City of Moncton Maintains Tax Rate and Continues to Make Strategic Investments in Key Services

The City of Moncton’s 2026 budget maintains the residential tax rate while continuing to invest strategically in services that enhance quality of life for residents and support the city’s long-term growth.

Moncton City Council approved the 2026 budget at a special public meeting on November 6, maintaining the property tax rate at $1.3614 per hundred dollars of assessed value.

Despite challenging economic conditions including inflationary pressures, the provincial assessment freeze, and broader affordability concerns, the City remains in a strong financial position.

“The City’s overall tax base increased by 3.6 % for 2026 in a year of assessment freeze,” says CFO, General Manager, Finance Services Jacques Doucet, “even with the impact of the assessment freeze and the inability to reduce the tax rate as we have done the past 4 budgets, the City was able to add $3.9M to invest in many service areas and to address key strategic priorities.”

Council held one day of public deliberations on November 4 before adopting the final budget, which includes three separate budgets:

  • Operating Budget – funds municipal programs and services
  • Utility Operating Budget – funds water and wastewater services
  • Capital Budget – funds new construction and renewal of existing infrastructure

Highlights of the 2026 Operating Budget ($236 million)

  • The tax rate remains at $1.3614 per $100 of assessment.
  • Residents in the Moncton Local Service District will see no change to their current rate of $0.9908 per $100 of assessment ($0.5793 to the City of Moncton and $0.4115 to the Province of New Brunswick).
  • Non-residential (commercial) tax rates are $2.3144 per $100 of assessment, or 1.7 times the residential rate.
  • The City’s debt ratio is projected at 10% by the end of 2026, well below the 20% limit set by the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board, with a projected general operating fund debt of $122.5 million.
  • 19 new positions will be added in 2026, including 12 in Protective Services to support firefighting capacity, emergency management coordination, and fire logistics; two in Water and Wastewater Services; and additional roles in other municipal support services such as engagement, business analysis, the Moncton Coliseum, and Codiac Transpo.
  • The City will contribute $11.2 million in grants to local organizations and entities.

Highlights of the 2026 Capital Budget ($92 million)

  • $20.2 million for water, sewer, and storm sewer construction and upgrades
  • $27.5 million for roadwork, active transportation and traffic calming and infrastructure
  • $4.8 million for facilities construction and improvements
  • $4.9 million for Codiac Transpo to fund equipment and additional buses
  • $9.9 million for work on recreation, parks and trails
  • $24.2 million in tourism, culture, and venue improvements, including improvements to Magnetic Hill Zoo facilities and library upgrades
  • $0.4 million in information services including network enhancements, servers, systems and security
  • $0.4 million in Protective services for fire related equipment

To manage debt responsibly, $19.4 million from the Operating Budget will be allocated to support Capital Budget projects to avoid increased borrowing. The City also actively pursues external funding and leverages recovery programs from other levels of government and third parties. To fund 2026 capital initiatives, the City will borrow $32 million.

Highlights of the 2026 Utility Budget ($47.8 million)

  • The Utility Fund continues to be used to invest in high-quality water and wastewater services while managing key challenges such as blue-green algae mitigation, recapitalization needs, and future capital project planning.
  • Utility rates will increase slightly in 2026. Based on an average household usage of 272 cubic meters per year, the total water and wastewater charge will be $1,138, an increase of 0.84% from 2025 (including $210 collected by TransAqua).
  • For commercial customers, increases will be between the 0.5%-1.00% depending on the usage per year and the service line size.
  • The City invests nearly $1 million to water and wastewater utility budgets by making strategic investments mainly at the watershed including the addition of 2 new positions, adding additional safety and security features, additional signage & equipment and increase to ground maintenance.

Information:

Communications, City of Moncton
communications@moncton.ca