Committee of the Whole Meeting - November 18, 2025

City Hall front exterior

2022 Provisional Capital and Operating Budgets and 2022–2026 Five-Year Financial Plan

Dave Hallinan, the City's Corporate Services Director, and Dustin Rutsatz, the City's Planning and Procurement Manager, provided the Committee of the Whole with a summary report on the 2026 provisional budget and five-year financial plan. The provisional budget is developed to deliver City services at Council-approved service levels. The overall five-year financial plan aims to balance service excellence, fiscal responsibility, and community priorities while navigating external pressures and ensuring transparency in budgeting and capital planning.

Without changes to current projects and service levels, Administration estimates that the 2026 budget will require an additional $17.5 million through taxation—a 10.76% increase in the property tax requirement or a $309.93 increase on the average property tax bill.

This increase is primarily driven by prior Council initiatives, rising costs for contracted services, operational changes, and lower-than-expected growth in property assessments due to a slowdown in construction and housing. Many goods and services are also still seeing the lingering effects of inflation, high interest rates, and scarcity, putting cost pressures on delivering projects and services. Staffing changes for Kamloops Fire Rescue and the RCMP as well as technology upgrades and asset management are other significant cost drivers.

Revenue strategies to counteract rising costs include adjusting development and engineering fees, ongoing reviews of business licence rates, and efforts to offset decreases in utility company revenues and pipeline assessments. The City is leveraging debt, reserves, and fundraising to fund large capital projects while maintaining flexibility to respond to changing priorities and market conditions. Supplemental budget items have been minimized for 2026 to reduce the impact on taxpayers and to focus future financial years, not 2026, with decisions expected in early 2026.

The Committee of the Whole directed Administration to explore options to reduce the tax requirement. Areas mentioned for budget reduction consideration include capital projects, transit, the RCMP, management of the Stuart Wood facility, and contributions to the Community Climate Action Program funding. Administration will investigate these and other options and will bring a report back to Council with information on ways to reduce costs, along with the potential implications of doing so.

Committee Reports

Based on a recommendation from the October 28, 2025, Safety and Security Select Committee meeting, the Committee of the Whole recommended that Council send a follow-up letter to lobby the Province to reinstate its small business rebate program and advocate for broader support for local businesses affected by crime and disorder.