Budget talks start Monday as City Council considers 5.83% tax increase

Prince George City Council will begin budget meetings at 1:00 tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

According to Director of Finance and IT Services Kris Dalio, the draft budget to be presented tomorrow maintains service levels, funds contractual commitments, and sets aside resources to reinvest in aging infrastructure.

“CPI (Consumer Price Index) measures inflation based on a specific basket of goods used by households, which is not reflective of municipal expenses,” Dalio said.

“While municipalities use some goods common to households, such as gas and electricity, they also require items like asphalt for roads and construction materials, which are not included in the household basket. The reality is that the municipal basket of goods is inflating at a much higher rate than CPI. Prince George strives to be fiscally prudent and has the second-lowest total tax increase among our peers over the past four years. However, this illustrates the difficulties municipalities face in aligning with CPI without compromising the sustainability of service levels.”

City Council will consider a 5.83 per cent tax increase, approximately $158.87 for the average household in Prince George. A one per cent increase in taxes translates to roughly $27.25 for the average household.

This proposed increase for 2025 is required to maintain core service levels and funding for contractual commitments.

City Council will also consider several enhancements to the budget:

• Increase RCMP contract strength from 153 members to 157 – four new members at $226,516 for a total of $906,064 (adds 0.65 per cent to the increase)
• Increase Police Support Services municipal employee staff by three: one assistant manager of Operations ($140,093); one victim services worker ($92,116) and one community policing coordinator ($96,785) for a total of $328,994 (0.24 per cent)
• Increase Fire Protection staff by five: five Firefighters ($132,354 each including $20,000 of clothing/training) and promote four senior firefighter positions to lieutenants at $17,588 each for a total of $732,122 (0.53 per cent)
• Increase Bylaw Service by four bylaw officers at $92,668 each plus $25,000 for equipment and training for a total of $395,672 (0.28 per cent)
• Increase Communications staff by one engagement specialist:  $106,797 (0.08 per cent)
• Increase Parks staff by two arborists: $198,574 (0.14 per cent), associated equipment ($701,500) would be procured in 2025 but would not hit the tax levy until 2026.
• Increase Parks staff by one recreation event coordinator at $108,278 and a non-labour base budget of $100,000 to manage Canada Day and other events in community parks for a total of $208,278 (0.15 per cent)
• Increase Planning and Development by one parks planner position for a total of $112,424 (0.08 per cent)

The service enhancements equate to an additional 2.01 per cent.

Council may add to or cut things from the budget at their discretion as well.

A breakdown of the budget can be found here.

Residents can provide written comments on the proposed financial and capital expenditure plans until 8:30 tomorrow morning.

These comments can be done in person at City Hall, emailed to [email protected], or submitted online here.