Penticton considers 6.26 per cent tax increase

Penticton city council has targeted a proposed 6.26 per cent tax increase for local property owners.

Angela Campbell, director of finance, presented a draft budget overview at Tuesday’s regular meeting of council.

Once council has approved the 2026-2030 Draft Financial Plan in principle, including the rate of tax increase, staff will present the bylaw for first three readings on Dec.2, with adoption to follow at the next meeting.

The 6.26 per cent increase, if approved by council, would amount to an additional $144 per year in property taxes or an extra $12 per month for the average residential taxpayer, based on a home valued at $650,000.

The average business would see an increase of $47 a month.

The City of Penticton’s 2026–2030 Draft Financial and Corporate Business Plan reflects Council’s continued commitment to building a community that is “safe, livable and vibrant”, said Campbell.

Proposed investments include additional public safety personnel, enhanced bylaw and clean team resources, as well as ongoing implementation of the CommuniTREE Plan to support a greener, more resilient city.

“The 2026 draft budget builds on the momentum of previous years, with targeted investments that respond directly to community priorities,” said Campbell. “Council’s direction is clear: We are investing in the people, places and programs that make Penticton a great place to live.”

Key public safety investments proposed in the 2026 budget include:

• Hiring two additional firefighters to support fire response and prevention.
• Adding one RCMP public service employee as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst to support criminal investigations.
• Increasing bylaw enforcement resources to support community standards.
• Expanding the Clean Team to enhance cleanliness and livability in public spaces.

This increase reflects inflationary pressures and the cost of expanding services to meet community needs, she said.

As part of the City’s rigorous review process, a reduction of $600,000 was made, which equates to 1.2 per cent of the overall budget, she said.

This is in addition to the 2.4 per cent that was reduced in the 2025 budget through the same process.

Other highlights include:

• Continued investment in aging infrastructure and utility upgrades, like the fire hall renewals and arenas.
• Supporting the Vees transition to a WHL team.
• Support for community vibrancy through events and public space improvements.
• Advancing Council’s priorities for housing, accessibility and sustainability.

Before preparing the final draft budget, department managers and senior staff engaged in weeks of line-by-line cost analysis with all city departments to come to the tax increase and the 38 strategic initiatives, said Campbell.

Managers look at every budget area and compare each line item with five years of actual and budget costs, and look for opportunities to find savings, while not reducing service levels, she said.

The focus for council has remained around building a safe and resilient community, as well as one that is liveable and accessible, she said.

Council will also be looking over the Fire Hall Renewals project that has already been discussed in depth at previous council meetings in 2025, she said.

The estimated costs to replace Penticton’s two fire halls has been set at $38 million, which would include $37 million to build a new station at the site of the current satellite location on Dawson Avenue, then engaging in a $1 million upgrade of the current department headquarters in downtown Penticton, she said.

The city has applied for up to $7 million in funding through the provincial government’s Strategic Priorities Fund.

The 2026 budget has $2 million for the fire hall upgrades, however, the majority of costs, $34 million, would be incorporated in the 2027 budget.

“We are planning to borrow for that project,” Campbell said. “There is some uncertainty, because we’ve applied for that $7 million strategic priority fund grant. So until we know the results of that grant, we won’t actually know what we’re looking at for financing.”

At the last meeting of council two weeks ago, a group of professionals made a presentation detailing a plan to build a new twin-rink facility at the South Okanagan Events Centre site, while eventually closing down the iconic, but aging Memorial Arena within the next five years. There was also a proposal to turn the McLaren Arena into a curling facility at a cost of between $5.2 and $6.9 million.

The presenters suggested the option of selling the current Penticton Curling Club to the adjacent Cascades Casino, as they have plans for a large expansion of their current facility if they were to acquire the curling club property.

The costs for the twin-rink facility were listed at just over $70 million, however, the working group said that included a 30 per cent contingency and the final price tag would likely be much lower.

The draft budget includes an investment of $500,000 after council approved moving forward to the detailed design phase for the twin-rink facility and curling club option at McLaren Arena.

The budget also continues the implementation of the CommuniTREE Plan, a long-term strategy to expand and protect Penticton’s urban forest.

City manager Anthony Haddad said the majority of the budget is continuing with the core services that they provide to the community.

“Out of the $88.5 million operating budget, only $3.1 million of that is for the new initiatives and inflation,” he said. “So we’re continuing with that as a big focus, but making some further investments around public safety as we head into this budget with council.”

Staff said Penticton property owners continue to pay some of the lowest residential property taxes and business taxes in the Okanagan Valley.

The feedback gathered will be shared with Council at the start of budget deliberations, which begin Nov. 18.

Public consultation will be undertaken from Oct. 21 through Nov. 5 and will be done through online feedback (Shape Your City) and engagement and Council’s Open House, set for Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 4-7 p.m. at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

The results of these engagement activities will be provided with the release of the budget materials on Nov.14 as well as presented during deliberations to council, prior to making final decisions on the budget.

The budget process for 2026 will include presentations to council and will be provided by division and department with a focus on delivering on council’s strategic priorities, key budget changes and initiatives.

Deliberations are set to take place in council chambers on Nov. 18-19.

During the 2023 financial planning process, council approved the addition of four additional firefighters.

Direction was given to phase this cost in over four years with the addition of one fire fighter per year to the budget until 2026 with the balance to be funded by surplus.

2026 marks the final year of phasing in these costs which is equal to a 0.25% tax increase.

During the 2025 financial planning process, council approved the addition of two RCMP members. As the arrival of these members was not anticipated to occur until 2026, the budget implication was referred to that budget year.

The cost of the two additional members represents a 0.9% tax increase.

— This article was originally published by the Penticton Herald