothing of these deferrals

2:31:17will be done through the 27 budget update and the next multi-year budget cycle.

2:31:23The previous two budgets, as adjusted through any in-year budget adjustments, have remained at

2:31:27around $180 million each, as represented by the yellow bars at the top of the chart.

2:31:34In 2026, the budget reflects a notable increase due to the Guelph Transit and Fleet Services

2:31:41Facility Construction budget. Excluding that project, the capital budget for 2026 represents

2:31:49a modest 1.1% increase over 2025 or about $2 million. The breakdown of the 10-year capital

2:31:59budget and forecast is shown here with the 2025 confirmed budget on the left and the 2026 on the

2:32:06right by program of work, and there are only minor changes in the composition of by program of work

2:32:13with the Transportation Network remaining the largest capital program at 41% of the overall

2:32:18budget. This program includes bridges and road work, including all linear underground infrastructure

2:32:24such as water mains and sanitary and storm sewers that are completed as part of comprehensive road

2:32:29reconstruction projects. The water management program of work is the second largest program

2:32:35with a quarter of the overall budget, and this includes all renewal and growth work for water

2:32:40and wastewater treatment facilities. And so I'll now ask Terry to come back up and speak to the

2:32:45capital budget update in more detail. Great, thank you, Shana. So infrastructure renewal and state

2:33:01of good repair of our assets remains the largest focus of our capital budget over the 10-year

2:33:05period with a portfolio of $7.7 billion in capital assets. This remains a consistent trend

2:33:12over the last three years with infrastructure renewal remaining at around 60% of the overall

2:33:1610-year capital budget forecast, with growth coming in around 30% and service enhancement

2:33:21around 10%. Projects are split by category based on the largest funding source for the project,

2:33:27which is determined through the overall scope. So although a project can be assigned into one

2:33:31category, most projects are in fact a combination of one or more of the various funding sources.

2:33:38For example, linear works such as road reconstructions often include components of

2:33:42infrastructure renewal and growth for upsizing pipes and adding or widening new lanes.

2:33:55In terms of infrastructure renewal being the largest category for capital budget and making

2:33:58up 60%, this is the blue portion of the graph on the top right of your screen. The category

2:34:04focuses on keeping existing city assets in good working conditions so services can be provided

2:34:09consistently, safely, and meeting regulatory and legal requirements. To make sure the budget is

2:34:14fully funded from 26 to 2028, some medium priority maintenance programs were delayed by a year either

2:34:20in part or completely. In most cases, this doesn't mean the work stops, but it will move slower.

2:34:26However, we do want to highlight that as things get older, it does put more pressure on the city's

2:34:31operating maintenance budgets. The downtown infrastructure renewal program has begun and

2:34:36the construction of Windham Street North is planned for Q2 of 2026 following the additional

2:34:41investment in the 2026 capital budget. Design and reconstruction of McDonnell Street, McDonnell

2:34:47Bridge, Metton Island structures, and the Ward to Downtown pedestrian bridge will all begin

2:34:52in 2026 with construction currently forecast for 2028. The exhibition park neighborhood was

2:34:58mentioned and it is a phased solution to address aging water, sanitary, and storm water infrastructure

2:35:03and will uptie water maintenance sanitary sewers in the area to support future growth. The added

2:35:08storm water infrastructure will also alleviate localized flooding that has been found at the

2:35:13intersection of division and exhibition streets. Phases one, two, and three for this multi-phase

2:35:19project will begin in 2026 through the 2028 period. The biosolids facility upgrade will renew critical

2:35:27end-of-life equipment and enable the city's water resource recovery center's solids handling

2:35:32processes to meet the city's critical growth projections. An investment is included in the

2:35:37Paisley station upgrades and reserve or excuse me in reservoir repair to meet future water demands

2:35:42and replace the reservoir roof that is in poor condition. A new condition assessment and costing

2:35:48information required additional budget to be added however staff have submitted a grant application

2:35:52under the health and safety water stream on the municipal housing infrastructure program and it

2:35:57is currently under consideration. These are just a few of the larger projects that are found in

2:36:02the infrastructure renewal category. Investments deferred to 2029 and beyond do include a reduction

2:36:08in the annual investment for renewal of recreation culture and administration facilities.

2:36:12Additionally, water station upgrades at the dean and park stations have been deferred. Under the

2:36:17asset management program condition assessments that inform capital budget priorities for renewal

2:36:22work have also been deferred or slowed. You may recall this chart from our recent asset management

2:36:31plan so this chart shows the projected levels of service for the core linear assets over the

2:36:36next 10 years which make up the majority of the city's asset portfolio so those core assets are

2:36:40your roads and pipes primarily and during this time you can see a steady decline in the asset

2:36:46condition as the percentage of assets in the past do or very poor condition continue to increase.

2:36:52This demonstrates the importance of continued investment in infrastructure renewal to prevent

2:36:56further deterioration of the city's assets so that these service levels can be maintained.

2:37:03When tax supported capital funding was reduced and the capital budget forecast was

2:37:07prioritized through the 2025 confirmation budget the funding for each of the financial strategies

2:37:12was rebalanced to support the prioritized capital plan. Funding increases for infrastructure renewal

2:37:18and growth were preserved to the extent possible. In 26 the tax supported increase for infrastructure

2:37:23renewal is 4.7 million which includes both an inflationary increase and a 1 percent overall

2:37:29tax levy increase per the council endorsed strategy. That is only possible in 26 because of the

2:37:36offsetting decreases in transfers to the service enhancement and 100 re reserve funds. With the

2:37:42current assumptions for capital funding increases in 27 and beyond the increases to infrastructure

2:37:47renewal will not include that full 1 percent increase on top of inflation and future infrastructure

2:37:52gaps. Based on the 2025 asset management plan in 26 update the city is projected to reach

2:37:59sustainable funding level for tax supported infrastructure in 2043 or 2044 for non-tax supported

2:38:05infrastructure excuse me for tax supported infrastructure and for non-tax by 2031.

2:38:11During this time the infrastructure backlog will continue to increase and of course will continue

2:38:16to monitor that through the city's asset management work. In terms of growth so the growth investment

2:38:25portfolio makes up about 29 percent of the capital budget and forecast and are represented by the

2:38:30green section on the chart in the top corner. These works are funded primarily through development

2:38:35charge reserve funds. Despite lower forecast DC collections key growth enabling projects have

2:38:40continued to be prioritized. This is supported by positive balances and other reserve funds to offset

2:38:46projected shortfalls in the DCs and adjustments to the projects that are in debt finance are under

2:38:52the excuse me that are debt financed under the updated debt strategy. Where possible other growth

2:38:57projects have been deferred with the option for developers to leverage the city's new front ending

2:39:02agreement policy also excuse me also known as the municipal service and financing agreements.

2:39:09This is there for developers if they wish to advance infrastructure projects ahead of the city's

2:39:14revised timing. Starting in 2026 to 28 there are still key investments. York Road Phase 4 which

2:39:22includes Victoria Street to Wasam Parkway will see the installation of growth related water and

2:39:26wastewater infrastructure and reconstruction of existing infrastructure. Speedvale Avenue

2:39:30East Phase 3 is planned for construction in 28 and will continue upgrading storm sewers sanitary

2:39:36sewers and water mains along that key corridor. More on reed park construction will move ahead in

2:39:4127. This is a one-year deferral from what was previously communicated in 2025. We plan to

2:39:47add a picnic area, sun shelters, washrooms and a new splash pad around the existing park.

2:39:52Construction of Beaumont Park or recently renamed Sloan Park will follow in 2028. While there

2:39:57there was a respectful request from council to accelerate the construction of Beaumont Park

2:40:01by adding capital funding in 2026 this is not operationally feasible due to existing constraints

2:40:06at the site which will be resolved which must be resolved before that can move forward. Therefore

2:40:11the capital funding under the respectful request has not been included in the 2026 budget update.

2:40:16Road vehicles to provide the expected level of service to a growing population includes one

2:40:20growth ambulance and two growth mobility vans in this time period and new intersection and

2:40:25pedestrian signals will be installed across the city based on where provincial warrants are met.

2:40:31Additional investments in road safety initiatives funding through the Transportation Reserve will

2:40:34focus on initiatives under the council approved vision zero strategy. However the provincial

2:40:39government has introduced legislation to discontinue the automated speed enforcement

2:40:44program and if eliminated this will impact the funding assumptions and the availability of

2:40:49funding in the Transportation Reserve which will require revisions to capital projects funded

2:40:55from this source through future budget updates. Investments deferred in 2029 and beyond include

2:41:01the detailed design and construction of Victoria Road upgrades from York to Stone which was deferred

2:41:06by two years. These are enabling works for the Guelph Innovation District that include renewing

2:41:11aging water mains and sewers and approximately two kilometers of improvements in line with future

2:41:15traffic demands. The Claremont P community park facility fit plan which is required as part of

2:41:20the OLT settlement has been deferred to 2029 however it is still within the required time frame

2:41:26of that settlement. These are just a few examples and not an exhaustive list of all the growth

2:41:31related project and deferrals. In terms of housing enabling infrastructure the city's focus of course

2:41:49is on these three prioritized strategic growth areas downtown GID and Claremont P. Downtown is

2:41:54a top priority as these projects not only unlock growth but they are critical state of good repair

2:41:59works. GID will see enabling investments including water mains and sanitary sewers required to service

2:42:04the growth area and this is being completed through the York Road Phase 4 project as well as the

2:42:08ongoing Victoria Road and Stone Road environmental assessment. And there are also investments in

2:42:15capital products to service Claremont P beginning with the works required to phase one of that

2:42:20secondary plan. As mentioned the city now has front-ending policy that will allow developers

2:42:25to also fund and construct housing enabling infrastructure prior to when the city's fiscal

2:42:29capacity permits. We're also running a pilot phase and the application intake is now open with all

2:42:35detailed requirements on our website and we've been communicating that with the development community.

