Kitimat council has moved its 2026 budget process forward after council gave first, second, and third readings of three major financial bylaws in its latest meeting.
Council approved the first, second, and third readings of the Five-Year Financial Plan Bylaw, Tax Rates Bylaw, and the Residential Flat Rate Tax Amendment Bylaw.
The bylaws must be adopted before May 15 under the Community Charter.
The Five-Year Financial Plan sets out objectives and policies related to operation and capital budgets, distribution of property taxes among the classes, and utilization of permissive tax exemptions during that period.
As per the report submitted to council, the financial plan provides a 4.79 per cent increase in property tax compared to 2025.
Council also passed the annual Tax Rates Bylaw, which determines the rates of property taxes for collecting revenue for the District, and revenue collection for other agencies through the District.
Agencies that collect revenue through the district include BC Transit, Kitimat-Stikine Regional District, and Northwest Regional Hospital District.
Staff noted the actual increase or decrease individual property owners will see depends on changes in property assessments and taxes collected for other governments.
The council also advanced the Residential Flat Rate Tax Amendment Bylaw that would set the residential flat tax for 2026 at $800.
Kitimat has been applying the flat tax system since the 1990s, when legislation permitted municipalities to maintain this system if it was in use before the legislation was passed. An important point here is that once the local government stops using the residential flat tax, it will not be possible to apply it in future years.
Final adoption of the bylaws is expected at a future council meeting.
