2026 Budget

The City recognizes the financial pressures that many seniors face. However, tax policy and public engagement must follow principles of fairness, equity, and legality. The City cannot set different property tax rates based on age or demographics—property taxes are determined by BC Assessment values, meaning properties with higher assessed values pay more, and those with lower values pay less. This ensures taxes are distributed proportionately across all property owners.

As for public meetings, the City must maintain open and inclusive processes. It is not possible to host official meetings limited to one age group. However, community or seniors’ groups are welcome to invite members of Council to their own meetings, or request to appear as a delegation at a Council Meeting to share their concerns directly.

The City also tries to ease costs for seniors where possible—for example, recreation fees often have discounted rates for seniors, recognizing varying income levels. Broader financial support programs such as income assistance and senior benefits fall under the jurisdiction of the Province of BC.

While the City can’t change tax rates based on age, we’re always open to hearing from residents, including seniors, and we encourage you to stay involved and share your ideas through public meetings or by reaching out directly.

Thanks,
Finance Team
City of Vernon

The City of Vernon, like many municipalities in BC, uses an incremental budgeting approach rather than zero-based budgeting. This means each year's budget is based on adjustments to the previous year's actual spending, rather than starting from scratch.

Incremental budgeting is widely used because it is simpler, more predictable, and is appropriate to use when the main cost drivers (such as salaries, utilities, or essential services) do not change from year to year. Adjustments are made based on actual needs—for example, police services may require larger increases due to rising operational costs.

On the other hand, zero-based budgeting, requires full justification for every expense and is a much more time-consuming and resource-intensive process. It is typically used in situations when there is an urgent need for cost containment, for example, in a situation where an organization is going through a financial restructuring or a major economic or market downturn that requires it to reduce the budget dramatically.

While Council can set financial targets, such as aiming for low or no tax increases, switching to zero-based budgeting across all departments each year would not be practical due to the nature of municipal operations.

Thanks,
Finance team
City of Vernon