2:42:40With that I'm now going to turn things back over to Colleen to speak about service enhancements.

2:42:59Thank you. So the service enhancement category is the smallest portion of the capital budget at 10%

2:43:04of the total budget or the purple section of the doughnut. This category relates to capital work

2:43:11that will enhance or expand current service levels. As a reminder projects are categorized as service

2:43:16enhancement if the majority of the funding is related to service enhancement. However as we

2:43:21budget capital projects holistically this may be only one part of the overall project scope.

2:43:28The Guelph Transit and Fleet Services Building will begin construction in 2026. This key enabling

2:43:34facility accounts for roughly half of the 2026 budget and is bolstered by almost 77 million

2:43:40dollars in grant funding from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program referred to as the ICIP

2:43:46grant. Construction of Guelph Transit and Fleet Services will allow expansion of the transit

2:43:51service and transition of fleet services from the end of life outgrown municipal street facility.

2:43:58This new facility will also allow for continued electrification of the public transit system

2:44:03which will provide a significant reduction in greenhouse gases by city operations.

2:44:09New electric buses for the future ready action plan are included in this category and also include

2:44:14grant funding from ICIP. A total of 14 electric buses are budgeted for 2026 through 2028 and

2:44:22collectively will add over 50,000 new service hours to make it easier for riders to access jobs,

2:44:28education, health care and other essential services. Enhancements at the Sleeman Center funded from

2:44:35the naming rights sponsorship and capital upgrades at Riverrun Center funded by ticket surcharges

2:44:41will also to continue to make Guelph a destination for sports and events drawing hundreds of thousands

2:44:47of visitors annually. The 2026 budget update includes an investment to support community-led

2:44:53city-supported development of the Guelph-to-Godritch Trail connection from Woodlawn to Silver Creek.

2:44:59This funding will support the advancement of phase one activities including detailed design,

2:45:04environmental studies, permitting and land access. In the 2026 update there has been a pause on all

2:45:11future investments to the 100 RE initiatives capital account that funds building energy retrofits,

2:45:17heating, ventilation, air conditioning upgrades, lighting retrofits, building envelope upgrades,

2:45:24solar PV installs and charging infrastructure for continued non-transit fleet electrification.

2:45:31Other service enhancement projects deferred to 2029 and beyond include the quality transit

2:45:36network implementation and a partial deferral of implementation of the cycling master plan

2:45:42and active transportation studies. Implementation of the recommendations from the solid waste

2:45:48management master plan have also been partially deferred. As we discussed earlier growth and

2:45:57service enhancement capital projects often come with additional costs to operate, resource and

2:46:03maintain these new assets. Renewal capital rarely has an associated operating impact since we are

2:46:09already providing the service however this may happen when older technology is replaced.

2:46:15When the capital budget is approved for these projects council is also committing to the

2:46:19operating impacts which are then incorporated into future operating budgets. Operating impacts from

2:46:25capital projects being approved in 2026 required just under $3.7 million to be added to the operating

2:46:32budget in future years. These impacts will begin once the asset is put into service with the majority

2:46:38of these impacts beginning in 2027 or 2028. These impacts include resourcing to support roughly

2:46:4624,000 increased service hours as well as electricity, maintenance and insurance for

2:46:52four new buses in alignment with transit's future ready action plan, operating costs related to

2:46:58downtown streetscaping on Windham Street North and fuel maintenance and insurance for a growth

2:47:04ambulance and mobility van. Each year staff review the project status assumptions and

2:47:10calculations of the operating impacts and make any adjustments required to ensure the most

2:47:15updated cost estimates are reflected. I will now pass it back over to Shana to discuss the

2:47:20capital financing strategies. Thank you Colleen and we are in the home stretch. So the city has

2:47:30multiple long-term strategies to fund and finance the 10-year capital budget. We will discuss the

2:47:36key points and updates for each of the strategies in the following categories tax-supported,

2:47:41non-tax-supported, um, DCs and debt financing. Tax-supported capital reserve funds fund significant

2:47:54parts of the infrastructure renewal, growth, service enhancement, brownfield renewal and 100RE

2:48:00strategies. As mentioned earlier the tax-supported capital funding was significantly reduced through

2:48:05the 2025 budget confirmation. To reduce the tax levy and the lower funding level assumption was

2:48:11carried throughout the 10-year forecast. These assumptions continue in the 2026 budget update.

2:48:18In this chart the blue bars represent the annual funding going into the tax-supported capital reserve

2:48:23funds. The outflows from the reserve funds including capital budget commitments, debt servicing costs

2:48:29and DC exemptions and discounts are represented by the orange bars. The projected overall balance

2:48:36for this category is depicted by the black line. A significant portion of the draws on the tax-supported

2:48:42reserve funds continues to be DC exemptions and discounts which comprise roughly 19% of projected

2:48:48spending from the tax-supported capital reserve funds in 2026. It's important to maintain this

2:48:55funding because of the projected deficit for this group for 2029 through 2033 and the inter-reserve

2:49:01fund lending required to support the DC reserve funds while they are in a deficit position. The

2:49:10non-tax-supported capital reserve funds include the water, wastewater, stormwater, parking and

2:49:16courts capital reserve funds. This group of funds are projected to have a positive balance throughout

2:49:22the 10-year forecast and these reserve funds support the city's infrastructure renewal strategy.

2:49:28Even though this group of reserve funds is expected to stay in a positive balance, they're

2:49:32also being used to lend money to other reserve funds that are in a deficit like the development

2:49:36charge reserve funds. So on this slide we're zeroing a little bit further in on the water and

2:49:44wastewater capital reserve funds. Through the 2025 budget confirmation process it became evident

2:49:50that the transfers to the water capital reserve fund were insufficient to support the planned and

2:49:55prioritized capital work leading to a large deficit forecast in that reserve fund while the wastewater

2:50:01capital transfers were higher than required resulting in a projected surplus of funds over time.

2:50:08As part of the 2025 budget confirmation, council approved staff's recommendation to assess the

2:50:13long-term capital needs of the water and wastewater services and the impact on customers of adjusting

2:50:19utility rates between services to achieve a balanced capital reserve forecast for each service.

2:50:24The results of this work are included in the 2026 budget update and a strategy has been developed

2:50:30to rebalance these reserve funds over time. The strategy accomplishes this by holding the transfer

2:50:36to the wastewater capital reserve fund at the 2025 level and shifting the forecasted increases

2:50:42from wastewater to the water capital reserve fund in each future year in the forecast and this results

2:50:47in a positive balance being achieved in the water capital reserve fund by 2032.

2:50:53The impact of this strategy on customers was also examined and found to be limited to a very small

2:50:58number of connections receiving water or wastewater only services. Customers with water only service

2:51:05will see a higher increase and customers with wastewater only will see a lower increase.

2:51:14The DC reserve funds as a group are projected to be in a deficit position throughout the

2:51:1910-year forecast. As you can see on this chart the inflows into these reserve funds are lower in

2:51:252025 to 27 which is due to the revised DC collection assumptions that I discussed earlier. The decrease

2:51:33of 104 million in DC collections plays a significant role in the substantial deficit balances from 25

2:51:39to 27. The balance is forecast to recover and approach a positive position by 2030. However,

2:51:46this is based on the assumption that DC collections will return to the level's forecast

2:51:52in the 2028 and years beyond that. These assumptions will be revisited and revised as

2:51:58necessary each year through the budget process. What is not yet included in this forecast is the

2:52:05impact of the changes introduced through bill 17 to allow residential DCs to be deferred from building

2:52:11permit to occupancy. Analysis of the impact of that change will be reviewed in 2026 and the

2:52:17impacts will be incorporated into the 2027 budget update. With the deficit position of these reserve

2:52:23funds they will rely heavily on inter-reserve fund borrowing through the forecast period.

2:52:31The debt strategy plans for the use and timing of debt issuances for the city over the 10-year

2:52:36forecast period. Overall the foundational assumptions are similar to the previous two years of the

2:52:41multi-year budget. Staff continue to assume that approximately 50 million of serial debentures can

2:52:47be issued in any given year and the debt will be issued for a 20-year term with an average 4.5%

2:52:53cost of borrowing. Debt issuances over the 10-year forecast will be for a mix of refinancing existing

2:52:59debt with balloon payments that are due in 2026, issuing debt associated with previously approved

2:53:05capital projects, and issuing debt for projects that are included in the 10-year capital budget and

2:53:10forecast. The updated debt strategy will remain well within the legislative and city policy limits.

2:53:17The legislative limit is called the annual repayment limit or ARL, and it requires that

2:53:22debt servicing costs must not exceed 25% of the city's own source revenue. The city's own debt

2:53:29policy for that metric is much lower at a limit of 10%, and under the debt strategy we project a

2:53:37high of 4% of debt servicing costs compared with own source revenue in the forecast period.

2:53:43The graph on this slide shows the projected debt outstanding as a percentage of operating revenue

2:53:48also referred to as debt burden. That is another metric that is included in the city's policy,

2:53:54and it is also tracked by S&P as part of the annual credit rating review. In this case the city's

2:53:59policy limit is 55%, while S&P's lowest risk category for this metric tops out at 30%.

2:54:06As seen in the graph, the debt strategy is expected to exceed 30% from 2027 through 29,

2:54:13and that does increase the chance of the city being downgraded from a AAA to an AA positive credit

2:54:18rating. Staff continue to feel confident that the higher level of debt necessary to support this work,

2:54:25the work in the capital plan, is worth the risk of a downgrade. The city's target credit rating

2:54:30score is AA positive or above, and the debt strategy supports important capital renewal and

2:54:35growth enabling work. Sorry, can I ask you to reverse? Thank you. Got ahead of myself.

