Prince George city council will meet on Monday afternoon for the first of two planned regular budget meetings to determine the taxes for the 2025 budget.
The meetings, which are open to the public, will be held in council chambers at 1:00 p.m. on January 20 and January 22. Both meetings will also be livestreamed, and the videos will be archived and available for viewing online.
On Monday, council will receive a detailed overview of operational and capital budgets, as well as cost pressures for 2025. A proposed tax increase of 5.83 per cent will be discussed, along with a suite of proposed service enhancements that could increase the levy to 7.84 per cent if approved. A 5.83 per cent increase for an average household represents an additional cost of approximately $158.87.
The 2025–2029 Capital Plan will also be up for discussion and approval.
In October, the city launched its budget consultation process, which included several online surveys and a community open house. In total, 941 responses were received for the check-up surveys, and 930 responses were received for the budget survey. A full report on the engagement results was presented at the December 4 Standing Committee on Finance and Audit meeting.
Director of Finance and IT Services, Kris Dalio, noted that the draft budget maintains service levels, funds contractual commitments, and sets aside resources to reinvest in aging infrastructure. Council will have the ability to adjust service levels, which could either increase or decrease the tax levy. Mr. Dalio also highlighted the challenges posed by inflation.
“CPI (Consumer Price Index) measures inflation based on a specific basket of goods used by households, which is not reflective of municipal expenses,” he 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,” Mr. Dalio said.
Residents can provide written comments on the proposed financial and capital expenditure plans up until 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 20. These comments can be done in person at City Hall, emailed to cityclerk@princegeorge.ca or submitted online here.