Councillors may trim up to four points off Kamloops budget hike

Staff at Kamloops city hall scoured for ways to cut this year’s budget and found $6.5 million could be cut from city spending in 2026.

The budget originally anticipated a 10.76% increase from residential taxpayers but now could come in at 6.7%, depending on how council weighs a number of proposed cuts. Council has yet to vote on the changes, but the proposed cuts mean the average household would still spend $193 more in property taxes this year. That would be down from the original $310 proposed increase.

To do that, staff proposed reductions to firefighter training, street sign maintenance and park maintenance. It also includes postponing new hires to RCMP and firefighting ranks.

The most expensive single item would come from the RCMP budget, saving $1.6 million. That amount would’ve been set aside to hire five new officers and a handful of municipal staffers, instead deferring it to 2027.

Last year, the city had also planned to hire five officers plus support staff, but council decided to cut that amount in half when facing budget pressures.

Similarly, council will consider whether to defer the hiring of five firefighters until 2027. It was part of a plan to bolster staffing at the Dallas fire station, but the postponement would spare the city almost $1 million. The previous plan was to hire 10 firefighters this year, then another 10 in 2027.

Another significant cut is to again postpone the city’s climate action levy. In 2021, it was a 0.35% tax increase that would go into a reserve for climate-focused projects, like bike lanes. As planned, it would have increased by another 0.35% each year.

It hasn’t been paused before, but council did cut the increase by half in 2024.

Council is expected to vote on each of the proposed cuts individually, but they haven’t yet considered whether to add any new projects to the 2026 budget. It won’t be finalized until the spring.

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