2:54:45So this table shows which projects have been assigned, which have debt assigned to them in

2:54:50the current debt strategy, and the planned timing of debt issuance for the projects. In 2026 staff

2:54:56are planning to issue the remaining 60.2 million of the Debencher issuance authority approved in

2:55:01April 2025, which includes the refinancing of the balloon payment for the 10-year debentures

2:55:07issued in 2016, as well as the remaining issuance for the Baker District redevelopment. In the updated

2:55:14debt strategy, the Guelph Transit and Fleet Services Facility has additional debt assigned to it

2:55:18compared with the 2025 debt strategy. This includes DC debt for the facility, which was previously

2:55:24assigned to the FM Woods station upgrades. There is also debt financing for the 100% renewable

2:55:31energy portion of the facility cost, which was reassigned from the downtown projects.

2:55:36In summary, the strategy continues to promote intergenerational equity by financing major

2:55:41capital projects that will benefit the community for decades to come. And I'll now turn it over

2:55:46to Tara to close off the presentation. Great. Thank you so much. So just bringing us back to the

2:55:56beginning here, we've gone over a lot. And it's always hard to find that balance of we have so

2:56:04much to say, but at the same time, you know, how complex do we make this? So I just really wanted

2:56:11to reiterate the key takeaways and the themes here again today. This budget at 3.17 is a lot of new

2:56:22investment. We heard it about growth investment, opening of our rec center, opening of the Baker

2:56:31District, new paramedic shifts, and so on. And so there's extreme value in this budget. And so

2:56:42this is a budget that delivers long lasting value and directly supports services that people

2:56:48rely on. Secondly, we have responded to the slower growth. Like many municipalities across the

2:56:54province, we're seeing a slowdown in development. And that means lower revenues. And that means

2:56:59that we've adjusted our budget accordingly. And finally, managing base budget changes.

2:57:05This update responds to the rising costs driven by inflation, trade relationships,

2:57:11and growing operational demands. And at the same time, reflects our efforts to find efficiencies

2:57:16and savings through service optimization and innovation. Together, these themes describe

2:57:23a budget that is responsive, responsible and focused on our long term value for the community.

2:57:30So just in closing next steps, today's just the beginning of about a just over a month long process.

2:57:41The mayor tomorrow will be hosting a virtual town hall for the community from 6 30 to 8 on Facebook

2:57:48Live. By November the 13th, the final, the final budget, the final, the mayor's final budget will

2:57:56be formally released. And at that point, then our kind of regulated timelines start to kick in.

2:58:04Last year, like last year, this will take the form of a memo posted on the budget pages,

2:58:10and we'll outline any changes from the draft that we've went through today.

2:58:15A special council meeting to hear public delegations will be held on November the 18th,

2:58:20beginning at 6 p.m. here in council chambers. And budget amendment day will follow on November

2:58:26the 26th at 9 a.m. The veto and override period will then follow if this is required.

2:58:34Finally, then, like we said, the local boards and shared services budget will then be presented

2:58:39to council on December the 17th at 1 p.m. Before I go, I just really wanted to take one final

2:58:52moment to talk about process between now and the end of November. The budget board is open for council

2:58:59members to ask budget related questions and access information in one place. Please use the budget

2:59:05board and help us just with the efficiency of the process of not having multiple people reaching

2:59:11out to multiple staff. We can really help the transparency and efficiency of the process that

2:59:17way. You've already been contacted by a member of our finance team, kind of our budget buddy system,

2:59:24to help you get through the materials and help you find the people that you may need to talk to.

2:59:31And we can also assist with the drafting of any motions that and amendments that you plan on making

2:59:39on amendment day. So while we'll help you with some of the language, then you would have to submit

2:59:45those into clerks through the normal process. And so with that, we just again really thank you for

2:59:53all the time here and attention today and I'll now pass it back to Mayor Guthrie for our next steps.

3:00:02Great. Well thank you so much staffed. Thank you everybody. We really appreciate it.

3:00:11I'm wondering if now would be a good time for a break. I heard one yes. I hear two.

3:00:19What staff is it? Yes? Okay, thumbs up. All right. So why don't we do that?

3:00:28And when I come back, when we come back, I think I might ask some questions like do you have any

3:00:36questions under this sort of category or this department? Because there's a lot of staff in

3:00:42the room and if there's like no questions for transit, then maybe if there's people that are

3:00:48hanging online or hanging in the room on transit, we could just let them go or if there's no questions

3:00:54on economic development, I'm just staring at you. So I then we can let those people go. So I

3:01:00might just kind of quickly go high level like that to see if there's if the people don't need to be

3:01:05there for answering some questions. But when I come back, I do have two on my list of so far,

3:01:11both Councillor Alton and Gibson and then we'll go around the room. Kate, your third in line,

3:01:16and we'll go we'll go from there. It is nine minutes to 12. Why don't we do 1215? No, it's

3:01:24to 1220. Is that okay? 1220, everybody? Okay, see you back here at 1220. All right, for my

3:29:44colleagues online, this is your 30 second warning. Okay, I'd like to call the meeting then back to

3:32:11order please. Thanks, everybody. So I'm just gonna, as I said before the break, I'm just gonna throw out

3:32:20just some kind of high level themes of questions to see if there's anything

3:32:23that's that's that's out there just to try to give some respect to staff if they don't need to be in

3:32:28the room or hanging out online. Is there anything like in regards to paramedics on paramedics? Okay,

3:32:43just questions right now if that's okay. Okay, so nothing on paramedics calling. Okay, how about fire?

3:32:49Anything on fire? No, okay, how about anything on bylaw? Okay, so bylaw needs to stick around.

3:33:00Okay, anything else on like parks? Parks? Okay, I'm just kind of throwing some stuff out here.

3:33:06Culture, culture, nothing on the culture front right now. Okay.

3:33:14Erin, did you have, sorry, Councillor Katelyn, did you have your hand up for culture or was it parks?

3:33:18It was parks, thanks. Parks, okay, so you and, okay. How about any HR specific related WSIB,

3:33:26things like that? No, okay, how about economic development? Okay, nothing on economic development.

3:33:35Think on, okay, anything on infrastructure? Infrastructure, okay, we got some questions

3:33:42on infrastructure. How about IT services? Erin, we got you on that. Okay, sorry, Councillor Katelyn,

3:33:48we got you on that. Okay, anything from staffing wise? I should be asking sort of a high level

3:33:54event, high level? No, no, it's okay, I'll start the list. Yep, I already have two people on the

3:34:02list already, three, sorry. So yeah, go ahead. Ask that the questions go on the budget board too.

3:34:08So yeah, and just so any of the questions that come out loud here, could they just be captured

3:34:14and then also implemented on the budget board? Just for people that aren't maybe, yes, okay,

3:34:19we're getting a yes on that. Okay, perfect. Okay, I'm going to just start with questions if you

3:34:28don't mind, and we'll start with Alts and then Gibson, and then I saw Kate and before we left

3:34:36the room, and then Downer and then Kloss and then Gawler, okay. All right, go ahead Councillor Alts.

3:34:47Thank you, Mayor Guthrie. I'll try to keep these synced, but I do have a number of them. I want

3:34:52to start perhaps with a big broad question. Ms. O'Dwyer, a reference was made to debt issuance

3:35:00page 49. I was wondering if you could outline why debt issuance should not be misconstrued

3:35:06with being in debt and why it is part of a sound financial strategy that's imperative for projects

3:35:14from facility construction and sustaining the city as a quality environment? Sure, thank you,

3:35:22through the mayor. So at the city we use debt very strategically to move forward projects that have

3:35:31intergenerational benefits, and so it wouldn't be practical or desirable to fully save up for

3:35:39those projects and then pay for them. The people who would end up paying for those projects would

3:35:45never get to benefit for them in many cases if we did that, and so this is part of a strategy to move

3:35:51really important infrastructure renewal, growth enabling work forward, and we're doing it carefully

3:35:59and with the guardrails of our debt policy guiding us. And thank you. So this is essentially projects

3:36:06like the South End Rec Center or the library or anything similar? Through the mayor, yes, both of

3:36:13those projects have debt included, and there is a full list of the projects that will be issuing debt

3:36:20for, so both previously approved by council and in this future budget and forecast in the debt

3:36:29strategy. Thanks, and just the last one on that particular topic, could you clarify, I'm sure

3:36:37that I'm right in this, debt issuance does not mean that the city is in a net debt situation?

3:36:45Through the mayor, that's correct. So we do monitor that net debt or net financial assets

3:36:52metric through the audited financial statements every year, and so it could be at some point

3:36:58that we are in a net debt, net financial debt situation, and that just means that we're converting

3:37:07cash and financing, debt financing, into tangible capital assets to deliver services for our community.

3:37:14Thank you very much. Perhaps a tougher question. DC collection projections, page 33 of the

3:37:23slide deck. I looked at those projections into the future, and when I was looking at the last two

3:37:31bars of the graph, it struck me that they were somewhat aberrant. So I'm asking, are those realistic

3:37:38projections, or are the optimistic projections? Because when I look at the trend, the trend line

3:37:44would suggest that we're looking at about $50 million in development charges, I believe it is,

3:37:49as opposed to a projection of about $68 million if I read the graphs properly. So just wanted a comment

3:37:55on that. Thank you. So the DC collection projections are based on our 2023 development charge

3:38:04background study. That is how we build the budget and how we built the assumptions last year. However,

3:38:11we have revised them downward from those projections in the near term based on the

3:38:17economic environment that we're seeing for development. And so the rest of the forecast

3:38:22is still linked to that DC study projection. And I can take a look at those. I don't have an answer

3:38:29specifically to those later years, but that is the general approach we've taken is to link those

3:38:352028 and beyond collections to the DC study. And we will continue to monitor and revise as needed

3:38:43through future budget updates. Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm going to stick with development

3:38:49in a sense and ask a couple of questions that might need to be answered on the on the budget board.

