File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

City Budget

Cuts, deferrals see average 2026 Kamloops property tax increase lowered to 7.2%

Jan 20, 2026 | 6:03 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops councillors got out the hatchets and made a series of budget cuts Tuesday (Jan. 20), slashing a proposed tax increase by several percentage points to 7.2 per cent, though future decisions could drop it even further to 6.7 per cent.

However, several of the cuts came in the form of deferring expenditures to future budgets to be debated by future councils.

A Committee of the Whole meeting began with a presentation from Acacia Pangilinan, executive director of the Kamloops and District Chamber of Commerce. She told council the hundreds of businesses her organization represents are looking for a significantly lower 2026 increase than the 10.76 per cent hike initially proposed in November.

“Looking at all ways to try to reduce the tax burden for the business community, is really what they’re hoping council looks at. We would caution not to totally deplete reserves because we would want to be conservative in that approach, but these are almost in crisis times for some businesses,” said Pangilinan.

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When it came to crunching numbers Tuesday, council began by contemplating a 9.4 per cent tax increase, with staff saying they were able to find dollars through final growth projections and the province’s decision not to change the way pipelines are assessed.

To bring the tax increase even lower, council opted to stretch out its hiring strategy for RCMP officers – as approved by previous councils – and firefighters – to turn the Dallas fire station into a full-time operation. It was a strategy not considered without a warning about hamstringing future councils with the consequences of this council’s actions.

Council opted to defer the hiring of five firefighters, choosing instead of hire on five this year. They also agreed on a six-month delay to hire five new police officers which saved $821,000. If council agrees on a one-year hiring delay, it could bring the tax rate down to 6.7 per cent.

“I think we all understood, when we were looking at some of the [items], what we were going to be voting on,” said Councillor Stephen Karpuk. “Yes, things change. Obviously, taxation is changing. I’m just mindful of every time we make a decision… in which we kick it down the road, we are faced with the same thing that’s happened with previous councils doing that to us.”

Kamloops voters will go to the polls to elect a new council in October.

In addition to the deferrals, city crews will also be directed to do less maintenance on laneways, non-playing fields and lands not owned by the city like lawns around highway interchanges.

The most spirited discussion was on what to do with the former Stuart Wood Elementary School, which is owned by the province but maintained by the city. Council decided to send the province a bill for more than $100,000 in annual maintenance costs.

“This isn’t just one department or one area of the city,” noted Councillor Mike O’Reilly. “We’ve looked at everything we can and, as we heard from the previous presentation from the chamber of commerce, businesses are in crisis mode right now. We’ve looked at every aspect. We’re not honing in on one spot where we’re going to take money away. This is everybody bearing a small, little reduction.”

If the proposed tax increase is brought down to 6.7 per cent, it’ll equate to an increase of just over $193 for the average household.

Residents will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed changes at a public budget meeting set for next Monday (Jan. 26), from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre. Council still needs to approve the budget at a future regular meeting.