March 17, 2026

Council approves 2026-2030 Financial Plan

Sidney BC

Sidney’s 2026-2030 Financial Plan was adopted by Council following final budget deliberations on March 16. It includes an operating budget of $32.8 million and a capital budget of $12.5 million for 2026. The general tax increase for the year has been set at 9.37%, which will be applied equally to all property types, including residential and commercial.

Each year, the Town’s budget covers a wide range of core services, including but not limited to the maintenance of roads, sidewalks, parks, and underground utilities that residents and businesses make use of daily. The Financial Plan prioritizes the maintenance of critical infrastructure, including water mains and pump stations, while continuing park improvements identified in the Parks Master Plan. It also supports enhancements to essential public safety services such as police and fire.

The proposed general tax increase in the draft Financial Plan, introduced to Council on February 17, was 12.4%. After directing staff to look at ways to lower the budget, Council ultimately approved a general tax increase of 9.37%.

The impact on the average residential property equates to approximately $176 for the year, or about $15 per month.

This is the second higher-than-usual increase for the Town, as the municipality returns to full taxation levels following several years of pandemic-related adjustments. It reflects key factors including, but not limited to:

• Construction inflation, which has outstripped general inflation by almost 100% in recent years;
• Protective services (RCMP and Fire) improvements, which represent a 5.4% increase (more than half of this year’s increase); and
• Expanding areas of responsibility, as the Province downloads key costs and services related to housing, emergency management, and fire and life safety to municipalities, including the cost of police dispatch services. Police dispatch costs alone are equivalent to a 2.6% increase for 2026.

Over the past five years, the Town has offset many cost pressures by drawing from surplus reserves, which now need to be replenished, and the COVID Safe Restart grant, which is now depleted.

“During the budget process, there was a strong focus on keeping the tax increase as low as possible, recognizing the cost-of-living pressures residents and businesses are facing. We deferred several non-urgent capital projects and adjusted our approach to rebuilding reserves to land on a general tax increase of 9.37%,” said Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith. “While past tax increases were among the lowest in the region, supported in part by reserves, we now need to rebuild those reserves while keeping Sidney a vibrant community residents take pride in, and where strong public safety services are available when needed.”
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