3:38:56With regards to housing, we've identified that housing is going to be a responsibility that

3:39:02the city will somewhat assume. Realistically, how much housing can the city actually afford to

3:39:08develop? And how do we compare that with the needs of the city? In other words, what numbers are we

3:39:13looking at? I'm wondering if that might be best suited for the committee of the whole meeting

3:39:21for the actual report that's on there all about that exact topic. I don't want to interrupt your

3:39:26answer if you had one. No, I'm fine with that because I would expect this would be a bulletin board

3:39:31question anyway. Okay. I'm sure it ties in with though with the committee of the whole report

3:39:35that's coming next week as well. So, Shannon, go ahead if there's a more budget related, but

3:39:40I think I think the strategy, the costing, what we're involved in in housing is all embedded in

3:39:45that report next week. Yes, through the mayor, that is I think a better place for it and or the

3:39:50budget board because that would be a more comprehensive response that I think would be

3:39:55beneficial for us to be able to collaborate on and and post that response on the thank you. I

3:39:59appreciate that. Sticking with development however and I think that this is a question probably

3:40:07for other staff. We, I guess the question really is why are we approving all these building

3:40:16development proposals when we know that they're not going to be built? Isn't this a net cost to

3:40:20the city because of staff time that's afforded to put together these permits and will they use it or

3:40:26lose it provisions that we've built in help us to address concerns where we're approving things

3:40:33that don't see the light of day for 10, 15, even 20 years? Through the mayor to council or else so

3:40:40to get at the first part of your question certainly there's regulatory processes and timelines that

3:40:44you know as an application comes in a development application under the planning act we

3:40:49we must process those those applications and so the staff that are there to do that and then

3:40:53building permanent activity is certainly it's still it's still very strong it's just um albeit

3:40:57may be a bit different it may be not so many multi-stowers and things like that but there's

3:41:01lots of activity and so the staff capacity is still fully utilized and then in terms of the

3:41:06use it or lose it piece of your question certainly that does put some timing incentives in place so

3:41:12when that is in its sort of formal state that that does kind of encourage the development to come

3:41:18quicker. Thank you very much and just a compliment to you for something that you had mentioned earlier

3:41:27the residents of exhibition park are going to be absolutely thrilled with infrastructure

3:41:31redevelopment in that area I know that we can't put specific timelines on that but the question

3:41:38would be when when does Santa Claus come to division and exhibition they'll really want to

3:41:45know what they can look forward to. So through the mayor to council or else so certainly it's

3:41:50it's quite a large program of work and it's going to be split into multiple phases but staff are

3:41:55getting ready to undertake that in the in the coming year and thank you appreciate that because

3:41:59some of that infrastructure in that area I've been told by city staff is well over 100 years old so

3:42:05I think we need to get to it before the tree roots get any bigger. This question is for bylaw

3:42:14a mention was made that there is a growing service level expectation from the public and so through

3:42:22to the appropriate staff what are those growing service level expectations if we're going to

3:42:28have the staff what are they going to do? Sure through the mayor and I'll ask Doug Godfrey to

3:42:33come down because he will probably need to help me here but we have over the past few years seen

3:42:39an increase in need for bylaw staff to support specifically encampment response and otherwise

3:42:45also some challenges within our downtown core and so previously the executive team had authorized the

3:42:51additional resources that the bylaw staff team needed but we've been doing that as a negative

3:42:56variance and so through this budget we're looking to add those resources permanently but I'll let

3:43:02now that Doug is here I'll let him comment on that why they're being added as bylaw officers

3:43:08because there's some revenue implications as well. Through the mayor Godfrey to councillor

3:43:15as DCO Clackbush indicated there's been a quite a bit of demand for bylaw for encampments for

3:43:22addressing security issues in the arcades and other city facilities and properties so we've identified

3:43:29a way to reduce the the impact by looking at creating positions as bylaw officers which are

3:43:35able to revenue generate revenue through fines where security guards have not so that's the two

3:43:41kind of topics that we were talking about in the opening today. A question I believe for Ms Clackbush

3:43:50with regards to busing reference was made in the slide deck in the presentation to improvements

3:43:55that would would affect wealth transit from the public perspective oftentimes I hear from people

3:44:02saying well you know where's where's the beef so should these be greeted by the public with

3:44:09excitement or is this muted enthusiasm what's the public going to see on these I noticed I think

3:44:15was the 98 route but beyond that I didn't see route improvements. So again I'm going to ask if

3:44:22blend Marcus is able to come down and assist with this answer certainly I would not describe it as

3:44:27muted I would say excitement is appropriate the well future ready action plan that council approved

3:44:32mapped out the plan for how we're going to grow our transit system it is an evolving plan it was

3:44:38always designed to adjust to the changing circumstances but certainly the route 98 as you

3:44:43mentioned our shelters our digital signs are some of the key things but I will let blend come down

3:44:51and speak if there's anything more specifically he would like to highlight. I'm excited for his answer.

3:44:57As DCO Clackbush just mentioned the 98 is the big one across Speedville as we look to move towards

3:45:06more of a grid like system versus the hub and spoke that we have the 98 is obviously a massive

3:45:11upgrade for us and so that 98 is going to provide more stops along the long Speedville and also get

3:45:17us heavier access into the industrial areas and then to add on top of that we're expanding the

3:45:24hours of operational on Speedville so all of those pieces are going to be big on the grid like system

3:45:30that we're trying to build. Thank you very very much. Two last questions I'm going to go to

3:45:36waste management with regards to drop off fees at the waste management facility will the base

3:45:43stay the same I noticed that there was an increase per ton but it's I think it's the base that a lot

3:45:48of people are probably worried about. You're the mayor of councillor I meant just need Nectar,

3:45:57Tempocopolis or GM of environmental services to come help with that answer. That's quite all

3:46:01right I enjoy hearing from Nectar. So through the mayor to councillor Holt what's increasing is the

3:46:15multi-waste fees so the mixed waste is going to be increasing by $10 from

3:46:22$163 to $173. Okay so just a clarification so when say my colleague here I go out to drop off our

3:46:33household waste we would not be surprised by any changes. If it's mixed waste you would see the

3:46:40change. It would have separated there wouldn't be a change. Okay so if I'm bringing out whatever I

3:46:47have to put in the back of my friend's pickup truck I would I would expect a change from the base.

3:46:53I think it's about $20 right now I can't remember. This is only for the mixed waste not the base.

3:46:58Okay thank I just didn't confuse about mixed waste okay because I really mix it up but anyway okay

3:47:03thank you very much appreciate that. The last point that I have. Sorry Holt may I just interrupt

3:47:08for a second I think there's some confusion. Oh sorry. Let's not go any further. Okay. Councillor

3:47:13Holt comes over and says Cam let me help put all your stuff in the back of a truck. Yeah and a pickup

3:47:18truck and the two of us go and we drop it off. We're not going to see the impact that you just

3:47:23said there. No correct then there was you're right okay so just want to make sure that that's very

3:47:29clearly stated in the community that we're not increased because it's $10 a minimum right now.

3:47:34I know that because I go there too often and so it's not going to jump to 20.

3:47:38You're not going to get any garage sales out there. I know that's Rachel telling me to carry

3:47:43okay thank you that was really the key because that's where people feel the impact of any changes

3:47:49to that and that's that's quite helpful. So thank you very much Mr. Tamperanopoulos. The last question

3:47:56that I have is actually again going back I believe to Mr. Gaiman or perhaps Mr. O'Brien. There was

3:48:01reference made to essentially an environmental call to action and a $75,000 amount put toward that.

3:48:10I was wondering if we had any information on what that $75,000 would be for. I don't want to go

3:48:15through the slide deck. Can't answer it. I'll ask it on the bulletin board. Through the mayor

3:48:23and the councillor also I just have to find the exact wording for you. So $75,000 has been added

3:48:29most most likely through a community benefit agreement to promoting Guelph's community call

3:48:35to climate action and activating community towards communities raised to zero goals.

3:48:40It's three years of funding. We expect as you are familiar from the community benefit agreement

3:48:45process that was just brought to council last June that we will work with the folks in our

3:48:55climate area to best understand what's the best way to put that out to the public and find a

3:49:00recipient organization that we can work with to undertake this work. Thank you very much. I think

3:49:04that's really great to hear that. So it's accessible to the public for application. Appreciate it.

3:49:10Thank you very much. I thank staff for everything that you've done in the presentations and answers

3:49:15you've provided. Great. Thanks councillor Allt. Next is Gibson and then Kate and after that.

3:49:21Thank you through Mr. Mayor and thank you to staff for the presentation. I'm just a couple of key

3:49:27takeaways for me when listening to the presentation of a big driver of this year's operating budget

3:49:33increases is obviously the opening of the rec center and the library but 35 I think I wrote down

3:49:3835% increase to tax supported operating budget. I know this may have already been done and it may

3:49:44also not be staff's preference but have we considered phasing those fees in or phasing those costs in

3:49:49over two years similar to what we've done in previous years so we know the rec center library

3:49:53may not be open until Q4. Do we need to have the money set aside in January of this year to

3:49:59afford those salaries or those salaries and then if we don't could we go 26 and 27 to phase those

3:50:07costs in? So through the mayor I'll start but then I'm going to turn it over to Ms. O'Dwyer so

3:50:11certainly I'll speak about the South End Community Center. We have already done the phase in and so

3:50:15we are expecting the opening of the rec center in October-ish of 2026. I just I'm always going to put

3:50:23the ish there I don't but we have phased the staffing increases into 2027 as well and certainly

3:50:33have calculated for only needing the partial year funding in 2026 but I'll speak to I'll let

3:50:39Ms. O'Dwyer speak to the sort of broader financial question you asked. Thank you through the mayor.

