Annual Budgets

The City is collecting more in property taxes this year to cover rising costs related to factors such as:

• labour costs including salaries and wages, employee benefits, and insurance
• improvements to services, facilities, and infrastructure
• increased demand for City services

What’s driving increases to the budget? The following are the drivers for 2026:

Net Revenues

Translink grants for the MRN, development and construction related application and permit revenues, pay parking revenues, grant revenues, and program and user fees are projected to increase by $2,066,000 (A significant portion of these increases are offset with reserve transfers).

Salaries, wages, and benefits

Salaries, wages, and benefits have increased by $1,939,000. This represents estimated collective agreement increases for all the bargaining units and management and related overhead and benefit costs such as: WorkSafeBC premiums, extended health benefits, the employer portion of the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and the Employer Health Tax.

Operating expenses

Operating expenses are increasing by $999,000. This represents inflationary increases for operating expenses such as insurance, equipment, fuel, contracted services, utilities, legal services, professional services, leases, etc.

Reserve Transfers

Transfers to and from reserves are increasing by $1,570,000. This increase is primarily related to the increase in Translink MRN funding for 2026 and 2027.

Accumulated Surplus Funding

The 2025 Financial Plan included a strategic one-time allocation of $695,000 from the accumulated surplus to fund a range of key initiatives. This funding is gradually being phased out, with $348,000 in accumulated surplus funding for 2026.

Port Moody Police

The Port Moody Police’s provisional budget submission is anticipated to represent a base increase of $1,279,000.

Capital Asset Levy

The Capital Asset Levy has increased by an estimated 1% or $619,000. This is consistent with past practice and ensures that the Asset Reserve and associate capital envelopes have sufficient funds to renew and replace critical city infrastructure.

Climate Action Plan

The annual contribution to the Climate Action Implementation Reserve has increased by an estimated 1% or $619,000 to provide the necessary annual funding to meet ongoing climate action implementation targets in the City’s Climate Action Plan.

Service Impacts

New funding requirements for 2026 total $358,000 and include the addition of two new Fire-Fighters positions ($267,000) as recommended in the 2025 Fire Rescue Master Plan.

New Tax Revenue

Growth or Non-Market Change (NMC), which represents an estimate of increases in taxable values unrelated to market increases, has been estimated at $309,500.  This figure will be further refined as updated information is received from BC Assessment.

Our operating budget covers spending related to the day-to-day operations of City departments. These daily expenses help to keep our streets and homes safe, and ensure that we have clean water running through the taps, garbage and recycling trucks on the road, and recreational and cultural facilities open for the public. Typical examples of operating expenses are:

• employee salaries and wages
• supplies, materials, and equipment
• property, liability and vehicle insurance
• maintenance

The City's capital budgets fund larger, long-term projects, mostly related to maintaining, upgrading, and replacing the City's infrastructure and facilities. It's important to make long-term plans for scheduled maintenance and replacement of these valuable, tangible capital assets to ensure they are in place to deliver services. The capital budget works to advance Council’s strategic plan within our long-term financial capacity.

• budget guidelines approved by Finance Committee – May
• budget packages distributed to departments – May
• budgets drafted by departments – May to July
• department budget reviews with Finance – August to September
• Council deliberations – October to December
• public budget presentations – October
• public consultation – November
• provisional budget approval - December
• Council adopts budget bylaw – historically, April and May
• tax rates set – prior to May 15 (as per Community Charter)
• taxes due on first business day after July 1st (covering costs for services from January 1 to December 31)

See the table below for 2025/2026 milestone dates as well as links to City Council meeting agendas, presentations, and videos.