The draft budget is available to the public and will go to council for preliminary discussions on January 12.
Each year, the Township prepares a budget that explains how property tax dollars will be spent to support residents and the community. The budget includes a five-year financial plan to help guide decisions, plan services, and make long-term investments while keeping property taxes as affordable as possible.
The 2026–2030 Financial Plan continues to focus on finding ways to save money and work more efficiently, while making sure important infrastructure is repaired or replaced when needed.
To help give the draft some context, staff have also created a budget book that explains the process and planned spending for the next 5 years. This will publish the week of January 12.
Residents are invited to review the meeting materials and send feedback to council or attend the meeting at 7PM in Council Chambers on Monday, January 12.
The budget reflects the municipal portion of residents property taxes, which is approximately 60% of the total bill. These funds stay in Esquimalt to support local services such as roads, parks, emergency services, and recreation. The remaining 40% is collected on behalf of, and remitted to, the CRD, BC Transit, Provincial Government, BC Assessment and the Municipal Finance Authority.
The current tax rate is set at 13.00%. Council will deliberate spending options and any resulting rate changes.
The next budget discussion with council will be at the February 2 council meeting (7PM in Council Chambers).
Council sets priorities through the Council Priority Plan. Staff use this to create departmental projects and plans each year.
Some projects in the include policy or bylaw reviews like the upcoming Official Community Plan review or understanding the township’s capacity for new developments.
The budget reflects the costs of doing the work in addition to factors like wages (staff time to complete the projects) and infrastructure maintenance (upkeep costs).
During this council’s term, many priority projects have been completed. As council begins to work on the 2026 budget, they will review existing and future priority plans on balance with cost impacts to the township and taxpayers.
Budget requests from departments are grouped as core (existing operations), supplemental (one-time or new asks) and staffing.
The township’s policing costs have Increased 9.82% over 2025- this represents 2.97% of the proposed tax increase.
Employee Compensation & Staff Additions
Staff compensation is tied with negotiated collective agreements
Additional staff requests are to support increasing service levels and demands
Long Term Infrastructure
Funding an infrastructure reserve annually helps offset large costs when repairs and maintenance are necessary. A contribution of 3% is in the budget to go to long-term infrastructure and fleet renewal.
What items are discretionary?
Council has some options with the proposed budget. Some items can be deferred from the 2026 budget.
This includes:
Reducing or eliminating the 3% infrastructure reserve funds
Reducing or eliminating the staffing requests
Reducing or eliminating supplemental staff requests
Reducing or eliminating VicPD additional funding requests
Reducing funding to core operations funding is possible and would result in reduced service levels for residents.
What items are not discretionary?
Inflationary increase of 1.09% cannot be changed- this number reflects increases in fuel and other external cost pressure
Wages based on negotiated collective agreements
Library funding is a priority
While recognizing that tax rates in Esquimalt were low for several years, this term, council has put a focus on considering future needs, then budgeting accordingly.
It’s important to note that property taxes fund operations, not capital projects like new playground equipment or bike lanes.
Staff look for ways to reduce costs when planning projects. This can include applying for grants or forming partnerships with other agencies. (See revenue sources)
Staff are in the midst or have completed several master plans that look at critical infrastructure like our roads, pipes and facilities to evaluate the work needed to maintain or replace them over the next several years. Investing in reserves over time avoids large costs in the near future.
Significantly lowering the tax rate will involve reducing existing services.