3:50:44I don't have a lot to add I think it's we've very carefully planned for the budget for 2026 based

3:50:49on what we actually expect to need in this year to open those and provide services in those areas so

3:50:57that has already been done. Okay thank you so in years past we have found some savings in our

3:51:03budget by shifting things over two years if it's already been finished then there's nothing more

3:51:07there I appreciate that. Thank you for the quick nod Mr. Gaiman to the the capital works going on in

3:51:13the east end York Road is a housing enabling project so I'm pleased to see that still on

3:51:20track and scheduled. I asked this question in briefly to Ms. Clackbush during the break I'll

3:51:26ask it publicly about the parking in city lots I just wanted to ensure that when we're talking

3:51:33about parking in city lots we're not extending that to rec centers libraries city fields things

3:51:39like that that this is simply parking lots only. Through the mayor the change that is before you is

3:51:46for existing parking lots with paid parking it is extending it 24 hours a day seven days a week

3:51:52but it is not to add any new lots that are currently not being charged for parking. Thank you

3:51:59in order to avoid any surprises there. I raised this earlier with staff as well I'll just state

3:52:04publicly whether or not there's time looking at the safe semester program downtown is it still

3:52:10something that the city needs to be investing in as heavily as we have I know that sort of

3:52:17behaviors and demographics are all changing in the evenings and weekends downtown in our city

3:52:23I've heard this from some business owners downtown that perhaps we don't need as much

3:52:27of the safe semester because kids are going home early or they're they're leaving the bars and

3:52:30they're taking uber's home all that to say I'll leave that with staff just as a take away.

3:52:38I wanted to comment and question about the tax supported operating reserve I appreciate the

3:52:42update I understand it's below target we've seen this kind of ebb and flow over the years

3:52:50maybe it's a comment maybe it's a question we have in the past when we've seen this

3:52:57operating reserve low below target we have made a commitment from council in a year where there's

3:53:04a surplus like an operating surplus we have made those commitments in the year to service that

3:53:08reserve that way so let's let's just put a number we we have an operating surplus surplus that we

3:53:13recognize late in the year about 3.5 million dollars we have in the past taken that surplus

3:53:19reserve and service that reserve sorry taken that surplus and service the reserve with it

3:53:24correct like that is a way out of that issue through the mayor yes that's correct and in the

3:53:31last two years in 2024 and 25 confirmations in the budget companion report there was a recommendation

3:53:39to you to rebuild those reserves as a first priority that council did approve now we haven't

3:53:45seen a surplus for 2024 or 25 projected materialized to actually do that and so that's putting some

3:53:52pressure on those balances now thank you and I appreciate so there's no projected surplus this

3:53:58year and in years past we have used portions of that surplus to fund the hospital levy correct

3:54:04through the mayor that's correct and there is not a surplus projected for 2025 okay thank you

3:54:11last question it's on asset management i'll a little bit of a blurb here but it does come to

3:54:19question about how we're going to manage our what the update to the asset management plan has to be

3:54:24moving forward so we always talk about asset management optimization so if you have to replace

3:54:29the pipe we know we have to replace the pipe but it's always best to replace the pipe when we're

3:54:34having to upgrade the pipe as well and maybe the dcs can help fund a portion of that replacement by

3:54:39you know you're not digging the pipe up twice not replacing it and then upgrading it but you're

3:54:43doing it all together i heard um staff say the dc collections are down because uh growth is not

3:54:50happening as much but i also heard you say mr gayman those projects still have to happen right

3:54:55like the replacement of those pipes and that infrastructure still has to happen so what we

3:54:59can defer and what we can slow down perhaps but we can't ever not make it we can't ever not do it

3:55:06so how is the dc um the loss of dc revenues impacting our optimization approach to asset

3:55:15management because again like you said we have to do the projects it would be nice to do them in

3:55:20in concert with growth but if we don't have that growth how are we recalibrating our asset

3:55:26management plan and is that something that the team is is going to be tackling um maybe not

3:55:32so much through this budget but into the next year i guess it's budget implications though

3:55:39so through the mayor to to council Gibson i'll start and then i'll pass it over to shannon to

3:55:42speak to the dc specific portions of that but from an asset management perspective you're right in

3:55:47terms of um you know we're always monitoring sort of that ultimate lifecycle element to

3:55:53our assets and then we're looking for those integrated decisions right so how can we

3:55:57you know optimize the use of the existing funds and then to your point the funds are

3:56:01for multiple sources rates taxes dc's etc given any sort of project we will certainly continue

3:56:07to monitor that and the dc aspects and impacts from the asset management it wasn't in say what we

3:56:12brought to council for the 25 asset management plan but that work will continue every single year and

3:56:16then maybe i'll pass it to shannon to speak a bit more on the dc part sure thank you and through

3:56:21the mayor so what we've got now is a prioritization framework for prioritizing our capital work

3:56:28holistically and so when a project is planned like you said we don't just plan for the replacement

3:56:35or the growth we would do that at the same time together and so then what we've done is we've taken

3:56:41those projects in the capital budget and forecast and we've prioritized them based on how critical

3:56:46the asset management side of it is and how um high of priority the growth is and so then that's how

3:56:53we've decided what remains in there and the capital plan is integrated then from a funding source

3:56:58perspective and so you see um positive balances in our tax and rate supported reserves for 2026

3:57:07and that's supporting that deficit in the dc supported reserves we've also added more um dc

3:57:13supported debt um to help bridge that gap as well in those collections but it is really an integrated

3:57:19plan and so any kind of piece that is removed in terms of funding um we are recalibrating that

3:57:26overall plan with that prioritization framework thank you that's a good answer because i mean

3:57:33from an outside looking in looking at a capital reduction in spending so i think in the budget

3:57:39it talks about a reduced capital investment in 2026 and will be projected you know a cynical look would

3:57:46say well we're collecting the the infrastructure renewal levy but we're not spending the money

3:57:50but what we're saying here is that we're just we're deferring them we're not not necessarily not we

3:57:54can't not do the projects we're deferring the projects hopefully optimizing them in the future

3:57:59with uh with increased dcs is that a fair assessment assessment not through the mayor i think yes that

3:58:05is i think so what we're doing we've deferred projects and so we would defer the whole um

3:58:11project um out by a year or two years or three years depending on how critical it is and the

3:58:17and the timing sequence um within the overall prioritization um but we're really looking at

3:58:23those reserve funds holistically and aiming for that bottom line overall to um stay positive so

3:58:30we're we're leveraging um positive balances to offset those negative um negative ones

3:58:38okay thank you last comment from me i was happy to hear that our sustainable funding trajectory

3:58:44didn't slip i i don't think it slipped it's still in the early to mid 2040s which is what was reported

3:58:49to us last year so i appreciate that as well great thank you councillor kipzen not katin please

3:58:57thank you through you mr mayor um so first off i just wanted to thank staff i know this was a lot

3:59:02of work and uh you've been asked to kind of cut and reduce and make efficiencies everywhere you can

3:59:09and i see that you've really tried your very best to do that so i appreciate all that work

3:59:14coming from staff um that said i have a question for park staff because i i feel like i'm a bit

3:59:20of a groundhog day budget situation when it comes to slone hill park now um because we had just

3:59:27got that put back into the budget to be developed in 2026 um and that was back out to 2028 um so

3:59:35my my question is where can we find out more details on the specifics of that because it does

3:59:44seem like pushing it back out to 2028 um without knowing the specifics on the the issues that are

3:59:56happening within that property uh still leaves that community with no access to uh the oar lands

4:00:05uh the oar lands via a safe pedestrian crossing they have no sidewalks they're still landlocked

4:00:11like none of their situations have changed but now it just keeps getting pushed back and forth

4:00:16so how can i find out more about that how can the community find out more about that

4:00:22so through the mayor i'm going to ask uh the general manager parks gene math used to come down

4:00:25and help with that answer just as he's coming down i will clarify if anybody's watching online

4:00:29and isn't aware uh that we are talking about what used to be known as beaumont park that was just

4:00:34recently renamed um and so i've filled enough time and i'll let gene talk um so through the

4:00:42mayor to council thank you for the questions uh councillor caiten so the encroachment matters

4:00:46are significant um on that park and they will be coming to council q1 or q2 2026 for resolution

4:00:54in the meantime design work as much as we can meaningfully meaningfully progress it without

4:00:58having those issues resolved will continue so the community can expect engagement um again to the

4:01:04extent that we can with the matters that we need to deal with um at the site um that you see typical

4:01:10of our engagement around um our park programs again legal and parks are working through those

4:01:17encroachment issues to come to uh to come to council of note though the work that parks are

4:01:23tasked with and funded for in this budget ask are purely for the park itself so any other

4:01:29access issues or sidewalks to other locations in the neighborhood are not within scope

4:01:34of that project and as always if any community members have any questions about the development

4:01:38of that park happy to be contacted directly thank you um my next question is for dco o brian

4:01:56he's ready all right thank you i'm ready so my uh i had a question about the uh the two tech

4:02:05roles that we had uh deferred my understanding of those two roles is that they would unlock

4:02:10opportunities in governance and management as well as increased ai options that could

4:02:16potentially reduce the need for staffing long term could you uh speak more to the impact of

4:02:21deferring those two positions please sure thank you councillor Caton and through you mayor guthery

4:02:26yeah on the data governance and data maturity i think is what you're sort of getting to

4:02:31those are roles that will really need uh be needed to sort of move our data maturity our data

4:02:37governance processes forward that's really important for us because we don't get to unlock the

4:02:43potential of what ai can can deliver for us as an organization and what we're seeing in other places

4:02:47as well without that really important kind of foundational uh data governance work and so that's

4:02:53really key one would support one of those roles would support exactly that the other is a um like

4:02:58a solutions architect as you can probably appreciate we've we're an organization with uh significant

