News

Second Round of 2025 Budget Consultations

11 February 2025

Kamloops residents are encouraged to share their input into the 2025 budget and five-year financial plan. The second round of engagement on the budget starts online this Thursday, February 13, when the City will publish forums and quick polls to gather public input on eight supplemental budget items. This morning, the eight business cases were formally presented to the Committee of the Whole and are available for public review on the Council Portal. Residents interested in in-person engagement are also invited to a public budget meeting on Thursday to receive an update on the provisional budget and a short presentation on each supplemental business case. Participants can chat with City Administration and Council members and complete a paper survey with the same content as the online quick polls.

2025 Budget Information Session
Thursday, February 13
6:00–8:00 pm
Sports Centre Lounge
McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre

The 2025 provisional budget was first presented to the Committee of the Whole in November 2024 and has continued to be refined, including during a comprehensive workshopping session with the Committee of the Whole on January 21, 2025. Recommendations from that session helped reduce the anticipated 2025 tax requirement increase from 9.67% to 7.49%. This figure represents the cost of providing the same services at the same levels as last year while considering new items already approved by Council and changes to regulations, contracts, and rates outside of the City’s control.

The eight business cases presented to the Committee of the Whole today have been set apart from the rest of the provisional budget because they either represent a change to the service level currently provided or offer something completely new. Public input will be collected online at LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/Budget2025 beginning at noon on Thursday, February 13, until 11:59 pm on Thursday, February 27. Council will receive an engagement report before deciding to include any of the supplemental items in the budget.

Seven of the supplemental budget items are requests from City departments and one is being presented on behalf of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association. Many address growth and public safety issues and highlight opportunities to combine projects, work more efficiently, and potentially save money in the long run.