The time has come for some budget decisions. The final countdown is underway and zero hour is this particular Wednesday morning when council sits to confirm the 2026 municipal budget! At stake is the difficult balancing act between affordability, maintaining service levels, and coping with the growth of the city, and there will be no easy answers for the ones voting in the council chambers. Let’s look at the long odds in this preview…
NOTE #1: There will be no delegations at this meeting, but there will be a special council meeting dedicated to delegations on the 2026 budget on Tuesday November 18 at 6 pm.
NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
NOTE #3: This meeting begins at 9 am.
Mayor’s 2026 Budget Confirmation – The mayor’s budget is now effectively approved, and the total levy increase for 2026 has actually been reduced since October 29. As announced on Thursday, the total increase is now 2.85 per cent, which is a decrease from 3.17 per cent what was originally presented. At this meeting, councillors will be able to introduce amendments to add or subtract to the base budget. As it stands, here is the budget update coming for council’s endorsement:
1. An amended 2026 City operating budget inclusive of the following:
a. City service budget requirement, net of the proportionate share of assessment growth, totalling an increased net levy requirement in 2026 of $11,142,753 or 3.17 per cent over 2025, inclusive of the following:
i. Base budget increase of $8,018,263.
ii. Operating impacts from capital of $3,974,349.
iii. A reduction in growth investments of $703,946.
iv. An increase in service enhancements of $4,109.
v. Service reductions totaling $3,332,378.
vi. Mayor budget enhancements totaling $587,681.
vii. Council respectful requests totaling $450,000.
viii. An increase to capital financing transfers of $4,849,940.
ix. The City’s proportionate share of assessment growth revenue in the amount of $2,705,265.
b. User rates, fees and charges.
c. Total transfers to/from Reserve and Reserve Funds in 2026 in accordance with the Reserve and Reserve Fund summary.
2. The Guelph General Hospital levy in the amount of $750,000 budgeted for the sixth of six years as approved on December 3, 2019.
3. An updated 2027 operating budget forecast and the 2028 and 2029 inflationary budget forecast to be received as information.
4. An amended 2026 City capital budget with a net increase of $33,894,930 from the 2026 adopted budget resulting in the gross 2026 expenditure amount of $366,440,897 with the associated operating budget required upon completion of these projects totalling $3,656,775, inclusive of funding transfers from capital reserve funds and other sources including partnerships, grants, and debt financing.
5. A 2027-2035 Capital forecast in the gross amount of $2,085,328,271.
2026 Draft Budget Update Companion Report (Council Budget Decisions) – These are the items that are budget related, but the mayor doesn’t get last word about approving them. This includes the approval of any tax-related bylaws, any decisions about the City’s reserve accounts, and any other budget-related directions coming from council. This is the motion so far:
1. That the 2026-2027 rates fees and charges be readopted, subject to any amendments in the 2027 budget confirmation year.
2. That in accordance with the General Reserve and Reserve Fund Policy, total transfers to and from reserves and reserve funds for 2026 are approved.
3. That the funding of FM Woods Station Upgrade (WT0064) for 2025 and prior approved budgets be adjusted to remove debt financing of $49,207,200 and replace this with funding from the Water Capital reserve fund (152).
4. That Council acknowledges the City’s tax-supported contingency reserve balances continue to be below approved targets, and:
a. That staff continue to be directed to replenish these reserves as a first priority through the allocation of any year-end surpluses in 2025 and future years until such point that they reach a minimum of 75 per cent of target.
b. That Council directs staff to assess whether allocations to rebuild the contingency reserves to their target balances should be included in the next multi-year budget cycle for 2028 to 2031.
5. That Council approves inter-reserve fund borrowing in 2026 to maintain OBC service delivery and that such inter-reserve fund borrowing be approved to maintain balance in the Ontario Building Code Stabilization reserve fund (188), which will see a shortfall as a result of transfers to address the 2025 deficit projection for this service.
6. That Council approves the use of inter-reserve fund borrowing and recognizes some reserve fund balances are below policy targets at times within the capital budget and forecast period based on the 10-year capital budget and forecast included in the 2026 budget update.
7. That Council approves the debt strategy included in the 2026 budget update and acknowledges that the projected debt burden level may impact the City’s future credit rating.
8. That staff be directed to undertake an operating model analysis for downtown parking as part of the City-Wide Parking Study to identify any required adjustments to revenue, expenditures, and tax support provided for this service as part of the 2027 budget update.
9. That staff be directed to undertake an analysis of the capital and operating budgets for corporate building maintenance to ensure alignment with corporate requirements and identify any adjustments required to be reflected in the 2027 budget update.
Budget Impacts per Ontario Regulation 284-09 and Budget-Public Sector Accounting Standards Reconciliation 2026 – As usual, council has to pass this motion because accounting standards for the Ontario government are slightly different from the ones that the City uses.
Shortening the 30-Day Budget Amendment Period – According to provincial legislation, there’s a 30-day period after the budget process is completed and the mayor has a chance to veto and then council has a chance to override that veto. A successful motion here essentially means an end to the 2026 budget confirmation process.
Guelph Politico 