4:03:03data across multiple systems some of those are uh legacy and and aged data systems and so there's

4:03:09a need to sort of be able to have a role to tie a thread through those those systems to be able to

4:03:15really unlock the power of the data within that and then layer on to it uh some of the enhancements

4:03:21that we we can we think we can realize through things like ai um we are still going to support

4:03:26departments with reviews of best cases or best use cases for ai uh supporting them in terms of

4:03:33ways that they might identify needs to use ai so that will still happen we also identify a need in

4:03:382026 uh although these are the kind of resources that would support that to to advance an ai or

4:03:44digital transformation strategy so all of those things can realize some of the outcomes that you

4:03:49referenced in your question um but I think the big piece to to reference and we have other positions

4:03:54too there's a deferred position the city clerk's office that's also tied to information and data

4:03:59management and I think in closing these are the programs and staff teams that work behind the

4:04:04scenes they might not be as tangible or front-facing as other things that you might be speaking about

4:04:09today but um they are really critical to make sure that we can unlock service enhancements

4:04:14through things like uh like ai by improving our data management or our data governance practices

4:04:20and that directly impacts front-facing services so they're deferred we're going to commit to doing

4:04:26some work in 2026 where we can but then we'll we'll pick that up pending on council's budget

4:04:32decisions in future years thank you through the mayor if you had to prioritize one of the two

4:04:38positions to to bring in first if we were going to add more things in what do you think would give

4:04:45us the most bang for our buck was that sorry to the mayor oh sorry to myself I apologize

4:04:57maybe I'll have our general manager mr adam fisher come down to to come down we can certainly

4:05:03answer it through the budget board I and maybe we'll look to do that in in a in a deeper sense but

4:05:08I'll see if mr. Fisher wants to come down and speak to which one of those positions might be

4:05:13most relevant in the immediate term for council to potentially consider through the mayor to

4:05:19councillor Caton thank you for the question it is really like a difficult question to answer on the

4:05:24spot I would really like some time to kind of take it away put it through the budget board

4:05:28allow us to do a bit of an analysis to really understand which one will provide the most

4:05:31impact to the organization thanks I'm happy to let you do that I'm sorry to give you something off

4:05:37the fly not at all we really welcome it thank you great thanks councillor Caton thanks staff

4:05:46and donor please and then after downer it's clausen thank you through you mr. mayor so thanks for

4:05:53staff for all the work that was done and I appreciate the staff every the budget every

4:05:59year gets more and more easier to navigate so I appreciate the work's done done in there as well

4:06:04so these are the first question some of my questions have been asked but the first question I have

4:06:10so the parks stewardship program is 25 000 but it leverages a lot of volunteers in the community

4:06:17how many volunteers is that in the community that we usually get out of that program and what kind

4:06:22of work do they do I'm going to ask gene Matthews to come back down again to answer that and my

4:06:32question after this will go to you too and it regarding trees no doubt through the mayor to

4:06:41council the exact numbers of volunteers can get back to us all on budget board for that it's in

4:06:45the hundreds though it's a big number but beyond the number it's a very valuable connection that we

4:06:50have with the community and the work that that program does is anything from general park cleanup

4:06:56some small projects and initiatives like helping get community gardens established and underway

4:07:02and everything in between although the program is wrapping up we still will try to find parks

4:07:07find ways to have those meaningful connections with the community as a way to kind of move

4:07:12some things forward that we see that we see value in so is this okay so the 25 000 what is that that

4:07:21covers that that's not a position that's what is that it will be resources to award supporting

4:07:28park stewards so everything from materials and supplies for plantings community gardens there

4:07:33will be some contract seasonal staffing component to that as well so it's a mixture to my understanding

4:07:39councillor downer again I can get those specifics back to us through the budget point more detail

4:07:45the tree bylaw so the bylaw is not the enforcement's not being funded but can you sort of tell me how

4:07:53we're going to deal with first what's the one question so how much is it because it doesn't say

4:07:58here I and I'd have to go back to the report so what is that figure to enforce that as it was in

4:08:05the report and also how are we going to deal with the tree bylaw my understanding my guess is that

4:08:10so it's still if an application has come through the committee of adjustment and things like that

4:08:15there'll be flagged there no doubt right the the existing bylaw and it will be complaint based

4:08:22is are these is that how is that the only way it'll be enforced so through the mayor of councillor

4:08:28downer the exact dollar value that we're talking about I'll provide that by through the budget

4:08:32board as well it's about a position and a half though would be the rough number the rough allocation

4:08:37for now maybe how we'll continue to deal with the bylaw would be reflective of how we've dealt

4:08:44with the bylaw in the last six months so for reference we've had about a hundred touch points

4:08:50where our subject matter expert has been actively engaged in a bylaw file that doesn't include a

4:08:56general touch points that would come through a service wealth or our parks staff we have taken I

4:09:02would say an education only focused approach to the bylaw so if a tree is deemed a hazard we'll

4:09:10right away fast track that for removal we won't get into the compensation elements of that and

4:09:16we're dealing with those hundred or so files so about two per week by letting other work be delayed

4:09:22that's identified in the urban forest management plan those are the strategies that we talked about

4:09:27in April with the original adoption of the bylaw that approach would continue should we not have

4:09:34funding for the bylaw so to be specific we have two challenges here one is volume again we'll deal

4:09:41with that by adjusting our workload and two would be service delivery either the bylaw enforcement

4:09:49needs themselves would be delayed and may not need to turn around needs of the public or other

4:09:54actions in the ufmp would be delayed what those actions would be I need to take some time to

4:10:00circle in with our team on that Councillor Downer okay okay I'll wait for those answers thank you

4:10:05there's a letter from Gough that was on this issue today too thanks thank you

4:10:11Cossin and then Guller and that's all I have left uh yes um thank you miss uh through you Mr. Merritt

4:10:19to um Ms. O'Dwyer I have a question with regard to the slide the DC collection and slide the projected

4:10:27um versus and like it was a shift from 2024-25 I'm just wondering I took a picture of it just

4:10:34because it was so significant and I know that um Councillor Allt asked about it again but I was just

4:10:39hoping that we could really slowly go through that piece again just so that I fully understand

4:10:44um why it's so such a significant difference sure through the mayor happy to help explain this it

4:10:53is complicated so um so the assumptions that we did have in our so we make assumptions about

4:11:01what DCs will collect each year and those are tied to our forecasts that are developed through the

4:11:07DC background study um and so that's what was included those assumptions were the basis for

4:11:13what was included in the in the reserve forecast last that you would have seen last year in 2024

4:11:20we collected far lower than we had forecast um we reported that we talked to you about that in the

4:11:26spring um and we and we let you know at that time as well that we would need to be looking at these

4:11:33assumptions going forward through this update and so that's what we've done we have um our 2025

4:11:40forecast is based on how we're trending year to date which is very similar to 2024 far lower

4:11:46than what was in the DC study and then we've revised those forecasts for 26 and 27 downward as well

4:11:54just based on the economic environment we obviously do not know when development activity

4:11:58will pick back up and we hope it will be sooner and we will revisit that um through each annual

4:12:04budget process um and revise as necessary it's also possible that the lower than projected

4:12:12amounts persist beyond 2027 and we'll be having the other side of that conversation then about

4:12:17what that looks like um to manage our capital forecast within those lower assumptions later on

4:12:25thank you okay appreciate that I might have to ask more later just in case I'll reserve my right

4:12:32to ask further questions on that but um I uh through you mr. mayor I have a couple for uh DC

4:12:38AO clock push if that's okay um the first is around door is open I noticed that it's um excuse me

4:12:46something's in my third okay we'll come back to councillor Klassen in a second um and just uh

4:13:01is there is there any other further questions as we're waiting for councillor Klassen for a moment

4:13:06councillor too okay go ahead uh thank you through you mr. mayor um I have a first question on

4:13:13transit a lot of it's kind of surrounding optics in terms of frequency of some of the stops that

4:13:20are being used particularly within the neighborhoods um I was just wondering if you can provide just an

4:13:27overview and how we are ensuring that the routes are being utilized uh to its optimal potential and

4:13:37how do we bridge the gap between ridership at during the down times and the lack of frequency

4:13:46in those routes because I think the principle that's guiding a lot of this is the equity lens

4:13:52obviously but there's also the perception that our resources aren't being utilized to its potential

4:14:01and some of that uh investment in transit could be used to for for routes that do have greater

4:14:09frequency like the 99 I'm wondering if you can provide this your take on how we can bridge the

4:14:16gap and if there's opportunities this budget cycle to address some of these concerns

4:14:22sure so through the mayor to councillor too I'll definitely ask glenn marcus to start walking down

4:14:26because he's going to have to expand on this um as a from a basic principle point of view there

4:14:31there are kind of two key components when we look at our transit service one is coverage

4:14:35so how much of the city are we getting to and one is frequency how often are we getting to those

4:14:39locations and that absolutely is a bit of a balancing act we do have standards in terms of

4:14:44how far anybody would have to walk to a given stop to try to ensure that we have that coverage

4:14:49across the city and we do also manage that through both our conventional transit service as well as

4:14:54our other for example like the on-demand service or for mobility service for those clients and then

4:14:59frequency we also do address and adjust based on the ridership of the needs um I've talked long

4:15:05enough and now glenn's here so he's going to say I think hopefully a bit more through the mayor to

4:15:10the councillor I would say yes to everything that DCO clock bush just said on that the other piece I

4:15:15would say is this as transit looks to expansions in the future years we are always analyzing that

4:15:21data as it comes in to make sure that our buses are being utilized the best way and that passengers

4:15:26are able to get to and from the spots they need to get to and so certainly again we are focused on

4:15:33that grid type system to ensure that people are able to move quickly through the system that goes

4:15:37back to the frequency comment that DCO clock bush just made and so those things are being analyzed

