Council Chambers

By Cheryl Jahn

City budget

Council approves final budget

Jan 28, 2026 | 11:11 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The average homeowner in Prince George will see their taxes rise by $144.

Council approved a tax hike of 4.94 per cent, which is down from the original 6.1 per cent proposed by Administration.

To achieve that final figure, a number of budgets were cut “in the interest of efficiencies.”

The total dollar-figure for budget reductions equaled $1.81 million, including a cut of $150,000 to the road rehab budget, bringing the final number to $7.15 million and dropping the snow removal budget to $9.8 million.

Public Art

New mural for the Conference and Civic Centre

5m ago

Voices & Culture Summit is more than a conference its creates a place of belonging in the North

2h ago

Expo

4th annual Northern RV & Outdoor Expo underway at CN Centre

2h ago

Originally, Administration recommended increasing that budget from $10 million to $11 million.

But Councillor Ron Polillo suggested “taking another calculated risk” in maintaining the budget at $10 million. Councillor Cori Ramsay took it a step further in dropping that figure to $9.8 million, adding there is a buffer of 25 per cent in reserves for that category.

At the start of the discussions, there were seven enhancement requests, including additional staffing for the RCMP, more bylaw services officers and 12 additional firefighters, as well as additional staffing at City Hall.

None of those extras was approved, save an amendment put forward by Councillor Kyle Sampson with respect to the fire department request.

“That Council approve the addition of one relief firefighter position for Prince George Fire Rescue.” The associated cost would be $132,354.

Prince George Fire Rescue initially sought the additional firefighters at a cost of $1.58 million to bring the city closer to meeting recommended personnel levels as set out by the National Fire Protection Association.

Fire Chief Bryan Burleigh noted that, while the decision “could help with relief, it does not constitute a full-time equivalent.”

Two other enhancement requests were brought forward, but were referred to next year’s budget. They were for a recruitment and retention advisor within the Human Resources Department and an Arts, Culture and Heritage Coordinator within Civic Facilities.

As for the capital budget, it was largely approved without amendment. It was another story for those projects listed in the “unfunded budget.” Several of those projects were referred to a Committee of the Whole meeting of Council later in the year.

Notable projects include a replacement of the housing unit for the Little Prince train at $1.2 million, a new score clock in Kopar Memorial Arena for $450,000, and a new Hart Connector trail at two million.

With a hike of 4.94 per cent in the overall levy, Council will determine the breakdown of that amount across the various classifications, such as residential, industrial and commercial.

A final budget will be submitted to the Province by May 15.