Maple Ridge cuts down proposed property tax hike

The City of Maple Ridge is proposing a new property tax increase that is lower than the one staff presented to council last December.

The city was looking at a 6.3 per cent property tax increase, but after some adjustments, the new proposed tax hike is 3.5 per cent.

Financial Impact: The projected property tax increase identified in this report is about $101 on the average home valued at $1.044M.

The property tax bill will also include previously approved water and sewer utilities, which will see rate increases of 4.5 per cent for water and 6.05 per cent for sewer. With tax and utilities combined, the total expected 2026 increase for an average home with water and sewer service is $181, or 4.1 per cent.

Achieving this reduction in 2026 requires identifying $3.2 million in adjustments. In the December report, staff had identified $2.2 million of those adjustments:

• $1.6 million in cost savings
• $600,000 from removing the proposed Parks, Recreation & Culture levy.

This left $1 million still to be found to reach the 3.5 per cent target.

Adjustments: Since December, additional information has been incorporated into the budget projections. Assessment growth, which had been projected at 1.5 per cent, came in at just under one per cent, creating an additional shortfall of $650,000 and increasing the remaining gap to $1.65 million to reach the 3.5 per cent target.

Staff continued to review expenditures and identify further reductions and funding adjustments.

Through a combination of additional savings, program reviews, and funding realignments, staff were able to close that gap and arrive at a balanced position.

These include:

• $895,000 of additional cost savings
• $1.2M from removing the 2026 increase to the Infrastructure Sustainability Reserve (ISR)
• $325,000 through a review of programs

Staff have identified $325,000 in savings through a review of city programs.

The Chipping Program (a free service that removes tree waste) and the outdoors Hammond Pool will continue to operate in the short term but will be supported using 2025 operating savings while staff assess future service delivery options.

Later this year, staff will return to Council with findings and recommendations regarding the future structure and funding.

While these two programs are specifically identified at this time, staff will continue to review programs and service levels across the organization and identify additional areas for savings as part of ongoing financial planning.