4:15:43on a daily basis because we watch all of our counts as that information comes into transit daily

4:15:50okay and I guess I'll reserve my questions for the budget board and

4:15:55other questions surrounding parks um obviously I know the the reason why some of the projects have

4:16:02been deferred but I was wondering for Orton Reed Park it's been pushed to 2027 um is there

4:16:11an opportunity however for us to either de-scope or break down some of the elements

4:16:18instead of doing it in a lump sum as it's intended so I'm just thinking is there

4:16:24are there opportunities for us to do the splash pad instead of all the other elements like the

4:16:30washroom and the picnic area because that for a lot of people in my area that is the piece that

4:16:37they have been promised for a long time and they're expecting um and all the other stuff is extra

4:16:44add-ons is there a way in which we could potentially de-scope and move some of the other items to

4:16:51future budget years so through the mayor to Councillor Chu I'll ask Gene Matthews to come

4:16:55down because he can speak more specifically to the impact of adjusting um what I will say is that

4:17:00across the board we've had to make very very difficult budget decisions in terms of what got

4:17:04moved out um none of them are things that we obviously want to have to do but from the

4:17:09importance of balancing this capital budget um we do have um we do have amenities coming online

4:17:14not the least of which is obviously the South End Community Center um in in 2026 but we have had to

4:17:20make those difficult decisions about pushing other things out but I'll let Gene speak specifically

4:17:25to whether doing it more piecemeal is an option through the mayor to Councillor Chu that would

4:17:30not be staff's recommendation so we do understand that the project has been delayed um that this

4:17:35project is scoped around um a lot of community engagement and a park specific plan um um for

4:17:42starters number two mobilization contract hiring site management impact to the park and the community

4:17:50any opportunity we may have with bringing assets on over the shorter term may be far

4:17:56outweighed by longer term impact so at the moment we do recognize the delay based on the budget

4:18:01circumstances that we're in right now our recommendation as staff would be to keep that as

4:18:06one bundled project because over time we could have other unintended consequences to the neighbors

4:18:12and park users which would be seen in extended downtime of the park and increased cost due to

4:18:18different mobilization um time frames okay and follow up to that what what do you mean by the

4:18:25heightened consequences um because for me like I'm seeing a heightened expectation

4:18:33as we continue to defer the project and it's really just a small element that most of the

4:18:39community is attached to um not even just from optics perspective but from the park's functionality

4:18:48like I think a lot of people may not necessarily care about the washroom as much um so I'm just

4:18:58curious like in terms of maybe even like your the project management and the coordination

4:19:04is there a piece of that which you could explain that kind of talks about that I guess conveys

4:19:10the heightened expectations or uh I mean yeah heightened consequences or expectations or I don't

4:19:17know yeah so happy to verify there through the mayor counselor Chu um I would say for starters that

4:19:25we don't know for certain what new assets the community favors in order in that park right

4:19:32so we do know that we have a variety of users that use the area and I don't know for certain if

4:19:39washrooms would be favored over splash pads would be favored over the sports field rejuvenation

4:19:45and that could be an unintended consequence where a resident sees a key component of that

4:19:51park plan again based on a significant amount of community engagement if that were to move forward

4:19:56first for starters so I wouldn't want staff or council to be put in a spot where we're making

4:20:00assumptions on that we would want to if we were to pursue that before a recommendation would come

4:20:06from staff we would want to have fairly significant community engagement to make sure that we had

4:20:11that right one and again the time frame so typically for us to be efficient in our budget

4:20:18allocations and in timing of the project when we'll do a splash pad and washroom we'll do them

4:20:22together so that the procurement process again the construction process are all handled together

4:20:29having multiple contractors stage one after another I don't know for certain but it does

4:20:34bring in the impact of delayed timing of works within that park and we don't know yet the scope

4:20:40of should we take that staged approach what areas of the park will need to be closed down

4:20:45or or would be off limits not just because of the construction of the asset itself but because of

4:20:52staging and access that we need to be set aside to deal with that specific construction component

4:20:58not impossible but again may bring impacts in terms of lack of use and availability to that park

4:21:04over a longer period of time okay yes I can follow up online and the last question

4:21:10I see there's about 1.4 million dollars for playground equipment replacements for next year

4:21:17you speak as to why that's slated for next year instead of potential deferrals

4:21:25so um our so that is an annual budget line that speaks to the replacement of our existing

4:21:30playgrounds our playgrounds are an 18 to 20 year replacement cycle and we've got by last count 120

4:21:38some on playgrounds I can get that exact number as we've mentioned to council and this has came

4:21:43up before which is great as we mentioned to council if we delay for one year that really has

4:21:49impacts on the back end to our replacement cycle intervals so it really has the potential to turn

4:21:53that 18 to 20 year cycle into a 20 and beyond cycle which really brings other challenges to the

4:22:02community assets get old they become unsafe they require more repairs and more inspection

4:22:10for me I guess I can empathize maybe with the procurement side of things and with contractors

4:22:16that are to have the expectation that they'll do the work do you maybe speak on onto that and the

4:22:22commitment on the back end for why we'd want to keep those commitments for the playground

4:22:28replacements and also do we know which playgrounds for next year will be replaced as well through the

4:22:33mayor of council too so we do know that playgrounds are going to be replaced on an annual basis those

4:22:37are decisions that our park operations staff and their playground accreditation and our park control

4:22:43development team who handle our capital projects that they make in great amounts of coordination

4:22:49and we will as some council members know we will prioritize from year to year so if a playground

4:22:55at a certain park can be delayed even though it's at that 20 year period because it hasn't had as

4:23:01much wear and tear it's had other opportunistic maintenance go along with it we will delay that

4:23:06asset replacement if we have a playground and some of you know the ones that that these are

4:23:12that has a lot of wear and tear a lot of unintended consequences on that asset it may be replaced

4:23:17on a 10 or 15 year interval so staff make those decisions on an annual basis I don't have them

4:23:22in the moment cancels are true but that's a great topic for our budget board the impacts

4:23:27operationally when we delay playground replacements our staff time so we've increased our playgrounds

4:23:32from year to year across the city of Guelph which is fantastic our park infrastructure team who

4:23:37maintains these assets hasn't necessarily yet grown with them so the older assets get the more

4:23:44maintenance is required the more that we have the more inspections are required and those inspections

4:23:50are completed on a monthly basis our challenge is increasing volume okay let's go back to Councillor

4:23:57Claussen and then I got Councillor Goller after that uh yes through you Mr. Mayor to DC I have a

4:24:05clock bush thank you for waiting for me um I had a question with regard to um one of the service

4:24:12reductions um specifically an item under the culture recreation uh doors open um I was just

4:24:20wondering if you could speak to that for a moment uh just because I know that this is a this is an

4:24:25event that also mobilizes a great deal of volunteers and attracts a lot of people from out of town

4:24:31I've been involved with it for 10 years as a volunteer so I know it a little more intimately

4:24:34than the others so I was just curious if you could speak a bit more to that um because I really think

4:24:39this should be in our budget so through the mayor and Councillor Claussen I'll ask uh Dana Evans to

4:24:45come down the GM of culture and recreation who can give you more details as she's coming down I can

4:24:49say that the uh that the doors open component of this reduction is about $6,500 um and so when

4:24:57you're looking at the total there um in that line item that the doors open component is $6,500 but

4:25:02Dana can better explain how that money is allocated uh thank you desk doors open in 2025 uh happening

4:25:10in um April of this year saw about 3,000 attendees through 11 different historical sites and uh we

4:25:18do uh see sort of roughly about 100 volunteers um or more um in taking part in the community to

4:25:26support access to some of that programming um the additional or or sort of reinstatement of funding

4:25:31would help with the uh site activations or a coordinator to really engage with community and

4:25:39engagement uh or with community and businesses in different sites um to add a diverse set of

4:25:45programming opportunities that could be covered um across uh religious heritage research or other

4:25:51sort of community interests and also then incorporating that difference from year to year as well to

4:25:57keep the program alive um there's certainly some supports to volunteers recruitment and any training

4:26:04assignments and otherwise and then a small amount of funding towards promotion and printing as well

4:26:08associated with the event uh thank you for that um I mean I think I think I was you know reading

4:26:17between the lines here I think it's back in the budget so thank you um okay that's one one I have

4:26:25another one I just I am I'm through you Mr. Mayor uh to DCO Clark which I was just hoping um not I

4:26:36just wanted you to reiterate the piece about the mental health increase I think it was $710,000

4:26:42is it for for paramedics is that through the WSAB I just wanted to clarify uh so through the

4:26:49mayor to council Klosson I think uh yeah that's referring back to the there was a report that we

4:26:53brought um I think it was thank you in September um and so that is the um that there is an impact

4:27:00for both the fire and the paramedics budget um but what you're seeing there and the note that I made

4:27:04in my speaking notes was because of the county and the province's contribution so it's net um if

4:27:09you'd like any further details on that specifically I can certainly ask either chief good or chief

4:27:14doer to come down uh no I just wanted to point it out and and uh say that it's good um but thank you

4:27:24and then I think that's that's uh I think that's all for right now thank you no problem and caller

4:27:34is my last thank you to your worship to staff first of all thank you for all the work you've

4:27:41done to to bring this forward and for the presentations very very helpful um I I did want

4:27:47to start by going back to the tax support and contingency reserve I understand the recommendation

4:27:52is not to touch that I get it but I see that it's still going down this year and I want to clarity

4:27:57what is what what are the items that we are are uh pulled drawing from from the tax

4:28:03contingency reserve in 2026 sure through the mayor uh so we can get you a full list and post

4:28:11that on the budget board but the most significant one would be that continued phase in of that

4:28:16increase for social services that came back in 2024 so we did draw down those contingency reserves

4:28:22to phase that in over the full four years of the multi-year budget okay that that's very helpful

4:28:27thank you um I another question one of the things that through your worship that you added into the

4:28:33budget was 60 000 for termite control in in some some neighborhoods I wanted to ask staff

4:28:39there is a report that I believe that is coming in in the spring um will those 60 000 be available

4:28:48to to the community members can generate first or would it be something that we have to wait until

4:28:53there's a report you know later in the year just trying to understand uh once the mayor said let's

4:28:59put 60 000 for this how how will uh the decision be made of how that is allocated yes it said that

4:29:15the email mentioned a dollar amount but it didn't say how the money would be allocated yeah I think

4:29:19I think in the I think it indicated how the report would come forward and what would be

4:29:24responsibility of a private homeowner on their land it had that all that out outlined so who's

4:29:30going to take that Terry yeah so through through mayor got through to council go and certainly

4:29:36chris to walki maybe can come down to answer additional details but uh mayor has re-mailed

4:29:42some of that information this week the intent I believe at this point is for a report to come in

4:29:46q2 of next year with respect to the termite program and so that um that work can start to advance

4:29:51but maybe Christa can can step in here yeah through mayor you mayor to the councillor Mr.

