On Monday, council will discuss the 2026 budget. There have been years that our budget scared me. Years where council added a quarter-million-dollar project in just a few minutes of conversation. Years where we told ourselves we could live in a world where costs increase, and somehow ours would not. In those years, I reviewed my binder with alarm.
This year, I am not alarmed. But I am also not impressed.
This year’s budget is more reflective of good fortune than of good planning. It benefits from major grants that were uncertain until formally approved, and from debts across several departments that have now matured. Those debts were not taken on during this term, nor did council influence the pace at which they were paid down. The relief they provide would have arrived regardless of who was sitting at the horseshoe or what budgetary goals they brought with them.
Some items are being kept low without the level of local focus I would like to see. In wastewater, for example, we’ve held the base rate steady while increasing the variable, per-cubic-metre charge. I’ve written about this model before; it most benefits seasonal users and least benefits year-round residents. In a well-structured plan, tourism is a source of relief from financial burden for our residents, rather than a cost to subsidize.
This budget increases our tax levy by 2%. I’m thankful that we’ve proposed more than 0% this year, but I would have liked to see it bring us closer to alignment with the funding realities identified in our AMP.
I love a scratch card in my stocking as much as the next girl. But I wouldn’t want to build my household budget on it.
Next year, I’ll be advocating for a budget that relies less on good luck and more on alignment between our tax decisions, our capital plans, and the long-term obligations identified in our Asset Management Plan.