The City of Fredericton has launched its 2026 budget process with a goal of crafting a balanced, resident-focused budget for 2026 while navigating uncertainty due to the Government of New Brunswick introduced one-year property assessment freeze.
The City of Fredericton conducts its budget process for the upcoming year through multiple open meetings of City Council between September and November. Municipal budgets follow the calendar year, running from January to December.
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.
The schedule is as follows:
- September 22nd – Budget Kickoff
- October 6th – Water & Sewer
- October 20th – General Fund Capital
- November 3rd – General Fund Operating (including Revenue)
- November 17th – Tentative (if additional time is required)
- November 24th – Formal adoption at City Council
Much like a household budget, the City’s annual budget outlines how money is raised and spent. The majority of revenue comes from property taxes and is supplemented by other sources, such as user fees for parking, transit, and recreation, and contributions from other levels of government.
This year, the Government of New Brunswick introduced a one-year property assessment freeze for residential, non-residential, and industrial properties. Assessment values don’t determine individual tax bill directly, rather they define the tax base. Tax bills are calculated when City Council approves the tax rate, which is then multiplied by the assessed value of each property in order to determine how much revenue is required to cover that property's share of municipal expenses for that year.
Freezing assessments this year offers some tax relief for property owners. However, municipalities typically use normal assessment increases to help cover the cost of inflation and can often reduce the tax rate after inflation is covered, which has happened four years in a row. With the assessment freeze in place and with a provincially legislated requirement to produce balanced budgets limiting other options, the only way to manage inflation costs will be to cut services or delay capital projects.
“Producing the City’s budget is the most important annual responsibility of Mayor and Council. Through our annual budget process, we work to balance complex community needs while facing continued financial pressures and uncertainties” said Councillor Greg Ericson, Chair of the City’s Municipal Finance and Corporate Administration Committee. "Every year Council must create a budget that respects the interests of our current and future residents. A well-crafted Fredericton budget does this by controlling our debt, tending to our infrastructure, and aligning our services with our community's long-term strategic plans."
Under provincial legislation municipalities in New Brunswick must balance their budget every year. Provincial legislation also requires that a municipality's water and sewer utility be self-funded through the rates it collects, which means that a separate revenue stream from that of the City of Fredericton’s general fund budget and property tax system is required.
The general fund and the Water & Sewer Fund are further divided into two categories:
- The Operating Budget: In both funds this covers day-to-day expenses such as staff wages and fuel costs.
- The Capital Budget: Delivers investments in the infrastructure required to provide City and Utility services, including roads & streets, parks, and community centres that support City services and water & sewer pipes and the treatment plants required to deliver utility services.
For further information about the budget process please visit the budget and finance webpage.