Proposed 2025 Financial Plan is focused on capital investments and public safety
News Release
Kelowna City Council will deliberate on the 2025 preliminary budget at an all-day public meeting, starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5 in Council Chambers. Residents can tune in to the livestream at kelowna.ca/council or follow updates on social media with #KelownaBudget.
The 2025 Financial Plan marks the City’s second year of service-based budgeting, which organizes municipal spending by what matters to citizens rather than the structure of City departments. The budget shows exactly what government does, how much it costs to deliver, and what are the trade-offs if one service is prioritized over another.
Increased transparency and accountability remain pillars of the Financial Plan. For the first time, operating and capital budgets are presented together to provide a better overview of investments in tangible assets such as buildings and equipment, as well as the budget needed to make them productive. There is also greater emphasis on cash flow budgeting, which helps the City collect tax dollars for multi-year projects in the year they are spent while reducing carryovers.
As Kelowna remains one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, the budget makes accelerated investments in capital projects – more than doubling the annual rate of investment from prior years. This acceleration will enable the City to maintain and enhance service levels essential for growth, optimize the use of municipal reserves, maximize our purchasing power, and safeguard against inflation.
The budget is also responsive to cost pressures beyond City control. Emergency services like fire and police, for instance, have seen increased demand given provincial changes to ambulance services. And our costs for contracted RCMP and provincial transit services have also steeply increased. The budget reflects the City’s and Council’s strong commitment to public safety.
The 2025 budget prioritizes investments in:
Community safety through added staff and training resources for fire, police, and bylaw services, as well as enhancements to facilities and systems.
Housing supports through expanded overnight sheltering facilities, improved approval efficiencies and greater development density.
Active and road transportation through expanded transit facilities and connectivity, improved rider comfort, new trail and road infrastructure as part of a significant roads bundle and repairs, and street lighting.
Sustainability initiatives that prioritize energy efficient retrofits for buildings and lighting, updated standards for new construction, replacement of aging fleet vehicles with electric, increasing the urban tree canopy, and other innovations that prepare the City to deliver services to a growing population.
Economic development by accelerating capital investments in buildings, spaces, and infrastructure, continuing to expand airport and recreation facilities, and reviewing the City’s efforts into strengthening business investment in the region.
Digital transformation measures to improve citizen access to services and government operational efficiency and cybersecurity.
As proposed, the overall tax demand increase would result in a $108.30 increase (or $9.03 per month) for a single-detached home in Kelowna with an average value determined by BC Assessment. The 4.36 per cent increase includes the one per cent Public Safety Levy, which was introduced and endorsed by Council in 2023.
On average, once the Financial Plan is adopted by Council in April and the annual tax rate is set, the City generates approximately 75 per cent of the total annual revenue through sources other than yearly property taxation. Most revenue used to fund city operations comes from sources such as user fees and charges, reserves, surpluses and grants.
To learn more about the 2025 budget, visit kelowna.ca/budget.
