2026 budget: how should the City balance tax rates and service levels? Take our survey today

How should the City balance tax rates and service levels? Mayor and Council want to hear from Port Moody residents and business owners as they consider the proposed 2026 budget. Visit engage.portmoody.ca today to fill out our budget survey and provide your comments to Council prior to final budget deliberations.

Engage Port Moody, our public engagement hub, is your source for information on the proposed 2026 budget. On our project page you can:

• learn more about the budget process and the City’s proposed net operating expenses for 2026;
• read the City’s Budget Guide and the full Draft 2026-2030 Financial Plan;
• review answers to frequently asked questions or ask a new question; and
• provide valuable input by completing our community survey online by Sunday, November 16, 2025.

If you prefer to fill out the survey on paper, you can pick up a copy at City Hall (100 Newport Drive). Your completed survey must be returned to City Hall by Friday, November 14, 2025.

A summary of public engagement results will be presented to Council for their consideration on November 18, 2025, prior to approval of the Provisional 2026-2030 Financial Plan in December 2025. Staff and Council will also consider information collected as part of the 2024 Community Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Ipsos, in budget workshops and deliberations. Final approval of the budget will take place in April 2026 after the City has received the revised tax roll from BC Assessment and final information from the Province. Municipalities must set their property tax rates by bylaw before May 15 of each year.

In 2026, the City is proposing to collect $67.5 million – approximately $5.67 million more than in 2025 – in property taxes from residents and businesses to balance the budget. The estimated tax rate increase for the average household is currently being proposed at 8.65 per cent. This means in 2026 the average household would see an estimated increase of approximately $270 for the year – that’s $5.19 per week or $0.74 per day. The increase for each individual household will depend on the value of your property, as assessed by BC Assessment, and your change in assessed value relative to the average change in assessed value for all other households.

The City is proposing to collect more in property taxes this year to cover rising costs related to factors such as: labour costs including salaries and wages; employee benefits; insurance; and replacement of existing critical infrastructure, amenities, and facilities.

The City has two types of budget expenses: operating and capital. Our operating budget covers spending related to Port Moody’s day-to-day operations. The City’s capital budget funds larger, longer-term projects, mostly related to maintaining, upgrading, and replacing the City’s infrastructure and facilities.

Here are some of the capital projects proposed in the Draft 2026-2030 Financial Plan:

• Sewer Capital Infrastructure Program (linear and non-linear);
• Water Network Infrastructure Asset Renewal Program (linear and non-linear);
• Storm drainage improvements (Moody Centre);
•  Local Road Network (LRN) Road Reconstruction Program (paving for Falcon Drive and McGill Drive);
•  Major Road Network (MRN) Road Rehabilitation Program (paving for Ioco Road as part of the Ioco Road Utility Upgrades Project);
• Inlet Centre Firehall – replace boilers with air-to-water heat pump;
• Fleet renewal including a garbage truck, street sweeper, and tandem axle dump truck (also used as a snow plow).

The projects listed above represent nearly 46 per cent (or $12.4 million) of the proposed capital budget. You can read the full list of proposed capital projects in the Draft 2026-2030 Financial Plan.