Guelph mayor breaks down homecoming costs

The University of Guelph Homecoming weekend is officially a wrap, however the city's mayor says charges, tickets, and fines are “way up”.

Thousands of students hit the street on Chancellor's Way Saturday afternoon with Guelph Police tweeting that over 80 liquor/by-law tickets were issued by officers for Gryphon Homecoming 18.

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie says there were more bylaw and a heavier police presence out for this year's event.

In a video, posted on YouTube, Guthrie says the big issue is 'who is paying for this?'

“They probably are anywhere between, I would say eighty to a hundred thousand dollars a year. And I want to acknowledge that the U of G did pay for some of the operational transit routes and other things that they put toward homecoming to try to maintain it on campus and offset some of the costs,” he says.

According to Guthrie, another debrief is being done this week to go over numbers, stats, and overall costs. 

He says this isn't just a 'Guelph' thing.

“Year over year, my concern is that these types of things will continue to grow. Not just in Guelph. They're happening in all the university towns. I talked to mayors across Ontario that are struggling with homecoming issues.”

The University of Guelph has tweeted it will continue to work to address concerns and find ways to enhance education and communication. 

Guthrie says he drove around the south end of Guelph the morning after the event to check out the clean up and says it is a lot better than last year.

This is after last year's homecoming left areas covered in trash, prompting Mayor Guthrie to release a video calling on those involved to apologize.

He says many students started cleaning up on Saturday night, with one group collecting empty bottles and cans in support of the United Way.

This coming weekend Laurier will roll out its Homecoming event. Waterloo Regional Police Service says it has plans in place for the day of the event.