Budget 2022

Please note that all Public Budget Consultation opportunities have now concluded for 2022, with feedback provided to Council at the April 25th Regular Meeting of Council. There will be a Special Meeting of Council on May 2nd, 2022 to consider the 2022-2026 Financial Plan and Property Tax Bylaws. For additional information, go to the agendas section of our website.

The City is looking to engage with residents about the 2022 budget, as we plan for our next five-year budget cycle from 2022 to 2026. We continue to have a busy five years ahead, with major infrastructure renewal taking up a significant amount of staff energy, as well as available funds. In this year, as in past years, we work hard to balance our community's many needs and priorities.

Because these decisions are difficult, and require community input, we have also launched a new budgeting consultation software called Balancing Act (see below) - where residents can weigh in directly on the priorities laid out in our budget. You'll be able to have an in-depth look at the budget, and can submit your feedback about whether you agree with how we have allocated spending, or if you have suggestions regarding municipal priorities. Once available, the link to the simulation will be available below.

The City's proposed operational budget for 2022 was presented at the March 14th Council meeting, with public in-person feedback opportunities scheduled for March 28th and April 11th of this year. At these sessions, the public is invited to attend and speak to budget priorities.

Budget information for the 2022 Budget season is not only shared through Council and in the previously noted formal consultations. We are also engaging the public through the use of our online engagement platform (here!) and results are shared with Council before the budget is formally adopted.

On this page, learn more about key budget timelines and processes, view documents, videos, and access frequently asked questions.

What is in this year's budget?

As in past years, we continue to make historic investments in infrastructure renewal, while doing our best not to pass costs on to residents by seeking alternate sources of revenue.

Highlights/Cost Drivers of the 2022 budget include:

• Completion of the Woodworth dam
• Initiation of the RCMP Detachment replacement design
• Funds from Legacy Inc towards Downtown Revitalization Planning
• Costs associated with the 2022 Municipal Election
• Increase to the costs of our policing contract due to a negotiated increase in pay from the RCMP Union
• Additional maintenance costs associated with the downtown public washroom
• The addition of four relief Firefighers, to ensure that the Department has an adequate number of on-duty staff to make entry into structure fires
• Renovations to the old MacCarthy dealership building to accommodate City Public Works office and warehousing - paid for by a dividend from Legacy Inc. All current facilities are leaking and/or have been determined to be unsafe.
• Additional environmental monitoring and repair costs not originally anticipated for the opening of the new landfill cell
• An allocation to City capital reserves for emergency water utility repairs - which are frequent and represent an uncertain cost each year

This year’s budget proposes a 3.63% increase to the residential mill rate. Staff understand that in Prince Rupert and beyond, we are experiencing a period of increased inflation, driven by factors outside municipal control. Knowing that our residents and businesses are feeling these impacts across all different categories of their budgets, every effort has been made to keep the recommended increase to the mill rate to only what is necessary.

Finance also presented a loan authorization bylaw in January for borrowing to be undertaken in 2022 so that the City can initiate borrowing to build a new RCMP station, as mandated by our Policing Agreement. The City has reserved funds in the past to cover the debt repayment for this project to reduce potential impact to tax payers. For more information on loan authorizations, check out our short video on the proposed RCMP Loan in the Videos section of this page.