Lloydminster council chambers were mostly empty as council began their 2026 budget deliberations on Nov. 5.
Every year, City of Lloydminster administration prepares a draft of the budget for the following year, which outlines priorities for the city. It also gives a breakdown of the city’s operating and capital costs.
Read more: Lloydminster facing 3.9 per cent tax increase
In 2026, there’s a projected 3.9 per cent tax increase with a 5 per cent utility increase.
“So, in 2026, administration is proposing a 3.9 per cent municipal tax rate increase,” said Adele Wakaruk, executive manager, corporate services.
The municipal tax increase for 2026 was projected to be much higher before administration worked to reduce it.
“For example, 2025, in our presentation, there was a municipal tax rate increase of 9.2 per cent for 2026 and we successfully brought that down to 3.9 per cent,” she said.
The operating budget in 2026 is $119 million with a capital budget of $29.7 million.
As part of the 2026 budget process, administration is also projecting what the future tax increases might be.
Although nothing is set in stone, projections have been made with the best possible information currently available. In 2027, the projected increase is 4 per cent, 2028, 3.5 per cent and 2029, 3 per cent. Administration says it hopes to be able to reduce next year’s tax increase to 3.5 per cent.
Borrowing and debt is something the city is continuing to balance.
According to city files, Lloydminster is forecasting $55 million in existing debt and a total of $102 million in existing and projected debt for 2026. The city’s debt limit of 100 per cent is $170 million and their 75 per cent debt limit is $127 million. Administration is forecasting a downward trend in existing and projected debt over the next five years.
The city is facing $3.6 million in interest on their long-term debt and $4.1 million in debt payments in 2026.
Other notable increases next year include the city’s marketing and communications expenses. In 2025, $1.2 million was budgeted with that increasing to $1.5 million in 2026. Increases to that budget include advertising for the Cenovus Energy Hub, park’s signage refresh as well as a funding allocation to advertising the airport.
“It is a priority of the city to get that air service back,” said Dion Pollard, city manager, who clarified while the initial cost on how much the advertising will be, administration wanted to ensure there was money available.
Protective services is also seeing an increase this year as the fire model in Lloydminster has changed.
The Lloydminster Fire Department has become Lloydminster Fire Rescue and now operates two full-time stations leading to an increase in required funding.
“I believe July 1 is where we started for the year,” said Don Stang, executive manager of operations. “The additional $1.2 million is to cover the full year of those services. A whole year, I believe, is in that $2.3 million range.”
There’s an increase of $1.2 million to fund the new model.
Some capital costs are also in the 2026 budget for protective services, public safety fleet vehicles $100,000, $75,000 for Station 2 fitness equipment and $75,000 for equipment cleaning/decontamination washing machine.
This year’s budget has $13.7 million budgeted for police services, $1.4 million for public safety and $8.4 million for fire services. The lions share of the operating budget will be spent on both salaries and contracted services.
For 2026, $45.5 million is projected to be spent on salaries, wages and benefits and $30.5 million spent on contracted services.
The city also continues to grapple with the needed year-over-year capital funding and 2026 sees $50.5 million in unfunded projects. The long-term projections show $474 million unfunded projects up to 2035.
Details surrounding the city are also released as part of the budget process. Most notably, population numbers.
Lloydminster’s population, according to the city, is 33,165. The median age is 35.5, median income is $46,900 with 11,390 residential properties and 1,541 non-residential properties.
Administration says it’s anticipating the population to grow over the next 20 years. In terms of housing, 67 per cent of residents own and 33 per cent rent. The average cost of living in Lloydminster, according to the city, is $1,143 to rent and $1,679 to own. The average household size is 2.6 people with median household income of $92,750 with 12,000 total households.
The 2026 draft budget is expected to return to council chambers at the Nov. 24 council meeting.
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