Town Hall

Budget 2026

The 2026 budget process is underway

Gibsons’ residents and businesses are encouraged to share their thoughts and priorities with Council. This could include a desire for more parks, reserves for infrastructure development, tree protection, or lower taxes. We encourage you to attend budget meetings to learn about the process, understand the issues and challenges, and share your thoughts. To Submit Feedback: Email your comments to mayorandcouncil@gibsons.ca or drop them off at the Municipal Hall.

Budget Update: April 16, 2026

The Town’s 2026 budget process is moving into its final stages, with Council reviewing the five-year financial plan and preparing to set municipal tax rates later this month.

Over the past several months, staff have worked diligently to tighten the budget and focus on core services and priority infrastructure. This work has resulted in a proposed 7.7% property tax increase, coming in under Council’s target of keeping increases below 8%.

Gibsons is entering a period where key assets, such as roads, drainage, and buildings, require replacement for the first time, and costs are expected to rise significantly in the coming years.

The proposed increase supports:

  • Building reserves for future infrastructure replacement
  • Preparing for the Town’s transition to a municipal RCMP contract in 2027
  • Reducing reliance on limited surplus funds

Utility rate updates adopted earlier this spring include:

  • A 10% increase to water and sewer rates for infrastructure renewal
  • A 3% increase to garbage and organics fees, reflecting contract costs

Council has also approved a new drainage parcel tax of $105 per property, starting in 2026 to help pay for maintaining and upgrading the Town’s drainage system. Right now, drainage does not have a dedicated funding source and has relied on grants and general taxation. This approach does not clearly reflect the importance of the service or provide enough stable funding to plan ahead.

2026 Meetings Schedule

October to January:

  • Staff prepare budget requests (Water, Sewer, General).

December to January:

  • Council workshop with staff on budget requirements for the upcoming year.
  • Through public engagement, Council hears from community members on their top priorities for the year.
  • With input from staff and community members, Council reviews input before formal deliberations begin.

January to February:

  • Council reviews operational and capital budget requests and considers early approval for projects.

March

  • Council continues with ongoing budget deliberations.
  • Council determines additional public engagement opportunities.

April

  • Operational and capital budget requests will be approved, deferred, or removed by Council.
  • Five-Year Financial Plan Bylaw is drafted for Council consideration.

May

  • Three readings and adoption of 5-Year Financial Plan.
    The Community Charter states that “each year, after adoption of the financial plan, but before May 15th, a council must, by bylaw, impose property value taxes for the year”.

Some costs, like wages, road repairs, sewer treatment and other services are ongoing and similar from year to year. The cost of providing many of these services increases each year, due to the increasing costs of materials, wages, utilities and other factors. This is what we call the “base operating budget”. Changes to the base budget result in service-level changes and need to be approved by Council. Each year, staff submit their base operating budgets for Council’s consideration, as well as any new ongoing expenses or one-time operating expenses that may help to streamline existing processes or improve services for community members.

The general operating fund is our main operating fund that captures the costs associated with providing the following municipal services to residents and property owners:

  • Council
  • Corporate Administration
  • ICBC / Driver Services
  • Financial Services
  • Planning Services
  • Protective Services (Building, Bylaw, Animal Control)
  • Infrastructure Services
    • Municipal Buildings
    • Public Works
    • Roads, Drainage, Solid Waste, Snow Removal, Fleet
    • Parks and Cultural Services

Revenues collected to fund these municipal services include:

  • Property taxation
  • Garbage and Organic program user fees
  • Investment Income
  • Property rental income
  • ICBC / Driver Services commissions
  • Donations / Other recoveries
  • Planning and development-related licenses and permit fees
  • Operating grants from the Province of BC

Capital budget requests include major infrastructure projects like maintaining our roads, buildings and sewers, as well as major studies or assessments that are often contracted to a consultant. Some of these projects are required to maintain assets and infrastructure. Some are things that may improve physical spaces or provide new opportunities to help meet Council’s strategic goals.