Fredericton City Council has adopted the City’s 2027 budget, reducing property tax rates for more than 90 per cent of households while investing in public safety, recreation and infrastructure renewal.
The budget supports Council’s priorities and responds to what residents identified as important during the recent municipal election campaign.
“The priorities and investments included in this budget reflect what Council heard from residents during the election campaign and throughout the budget process,” said Councillor Colin Ebbett, Chair of the Municipal Finance and Corporate Administration Committee. “We are making meaningful investments in public safety, recreation, and infrastructure renewal while reducing property tax rates for most households. Together, these investments ensure residents continue to receive high-quality municipal services while preparing for future growth.”
Fredericton City Council adopted the 2027 budget at its regular public meetin[MM1.1]g on November 9, 2026.
The 2027 budget supports day-to-day municipal operations, long-term infrastructure investments, and essential water and wastewater services.
New services for the upcoming calendar year will include expanded free and low-cost recreation programing, increased maintenance for sports fields, new funding for affordable housing programs, and additional staffing and equipment for the Fredericton Police Force’s Direct Action Response Team (DART).
The 2027 budget was developed in three streams, each approved in principle during the fall before formal adoption:
- General Fund Budget:
- Total: $197.3 million
- Funding sources: property taxes and user fees.
- Purpose: delivery of essential municipal services and day-to-day city operations
- General Capital Budget (included in General Fund):
- Total: $28.9 million
- Funding sources: property taxes
- Purpose: construction projects and operational equipment
- Water and Sewer Budget:
- Total: $27.6 million
- Operations: $15.1 million
- Capital investments: $12.5 million
- Funding: self-funded through user fees (as required by provincial law)
- Purpose: maintaining and upgrading systems for clean drinking water and safe treatment of wastewater
The proposed 2027 budget and tax rates meet the targets established by the Government of New Brunswick’s property tax reforms for 90% of properties. Property tax reform established a rate stabilizer that guides municipalities to spend based on inflation and revenue from new growth, rather than property assessment values. The increase in rates for amalgamated areas reflects the cost of providing municipal services to these areas, with the exception of road maintenance as that is still managed by the provincial government.
Budget Highlights:
- The proposed inside rate is 1.2619 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 4.67-cent reduction compared to the previous year.
- The proposed outside rate is 1.1988 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 0.77 cent reduction compared to the previous year.
- The proposed rate for the former Local Service Districts* is 0.7873 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 0.86 cent increase compared to the previous year.
- The proposed rate for Saint Mary’s* is 0.7159 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 5-cent increase compared to the previous year.
- The proposed rate for Lakeside Estates* is 0.7862 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 5-cent increase compared to the previous year.
- The proposed rate for Lincoln* is 0.6042 per $100 of assessed value. This represents a 5-cent increase compared to the previous year.
NOTE: residential properties in amalgamated areas will pay an additional tax rate of $0.4115 for road maintenance directly to the Province of New Brunswick.
Summary of Expenses by Program Area:
- Public Safety (e.g. Police, fire, by-law enforcement, emergency preparedness, animal registration and control etc.): $60 million
- Sustainable Infrastructure (e.g. Renewal / rebuild capital expenditures, new / extension capital expenditures, asset management etc.): $42.1 million\
- Mobility (e.g. roads, sidewalks, trails and parking management and public transit): $25.2 million
- Livable Community (e.g. sport field management, park and playground management, horticulture, recreation and leisure programming, city beautification, community inclusion etc.): $21 million
- Economic Prosperity and Growth Planning (e.g. Land use planning, tourism, affordable housing, heritage conservation, development approval etc.): $10.1 million
- Environmental Stewardship (Arboriculture, composting, solid waste management, storm water management etc.): $8.0 million
- Governance & Civic Engagement (e.g. First Nation Relations, community leadership, intergovernmental affairs etc.): $6.5 million
More information about the city’s 2027 budget, including fee changes for the upcoming year, is available online.