A little over $48 million was carried over into Kelowna’s budget for this year, which includes previously approved operating and capital projects.
Kelowna City Council gave the okay to direct staff to adjust the 2025 Financial Plan to include the following carryover projects:
$13.3 million for park development and improvements
$5.9 million for road upgrades and active transportation
$4.4 million for water and wastewater system upgrades and improvements
The city said this will not impact this year’s property taxes because funding has already been collected through previous taxes, user fees, grants and other revenues.
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City council approved the preliminary budget in December 2024 with a proposed tax demand of 4.34%, which would add $107.80 to the average property tax bill.
In a news release, the city said nearly 47% of the $887.7 million preliminary and carryover budget is being allocated for investments in public safety, underground utilities, transportation infrastructure and recreation facilities.
In 2024, the city began a different way of collecting money for multi-year projects through a cash flow model to distribute financial impact of large projects across multiple years.
“Cash flow budgeting will remove a major obstacle for capital projects,” says Melanie Antunes, financial planning manager.
“Our aim is to keep tax demand stable while ensuring projects are funded each year based on what we deliver to citizens, rather than carrying project funds into the next budget.”
The city said the carryover budget has been reduced by 83% between 2024 and 2025, from $279 million to $8.4 million.
That is expected to decrease further next year when the city fully implements cash flow budgeting and collects revenues and property taxes for project phases happening that year,
City council will be reviewing the final budget on April 28, 2025 to determine the final tax increase.
If you’d like to review the 2025 preliminary and carryover budget, feel free to click here.
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