The last two years of the current Kamloops city council’s four-year term was marked by big spending, but it’s not just arts venue and hockey rink costing taxpayers big money. That spending is likely to be a hot-button issue in this municipal election.

Some newcomers in the local election, along with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, have questioned whether city hall has overspent, while incumbents will tout the long-term payoff.

The focus will likely fall on the cost of Build Kamloops and the yet-to-be-approved police station, but city council has looked for ways to cut spending multiple times over the past few budgets when faced with healthy tax increases simply to keep the lights on.

Here are some charts:

The city’s annual budget grew by $58 million between 2022 and 2025, and most of it came from a $36 million increase in overall taxation. Only the civic operations department — which oversees roads, parks and other public infrastructure — has seen a dip in spending.

The value of a typical home in Kamloops rose by $85,000 from 2022 to 2025, with property taxes up by nearly $1,000, according to provincial government data.

The province valued a typical home in Kamloops at around $631,000 in 2022, which would’ve been charged $2,480 in city property taxes. A typical home value in 2025 went up to $714,000 in 2025 and the owner would have paid $3,320 to city hall.

In that time, Kamloops city hall’s financial footing has dipped to the most indebted local government in the province. At the end of 2024, Kamloops was $52.5 million in debt when comparing its cash to overall debt.

That’s the lowest of the ten municipalities in the red across BC, while the savings outpaced debt for the rest.

Kamloops taxpayers had nearly paid off millions in debt before city hall started borrowing for big projects like the Dufferin arena and performing arts centre under the Build Kamloops portfolio, but the city’s books had remained in the black until 2022, when the current city council was elected.

Since then, Kamloops city hall’s debt has climbed above its savings and things aren’t going to turn around soon.

The nearly half-billion dollars in loans for those projects will be paid off over 25 years, but city staff have assured the public it’s manageable and still well below the limits set by the provincial government.

The four-year squeeze on Kamloops city hall's pocketbook | iNFOnews.ca

If the next city council stays on the path set for Build Kamloops projects, the $211 million performing arts centre should be complete by 2029, followed by the $168 million arena a year after. A downtown curling and racquet ball court is also part of the plan, but no cost or timeline has been set.

The new police station, meanwhile, is expected to cost around $160 million if construction starts by 2028.