Budget & Finance

Timeline

October 6 - Water & Sewer

Self-funded primarily through user pay (water/sewer bills)

Separate from property taxes
Annual balanced budget requirements

Provides services to approximately 88% of properties in the City.

On October 6, City Council was presented a 2026 Water and Sewer Budget of $25.6 million in revenue, with $13.9 million allocated for operations and $11.6 million for capital investments. This proposed budget, a 5% increase from 2025 rates, addresses aging infrastructure, inflationary pressures, and the demands of a growing population.

Formal approval of the City budget takes place in November. If this budget is approved, the following changes will take effect on April 1, 2026:

• Quarterly service charge increases from $72.30 to $77.50
• Commodity charge per cubic meter rises from $1.02 to $1.04.
• Bulk water rate increases from $2.51 to $2.55.
• Private hydrant fee increases from $310.00 + HST to $373.00 + HST.
• Fire protection fee increases from $150.00 + HST to $193.50 + HST.

If approved, Fredericton will continue to have one of the lowest water and sewer rates in New Brunswick. With the increase, a typical household will pay approximately $2.80 per day for clean, safe, drinking water and environmentally sound wastewater treatment.

October 20 - General Fund Capital

On October 20th, Fredericton City Council approved, in principle, a 2026 municipal capital budget valued at $36,689,337. The 2026 budget is scheduled to be formally adopted by City Council in late November.
The capital budget is part of the city’s general fund, which is funded through property tax, user fees and grants from other levels of government. The general fund is split into two categories: capital and operating.
The 2026 capital budget includes four key categories:
•    Renewal (77%) - Focused on maintaining and improving existing assets such as roads, sidewalks, trails, police and fire equipment, and recreation facilities.
•    New (8%) – Dedicated to new projects including parks, lighting for sport courts, the River Access Initiative, enhancements to the public realm in Downtown and Main Street, and new operational equipment.
•    Growth (8%)– Supports the needs of a rapidly growing community by investing in new neighbourhoods and upgrading infrastructure to accommodate additional users.
•    Non-tangible (7%) – Allocated for planning and design work to ensure the city is forward-thinking and ready to leverage external funding as it becomes available.
The total proposed capital budget for 2026 also includes an additional $16,724,215 funded through contributions from other levels of government, one-time debt servicing, and new capital renewal funding provided through the Government of New Brunswick.

November 3 - General Fund Operating (including Revenue)

On November 3, 2025 Fredericton City Council approved, in principle, a $184.8 million General Fund Operating Budget for 2026. Formal adoption of the budget is scheduled for November 23, 2025.

The proposed budget accomplishes several objectives:

Balanced budget despite the property tax assessment freeze
Address issues surrounding public safety
Maintain levels of service with strategic expansion
Address known inflationary costs
Focus on growth needs (operations and capital)
Fully fund capital program to address infrastructure deficit

Proposed tax rates

The proposed budget recommends maintaining the current inside property tax rate, despite the Government of New Brunswick’s one-year property assessment freeze* for residential, non-residential, and industrial properties. For households located where the outside/annexed tax rates apply, a five-cent increase per $100 of assessment has been approved in principle, consistent with the rate strategy adopted in the 2024 budget.

*see below “How Assessments Work”

Area	Current Tax Rate	Potential Tax Rate
Inside	$1.3086	$1.3086
Outside	$1.1565	$1.2065
Saint Mary’s	$0.6159	$0.6659
Douglas/Pepper Creek/Estey’s Bridge	$0.7286	$0.7786
Lakeside Estates	$0.6862	$0.7362
Lincoln (Airport)	$0.5042	$0.5542

NOTE: All areas that are not designated ‘inside’ pay an additional tax rate of $0.4115 to the province for road maintenance.

Projected revenue from all sources

Source	2026 Proposed	Change
Warrant – Inside Rate	$151,516,553	$3,047,924
Warrant – Outside Rate	$3,572,304	$427,742
Warrant – Annexed Rates	$5,161,898	$429,046
Total Warrant	$160,250,755	$3,904,713
Non-Tax Revenue	$24,523,863	$715,567
Total Revenue	$184,774,618	$4,620,280

NOTE: “Tax warrant” is the term used for the tax rates and total revenue that municipalities in New Brunswick intend to raise through property taxation, based on the province’s assessed values

Expenses by program area:

Program Area	2025 Budget	2026 Proposed
Governance & Civic Engagement	$6,589,162	$6,229,537
Economic Prosperity & Growth Planning	$9,274,008	$10,034,208
Environmental Stewardship	$6,866,352	$7,037,329
Livable Community	$19,547,370	$21,001,302
Mobility	$20,801,221	$24,098,368
Public Safety	$55,989,641	$57,304,576
Corporate Services	$29,520,448	$31,230,126
Sustainable Infrastructure	$38,920,497	$36,044,319
Total Expenses (net of revenue)	$157,988,251	$161,749,639

Key recommendations and decision points

The proposed budget supports the continuation of existing programs and services, while allowing for significant investments. The key decision areas are:

Additional Transit Service
Community Safety Services Unit (CSSU) – maintain staffing levels from summer 2025
Community Engagement Unit – maintaining service of experienced/former police officers, allowing active officers to respond to higher priority calls
Recreation Master Plan (adopted early 2025) – beginning work on identified priorities
Affordable Housing Funding – realigning focus on the city’s role as a facilitator.

The proposed budget does not:

Include saving for future projects/resource challenges
Cover all inflationary impacts

Budget Timeline

The timeline at the top of this page outlines the key decision-making timeframes for the 2026 budget season. At each meeting, the relevant section of the budget will be approved in principle, meaning it is tentatively accepted, with the complete budget being formally adopted by City Council in late November.

For 2026, the Government of New Brunswick introduced a one-year property assessment freeze for residential, non-residential, and industrial properties. This means the assessed value of your property will not change compared to last year.

This does not guarantee that your tax bill will not change. City Council will review the total tax base available, based on property assessments and budget pressures. They will then approve the tax rate per $100 of assessed value. Your tax bill is the assessed value of your property multiplied by the tax rate.