Director Vigelius presented the Public Works Departmental Budget. He gave an overview of the individual divisions (Administration, Roads Operations, Waste Management Operations, Fleet Services, Transit Operations, and Water and Wastewater Operations). Together they are responsible for many legislative requirements of the City, including adherence to the Safe Water Drinking Act, MTO legislation, and Minimum Maintenance Standards on our roads as well as monitoring and reporting on Landfills. As a whole they administer many multi-million dollar contracts to fulfill operational and maintenance needs.
There are a few budget pressures this year including the provincially legislated changes to the Blue Box Recycling program; this change means less money flowing from the province to the Waste Management division. The Winter Control budget is also seeing increases due to weather-related events that are difficult to predict. In Transit and Fleet, fuel costs and use have also increased, adding additional pressure on their budget.
Accomplishments in 2025 for Fleet included implementing the new provincially legislated program Drive-On as well as successful implementation of the new Shunter position. This has resulted in more efficient moving of equipment and less reliance on tow trucks to move vehicles and equipment from location to location. In 2026, Fleet is looking to digitize various MTO required forms including Circle Checks and Hours-of-Service tracking. The Transit division in 2025 began readying for a GO Transit link and is currently working on the Transit Master Plan. In 2026, Transit is hoping to present a micro-transit plan to Council for service between our urban centres and Lindsay. It was noted that the GO connection has not been approved by the Province yet, the division is preparing options and ensuring there is a space and plan in place for when that approval happens. The Waste Management division is preparing for the changes for the recycling program and looking to optimize the Organics program in 2026. The Roads division spent much of 2025 cleaning up from the Ice Storm, which is now complete, as well as working with our GIS team to create an inventory of our Roadside Infrastructure, such as guardrails, and the creation of a storm water management pond maintenance plan. Next year, they are looking to improve efficiencies, implement a Depot plan, and continue transitioning to digital technology. The Water-Wastewater division completed Phase 1 of 5 for the SCADA (Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition) system upgrade, continuing into 2026 for the other phases.
The total budget for Public Works in 2026 is $46,652,000, an increase of $5,191,00, including a request for 7 positions, 2 in Roads and 5 in Fleet and Transit.