Coronavirus pandemic has cost Guelph $9 million so far: mayor

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie says the coronavirus pandemic has cost the city about $9 million so far.

In a video posted to Twitter on Monday, Guthrie said there’s been about $5 million in expenditures related to the city’s response to COVID-19 and about a $4 million loss in revenue.

But the mayor added staff at city hall have been able to save about $4.8 million.

“Our management has also done some great steps, like no discretionary spending, no rehiring at this point, looking at our capital projects to see about delaying,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie declared a state of emergency on March 26 and the city has closed all of its facilities until July 5. The city has also temporarily laid off 601 part-time and casual employees.

The mayor has called an emergency meeting for Thursday night to discuss extending several relief measures into the summer, such as no tax penalties, free Guelph Transit, and waiving parking fees.

Councillors will also vote on allowing the city to borrow up to $100 million, according to a report on the city’s website.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will be conducted virtually, but residents can watch the live stream on the city’s website.

Public delegations are also being accepted, but the city asks residents to register online by Thursday morning.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 71 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Guelph and one death related to COVID-19.