Budget 2026
Consultation Summary Report January 2026
Attachment 2
2026 Budget Consultation At-A-Glance Who we heard from
255
637
total online and paper questionnaires received
30
comments contributed
open house attendees
How we connected
1,200 total visitors to online engagement platform OurWK.ca/2026Budget Aware: 978 (viewed the project page) Informed: 385 (clicked through content) Engaged: 259 (questions/comments made)
3 e-News updates issued and direct notifications to residents’ associations
1,864 recipients of e-News
Social media interactions 5,062 organic views
9,047 total non-paid social media views
3,711 post views 274 post views
Background The City’s Draft 2026 Budget includes a Draft Five-Year Financial Plan (2026 – 2030) and 10-Year Capital Plans for Council’s consideration, to build on their 2022-2026 Strategic Priorities, which focus on delivering projects, programs and services that maintain a high quality of life in West Kelowna. This year's municipal budget is forecasting a 7.6 per cent rate increase for municipal taxes. The budgeting process involves addressing challenges such as balancing affordability with service needs, managing the demands of a rapidly growing community, and the rising costs of inflation and interest rates.
Summary Public input was open from Nov. 26 to Dec. 12 and included both in person and online opportunities for our community to help shape the City’s budget. The primary goal was to hear from West Kelowna residents and community partners to understand priorities, preferred taxation measures, and level of comprehension of the information presented. The consultation offered multiple ways to participate. Community members were invited to share their priorities at an open house on Dec. 10 or online at OurWK.ca/2026Budget by filling out the questionnaire, asking questions, and learn more about the budget process. Paper copies of the questionnaire and budget display boards were available at City Hall and displayed at the open house. The results presented in this report highlight the opinions of those who participated.
What we heard During the engagement period from Nov. 26 - Dec. 12, we received 255 completed questionnaires and responded to 15 questions received. An overview of key themes and top priorities mentioned by participants is summarized in the following pages. The qualitative feedback reflects the opinions of those who participated in the process. All qualitative questions were optional, and respondents could choose to complete the questionnaire anonymously. During the engagement period, we interacted with the public and stakeholders in a variety of ways: • 1,200 visitors to OurWK.ca/2026Budget • 385 people were informed (clicked through the content) • 978 people were aware (visited at least one page) • 255 people completed the questionnaire
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Consultation Summary Report Draft 2026 Budget
Questionnaire highlights When asked to rank services and infrastructure from 1 (being the highest priority) to 9 (being the lowest priority) respondents ranked the services as follows: 1. Water 2. Fire services 3. Police services 4. Road maintenance (e.g. snow removal, pothole repair) 5. Road improvements 6. Parks, recreation and/or facilities 7. Sidewalks and active transportation 8. Sewer 9. Planning and development
Strategic Priorities When asked about if the four pillars of the Strategic Priorities should be the top priorities that spending targets:
When asked how much they support investing in the following priorities:
Invest in infrastructure projects such as roads, sidewalks and water systems to support a growing community
Plan for the growth of our community by investing in infrastructure to support more housing in our urban centres
Foster safety and well-being in our community through investing in protective services including firefighters, RCMP officers, and bylaw officers Invest in parks, trails and green spaces to enhance community well-being and recreational opportunities
Pursue economic growth and prosperity to advance opportunities to expand our economy and develop the community in ways that contribute towards prosperity for all
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Consultation Summary Report Draft 2026 Budget
Questionnaire highlights Comments Participants had the option to provide additional feedback and share ideas via open comment boxes. Commenting was optional and not all respondents opted to provide input. The City received 637 written comments from an average of 158 respondents across four written questions. In response to suggesting reducing City services in exchange for lower taxes, themes included: 1. Reducing the number of staff, reducing salaries, and/or increasing administrative efficiencies 2. Limit spending on capital projects 3. Improve project management practices and stay within project budgets In response to suggesting improving one City service in recognizing it could increase taxes, responses indicated: 1. Not increasing spending 2. Transportation infrastructure including road improvements, active transportation (bike lanes, sidewalks) and lighting 3. Public safety (RCMP, bylaw) 4. Recreation facilities, including a new pool and/or community centre, and cultural activities 5. Ensuring clean drinking water In response to additional information to be included in future annual budget consultations, themes included: 1. More details on what is included in the budget, including comparisons to other communities, more details about future projects, previous years’ expenses, and providing multiple budget/taxation options 2. More information about how the City is cutting costs and/or improving staff efficiencies 3. More information on staff salaries and jobs 4. Increased transparency In response to any additional comments or suggestions on the Draft 2026 Budget, the main response was to reduce spending and limit tax increases.
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Consultation Summary Report Draft 2026 Budget
Digital outreach Weekly posts were shared on the City’s social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and X to raise awareness about the engagement process and how to participate. During the engagement period, we shared a total of 17 organic (non-paid) posts on each of our main channels.
Social media highlights The following social media highlights are from the entire consultation period (Nov. 26 to Dec. 12): • 9,047 total organic social media impressions ▪ Organic means an unpaid social media post ▪ Impressions are the total number of times our content was displayed on social media • Facebook: ▪ Total posts: 5 ▪ 5,062 total organic post views ▪ 68 engaged with the posts (likes, comments, shares, reactions) • Instagram: ▪ Total organic posts: 8 ▪ 3,711 total post views ▪ 32 likes • X: ▪ Total organic posts: 4 ▪ 274 post views ▪ 12 likes In addition to our daily monitoring of our social media platforms, we conducted regular media tracking and provided additional messaging on the City’s website. This included a homepage banner linking to the OurWK.ca webpage, as well as consultation information on budget-related City webpages, giving users access to our online engagement platform.
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Consultation Summary Report Draft 2026 Budget