— Mayor Cam Guthrie (@CamGuthrie) April 13, 2020

As for how the city would recoup those losses, Mayor Cam Guthrie said a number of different avenues are being explored — pointing to a halt on discretionary spending, not filling any job vacancies and re-evaluating capital projects planned for this year.

These moves, according to the report, have already recouped approximately $4.8 million.

As for whether the city could lay off more of its staff — 601 part-time and casual staff were temporarily laid off earlier this month — Guthrie said council will be receiving an update on city staffing issues during a closed portion of Thursday’s meeting.

At the meeting, councillors will also be voting on a new slate of financial relief measures, including the continuance of fee-free transit through to June 30, waiving parking fees until June 30 and permitting the deferral of property tax payments through to July 31.

These would be on top of what council approved during its first emergency meeting, held March 23.

Guthrie added that, as COVID-19 continues to be not only a local but a worldwide concern, this is not the end of the city’s response.

And with the first property tax payment coming up on April 30, Guthrie said this will offer a better glimpse into just how hard Guelph has been hit.

“That will be a window into the overall impact of how things are translating to the businesses and the citizens of Guelph, when we start to see that data come in of those who are or are not making their payments,” he said.

While property owners may be able to get some breathing room with deferring property tax payments, the same is not necessarily the case for renters.

While the city does not have the power to mandate what a landlord does with their tenants, Guthrie said he is encouraging those seeking relief from the city to offer the same relief to their tenants.

“This is the time where landlords and tenants, whether that be in a residential situation or a business/commercial situation, all have to work together,” he said.

“My request would be that landlords reach out to their tenants to make sure that everything is OK with them — not just financially, but their own well-being too.”

Council will also be voting on a new policy that would allow the city to borrow as much as $100 million in order to cover expenses typically reliant on incoming property tax payments.

According to a draft of the policy that will be up for a vote on Thursday, the borrowed funds would only cover operating expenses within the fiscal year and not to carry over into future years. The loan would be paid back as property tax and other payments to the city come in.

How much this would cost the city remains to be determined, as it is unknown just how much would need to be borrowed. As an example, the report says if the city had to borrow $42.5 million (10 per cent of the city’s annual revenue) over 12 months at 2.5 per cent interest, it would cost the city a little over $1 million in borrowing costs.

Asked whether he thought the city would be in the position it is now, one month to the day the city announced its first round of facility closures and cancellations, Guthrie said he thought this issue would be resolved by now.

“Speaking with many of my other colleagues across the province, we all felt at the initial outset that this may be a couple of weeks and issues we have to deal with,” he said.

“It’s only been really since after that first two weeks that it really started to hit home how much longer this is going to be taking and the impact on people’s lives.”

Members of the public will be able to offer delegations at this meeting, although not in person.

Those looking to speak to council about the matters on the agenda can register online at guelph.ca/delegate. The deadline to register is 11 a.m. on April 16.

People wishing to delegate must provide a telephone number, which will be called when it is their turn to participate. The city will get in touch with each delegate ahead of the meeting to provide further instructions.

Written comments can also be submitted online.