City of St. John’s Releases Budget 2026

Today, the City of St. John’s released the details of Budget 2026. To maintain programs and services and address growing operating and capital costs, the City of St. John’s 2026 budget is balanced at $365,997,790, reflecting a 4.8% increase over 2025.

“Council’s priority for the 2026 Budget is to maintain fiscal discipline while ensuring every dollar is invested wisely to sustain and enhance the programs and services our community values,” said Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth, lead for Finance. “As a result, there are no cuts to programs or services, and the mill rates will remain unchanged for 2026.”

The residential mill rate will remain at 9.1 and the commercial mill rate will remain at 29.5. Water tax will marginally increase by $10 per unit annually for residential properties and 1.4% for commercial. All revenue from the water tax directly funds the provision of the service.

A distribution of how tax dollars are spent is available in the Value for Tax Dollar factsheet. Highlights of new investments in Budget 2026 include:

• An investment of nearly $22 million for new capital projects, which supports important initiatives like road rehabilitation, housing related programs, sidewalk repairs, traffic safety improvements, technology investments, facility repairs, and capital grants to community groups. A list of projects will be announced in the new year.
• An investment of $5.3 million to support the replacement of snow clearing equipment as part of the City’s asset management plan, ensuring the reliability of equipment to provide this essential service.
• An increase in the operating grant for Metrobus and the Para-Transit System by approximately $1 million to support service improvements and increased costs for maintenance and parts.
• An additional $728,000 has been allocated to the St. John’s Regional Fire Department to support occupational health and safety, fleet maintenance and protective clothing, bringing the total investment to nearly $29 million.

The City also announced a further reduction to the operating grant to St. John’s Sports and Entertainment for 2026 by $214,000, due to a rise in concerts, events, and meetings across both the Mary Brown's Centre and St. John’s Convention Centre. 2

As identified in the City’s strategic plan, Our City, Our Future, The City of St. John’s has a strategic direction to be a sustainable City. Ensuring a balanced and responsible annual budget helps us achieve this priority.

Related Links:

• 2026 Budget Book
• Budget 2026 webpage