4:29:57Gaiman is absolutely correct so with the spring report we'll outline the program that will be

4:30:01available it'll be similar to the program that we've had in place um in January the money wouldn't

4:30:08be used by the homeowner anyway just because of the time of year so it will be up and running

4:30:12in time for the the spring season okay okay thank you that gives us time for for input on that thank

4:30:18you very much um with regards to our active transportation I saw that the winter bicycle

4:30:27lane maintenance was being removed I wanted to ask there is new equipment that is coming online for

4:30:34road and sidewalk maintenance I was trying to understand will any of that new equipment or

4:30:41technology for the road or the sidewalk maintenance also be able to provide some bicycle lane

4:30:47maintenance or are we saying that in 2026 and moving forward there's no snow clearing from bicycle lanes

4:30:56so through the mayor to councillor Goller certainly mr godfrey's going to have to help me with the

4:31:00specifics on the equipment um the the reduction that is before you relates to on-street bike lanes

4:31:08and so if that remains in the budget then there would not be the winter maintenance for those on-street

4:31:14bike lanes um how that relates to new equipment being purchased for sidewalk maintenance I'll

4:31:19have to defer to Doug to answer through you mayor godfrey to councillor Goller the new equipment

4:31:26that's coming online is for the expansion of the road network and the um sidewalk network so we

4:31:32we do have an additional plow an additional sidewalk plow that we we will be uh you utilize

4:31:40in new areas of the city with respect to the reduction that would be the stopping of winter

4:31:46maintenance of the of the bike lanes both the um the ones that are alongside painted by a white

4:31:53line as well as those the ones that are separated okay okay thank you for that and along those lines

4:31:59will this impact the um snow clearing for the active transportation trails in the winter

4:32:08through you mayor godfrey to councillor Goller the bike lanes I'm sorry the bike lanes and

4:32:14part of the multi-use pass that are adjoined to them may be affected but the the trails may not

4:32:20and they went to gene to them that's correct okay just okay okay thank you thank you for that

4:32:26um I wanted to ask about the reduction of funding to active transportation in general and I I think

4:32:33this this might go to uh to mr gayman are we still going to be building separated bike lanes

4:32:40as we redevelop roads or or not through the mayor to councillor Goller so certainly if that's

4:32:48within the scope of any given road reconstruction project the decision with respect to the the

4:32:53maintenance doesn't affect the future infrastructure build okay okay I appreciate that um and I I hate

4:32:59to to ask um mr matthews to to come to the front again but I do have one another question about

4:33:07the tree protection bylaw I do want to thank councillor downer for for asking this question

4:33:15I just would like to be clear so even though we are not providing the funding for the additional

4:33:22staffing the protection tree protection bylaw is in place and we are regulating trees of 10 centimeters

4:33:32dbh in any private law later greater than half an acre and all trees at least 30 centimeters

4:33:38in any private lot is that right through the mayor to councillor Goller we are applying the bylaw

4:33:46per the definitions of the bylaw okay and and it's just that we may not have the the the proactive

4:33:52enforcement available because we don't have the staffing to to do that correct and again um our

4:33:58response time to specific files and communications with residents um may be delayed and not to the

4:34:03standard that some of us and you may appreciate okay okay no I appreciate that thank you very

4:34:09thank you very much um I have a question about the 100 re funding now miss sales as part of

4:34:16your presentation you mentioned that we're also making new investments in climate change leadership

4:34:22at the same time I'm seeing that we've removed $950,000 from the 2026 budget and 17.8 million

4:34:29dollars over the 10-year period uh in the 100 re are you funding so could you help me understand

4:34:36what you meant by new investments in climate leadership while we're taking away $18 million

4:34:46sure through the mayor I'll begin and then I think I can hand it over to uh deputy ceo gayman

4:34:52the new investments are in are cba added into the budget for climate leadership that's the $75,000

4:34:59that we previously spoke about uh earlier over three years as far as the reductions to the uh

4:35:07to the capital account I'll look for deputy ceo gayman to help us thank you miss sales through

4:35:11you mayor got through to councillor car so sort of the way the re program works is a bit opportunistic

4:35:16and so when we look to uh do renovations or improvements on our facilities and our building

4:35:21envelopes and h-fax systems and things of that nature we always look to do um the replacement

4:35:26with that climate lens and in our in our work and so this funding would would be a reduction to

4:35:31that but it doesn't mean that uh life cycle replacements wouldn't like otherwise happen so

4:35:35we still continue on with the work it's just sort of the the delta to the climate lens okay okay and

4:35:43as I understand that if we do not have that funding available I'm just trying to to make

4:35:48sense of what that means for our ability to meet our um climate change targets and our

4:35:54commitment to be a net zero community by 2050 by removing those that $18 million over the 10-year

4:36:00period are we for would it be unfair to say that we're abandoning our commitment to be a net zero

4:36:06community by 2050 so through the mayor to councillor galleroski and scott our general manager of

4:36:12facilities and energy to come down and help with this one and and certainly there is a short term

4:36:17impact of course if we're deferring some of this but uh yin can speak to sort of the longer term

4:36:21targets sorry through the mayor to you councillor Goller um the race to zero goal of 20 to 50 is a

4:36:33much bigger picture and we are coming to council q1 of 2026 to give that larger picture um obviously

4:36:41we have multiple priorities here at the city and so overall you know we are slowing the pace of

4:36:48various programs of work and this is one of those programs that by doing this defunding it will slow

4:36:52it but we still have the ultimate goal and we're going to come with you to that plan of how we meet that goal

4:36:59and now if I can just add one further thing and just to your to your comment about abandoning it

4:37:05we are absolutely not doing that um this budget has significant investment still in

4:37:11fleet and transit electrification as and we've already noted the the significant investment in

4:37:17the facility that we need to bring on uh that that infrastructure um and so I just really

4:37:24wanted to kind of point that out too there are there are some balancing moments here um just in

4:37:29terms of pace okay no I I really do appreciate it and I will post this question on the on the

4:37:37budget board because I I do hope that as we do a life cycle replacement we're still looking for

4:37:42the most energy efficient replacement of of technology um well thank you thank you everyone

4:37:48and thank you your worship thank you I I have to always say it I'm circling but I've been told

4:37:55it's very quick councillor Gibson I promise this will be quick I just have a really quick question

4:37:59about gulf's private private tree bylaw if Mr. Matthews could you come down again I'm kidding

4:38:05you sit down sit down I wanted to pull that gag is that actually what you that was why I wanted to

4:38:11go back take your efforts do those stairs good job good health thank you buddy I was uh I was

4:38:17gonna do the same thing I just didn't want to tell anybody I was gonna say okay I'm gonna wrap up

4:38:22that's gene to come down for a moment that's so funny that you did that that's great okay we got

4:38:27to laugh at budget time sometimes so that's good okay we've got no more questions we got the budget

4:38:33board use it talk to me talk to staff November between November 10th and 13th I think is when

4:38:42the final sort of sign-off happens and remember there's a whole bunch of options right you can add in

4:38:50I found that to sometimes be very easy for us all um deleting is always hard I get it

4:38:56totally get that um you can defer or pause you can substitute too you want to add a million

4:39:05dollar thing in find if there's a million dollar thing that you don't want it right like there's

4:39:11a whole bunch of options that you can do here and I just want to just you know I preach to the

4:39:17choir here but like we have some intense affordability issues and I've said it out loud but the

4:39:24federal government will get ready for their budget it's it's they're cutting they're cutting

4:39:32the province is the province let's skip that for a second but the you know private sector the

4:39:37nonprofit sector they're all making like really drastic choices and we I think have to try to be

4:39:45you know thinking in that way doesn't mean we have to act but we have to think in that way

4:39:50um but we have obligations too regulatory legislatively especially when it's imposed on us

4:39:59we have to we have to react on that um and so it comes back to again that balance of value

4:40:06and affordability and just remember you know as we go from 3.17 to 3.23 to 3.3 to 3.7 to 4

4:40:16that's fine I might not I wouldn't really think that's fine but whatever but remember

4:40:21once the outside boards and services are added in those our our constituents are going to be

4:40:31people are struggling that's all I'm saying so just gotta try to try to try to try our best we'll

4:40:36work together we'll figure it out okay uh we have a motion just to refer um basically these

4:40:45the following recommendation should be brought forward to the city council for decision at the

4:40:48special city council meeting on November 26th 2025 actually it's just a it's just a memo saying that

4:40:56right okay is there anything more before I go no there is no referral it's just a statement I

4:41:03read it wrong okay so I'm looking for uh adjournment and uh Euler and Klassen and before she starts

4:41:11choking on water again and uh is anyone against that nope okay thanks a lot everybody thanks to

4:41:20staff really appreciate it and we'll keep each other in the loop take care