City hosting second budget session as provisional 2026 tax increase sits at 7.2 per cent

The city is proposing a series of cuts and deferrals to try to bring down the property tax increase and more cuts are possible before the budget is finalized.

According to the city, Monday’s session will include the same information that was presented at the Jan. 20 Committee of the Whole meeting. People in attendance will be asked to show their level of support on nine proposed items to reduce the 2026 budget, as pictured below:

Nine proposed items to cut the 2026 tax rate in Kamloops (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

Monday’s in-person meeting will feature a presentation followed by an open-house format where people will be able to engage one-on-one with councillors and staff. The meeting will not be livestreamed, the city said, though people who can’t attend can provide feedback online until Feb. 6.

“The feedback collected both in-person and online will be provided to city council to help inform their 2026 budget decisions,” the city added in a statement.

Another budget update is scheduled to be presented at the Feb. 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, where councillors will be asked to provide direction on supplemental items in the 2026 budget.

Staff previously announced plans for two supplemental items – the hiring of apprentices to lessen the labour shortage in the skilled trades and a new protective services training centre – won’t impact property taxes in 2026, though if approved, it will impact the 2027 budget.

A third supplemental item related to construction on a new fire station in the Dallas-area has also been added. While it will also not have an impact on the 2026 budget, staff say it will impact the city’s 2026–2030 Five-Year Plan.

Future Budget Plans

While the city was only expected to hold one in-person information session connected to the 2026 budget, staff say those plans were later reversed by council, who “decided to add this [upcoming session] to the calendar as we were going through potential reduction options.”

Rutsatz told CFJC it will be up to the new council that is elected in October to decide how many in-person information sessions will be held during future budget cycles. He noted staff still plan to present all supplemental items in the fall, like was done with the 2026 budget, with approvals to come in January or February.

In previous years, the supplemental budget items used to be presented at an information session in February, with approvals or rejections coming soon after.

The city is required to develop a balanced budget and five-year financial plan each year. Provincial regulations stipulate the budget must be finalized by the middle of May, with property taxes then typically due in early July.

Kamloops taxpayers were faced with a 7.42 per cent property tax increase in 2025 and a 9.55 per cent increase in 2024.

The city had already approved utility rate increases for 2026, with water and solid waste rates set to rise by 10 per cent each while sewer rates will increase by three per cent.

According to the city, these utility increases will mean an extra $121 — or $10.08 a month — for the average residential property in 2026.

More information about the city’s 2026 budget can be found here.

by Victor Kaisar

City hosting second budget session as provisional 2026 tax increase sits at 7.2 per cent

Future Budget Plans

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