Budget
Last updated on October 27, 2026
Budget Overview
The City of Merritt updates its 5-year Financial Plan every year, starting in the fall and continuing through spring.
COVERING COSTS
Prior to 2023, the City was unable to cover its costs and relied on reserves to balance the budget. Since then, the City has taken steps to improve financial sustainability. These steps included, among others, seeking cost savings, pursuing grants and sponsorships, updating the Fees and Charges Bylaw (which had not been updated since 2015), and making hard decisions on service levels. Today, the City is better positioned to balance the budget and plan for future infrastructure needs.
Since the 2023 budgeting cycle, risk management and financial sustainability have improved through several actions:
- Property taxation increases.
- Updating of the Fees and Charges Bylaw for the first time since 2015 and establishing an annual cadence for Council to authorize the charging of fees for various municipal services.
- Sourcing cost savings.
- Reviewing and decisioning service and sponsorship levels.
- Identifying and executing on where engagement and advocacy was required (i.e. transit funding).
- Creating certainty and stability as it relates to the workforce and the costs of human capital in the budget following the signing of a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.
- Strategic planning that considers capital for 5-10+ years and starting funding strategies today for critical infrastructure in the future.
These actions have enabled a balanced operational budget without drawing on reserves for operational purposes and the start of savings for future capital investment in the community.
TAX DISTRIBUTION
Approximately 56% of your property taxes fund municipal services. Of this amount, 41% goes to Protective Services, with the remaining portion applied to recreation, parks, public works, development, and other services. In the other part of the pie chart, 34% funds schools, BC Assessment, Transit, and the TNRD. Parcel taxes (10%) fund water and sewer projects.
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
Proposed new capital investments, excluding flood mitigation, include upgrades to Spirit Square, new fire hoses and AEDs, park lighting and furniture, and Public Works projects such as Voght Street roundabouts, airport asphalt work, and bridge maintenance. These are some of the capital improvements that are budgeted at $29 million over the next five years. These proposed projects are in addition to projects approved in the previous year’s budget. The Kengard Well project is not included in the current financial plan while treatment options are refined.
Building up some reserves allows for capital projects to be considered without directly impacting the tax rate. New capital projects being considered in the 2026 – 2030 plan include:
- Fire Department: Fire Hoses (grant funded)
- Community Services: AEDs for all remaining facilities, renovating the formerly tenanted space in City Hall, replacing the City Hall doors, dealing with the former CPO building, Spirit Square, Cadet Hall HVAC/AC
- Infrastructure (Public Works): Voght St Roundabouts, airport asphalt annual program, bridge maintenance investments
- Parks: Central Park lighting, periodic renewal programs for receptacles, benches, and picnic tables
The Kengard well project has been removed from the five-year financial plan while treatment options are further refined, and a project scope aligns with funding sources.
*NOTE: This 5-year capital investment of $29 Million excludes Flood Mitigation
Budget Timeline
Council is required to adopt an updated Five-Year Financial Plan Bylaw and set the annual tax rate by mid-May of every year. The process is lengthy and involves Council, City Administration, and the public.
The typical workflow begins in early fall, as City departments review and prepare their annual budgets. The City manager and the financial team review the budget submissions mid-fall and draft a provisional budget. Near the end of fall, Council reviews and discusses the draft budget at meetings that are open to the public in-person and through video conferencing. The draft budget is posted online and is open to public review throughout early winter.
Council reviews and discusses any feedback at subsequent public meetings from about January to April. The public may engage with Council anytime during this period; however, the ideal time for contributions is when a Public Engagement session, such as an Open House, is announced. If you are unable to attend the Open House, residents are invited to attend public Council Meetings. If you wish to address Council regarding the budget at these public Council meetings, first confirm that the budget is on the upcoming agenda at merritt.ca/agendas. Then sign up to speak by completing the form on this page: merritt.ca/how-to-address-council.
Council Meetings
The public is always invited to regular council meetings. If you wish to address council as part of “public input,” you may sign up to speak at the meeting. You may only speak on the topics that are on the agenda. If you wish to speak to council on a topic that is not on the agenda, you must register a week in advance to appear as a delegation.
Meet the Mayor or Councillor
City of Merritt Mayor and Council are open to meet with residents who wish to discuss any topic. Contact the Mayor or a City Councillor to voice your opinion. Or send an email to info@merritt.ca.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is based on the BC Assessment Roll and is the average of that roll for the City of Merritt.
General Government budget includes wages for the Director of Corporate Services/Corporate Officer, Committee Clerk, Communications and Engagement, and IT staff. Other expenses include advertising and marketing costs, software costs for all departments, and municipal election costs.
Unrestricted reserve means those monies in savings that are not allocated to a specific capital project or service category but can be used to finance any capital project.
Staffing levels must be grounded in the realities of service delivery and organizational complexity. The municipality is facing increased scrutiny, expanding legislation, and significantly greater reporting requirements tied to both daily operations and grant funding, often without corresponding increases in funding from senior levels of government. At the same time, staffing levels across the organization must be sufficient to maintain expected service standards.
While the City continuously seeks efficiencies in the use of staff resources—including leveraging grant funding to support key positions that cannot be sustained through operating funds alone—capacity pressures remain. As a complex organization, staffing decisions must also account for succession planning, recruitment, and retention, which require appropriate organizational levels to support long-term stability.
Comparisons with other municipalities are inherently limited, as staffing needs vary based on the level of service a community expects: lower service levels require fewer employees, while higher service expectations demand greater staffing capacity.
The number of Council members in a municipality may be established in letters patent or in a municipal bylaw. If neither apply, the number is established by legislation based on the population of a municipality; Cities or Districts with a population under 50,000 must have a mayor and six councillors. If we were a Town or Village we would be required to have a mayor and four councillors.
On December 15, 1964, the letters patent were amended to establish the Town of Merritt from the Village of Merritt; on May 14, 1980 the letters patent were amended again to establish the City of Merritt. Following the amendment of the letters patent in 1980 the City Council increased in size from one Mayor and 4 Councillors to one Mayor and six Councillors as per legislation.
If a Council wishes to change the number of Council members, it must pass a bylaw to establish the number of Council members; Council must receive the assent of the electors if it wishes to reduce the number of Council members. Council member remuneration is established by Bylaw 2266 which was adopted on August 27, 2019.