CITY TAXES AND PAYROLL ARE UP OVER 9%

Nanaimo Votes 2026: Follow the Money

City taxes up. City payroll up. What did taxpayers get back?

Nanaimo voters do not need a finance degree to understand this story.

They just need to look at two numbers.

In 2024, the City of Nanaimo reported approximately $155.3 million in taxes. In 2025, that climbed to approximately $169.5 million.

That is an increase of roughly $14.16 million in one year — about 9.1%.

The broader line of taxation and payments in lieu rose from approximately $158.1 million in 2024 to $172.6 million in 2025.

Now look at wages and benefits.

In 2024, the City’s total wage-and-benefit bill was $90.8 million. In 2025, it jumped to $99.4 million.

That is an increase of $8.56 million in one year — about 9.4%.

The Police Question Matters

That wage number does include the Police segment, but only the wages and benefits recorded under Police. It does not represent the full cost of policing, because most policing costs appear under contracted services.

Category	2024	2025	Increase
Total City wages & benefits	$90.8M	$99.4M	+$8.56M
Police wages & benefits portion	$6.82M	$7.73M	+$906K
City wages excluding Police wages	$83.98M	$91.64M	+$7.66M
Fire wages & benefits	$20.72M	$24.59M	+$3.87M

The standout is Fire, where wages and benefits rose by nearly $3.9 million in one year — an increase of about 18.7%.

So Here Is the Election-Year Question

Nanaimo taxpayers paid more.

City tax revenue went up.
The city wage bill went up.
Police costs remained high.
Fire costs rose sharply.

So the fair question is not simply, “Did costs go up?”

Of course they did.

The real question is:

Did service levels improve enough to justify the increase?

Are roads better?

Are neighbourhoods cleaner?

Are public spaces safer?

Are taxpayers seeing better value?

Or are residents simply being asked to pay more each year while City Hall grows larger, more expensive, and harder to question?

This Is What Nanaimo Votes 2026 Must Be About

An election is not a popularity contest.

It is not a lawn-sign competition.

It is not a once-every-four-years ritual where citizens shrug, stay home, and complain later.

This is about who controls the public purse.

Every dollar spent by City Hall first came from somebody else — a homeowner, a renter, a small business, a senior, a working family.

Before voters mark a ballot in 2026, they should be asking every candidate one simple question:

What will you do to prove taxpayers are getting value for the money?

Because Nanaimo does not need more slogans.

It needs answers.

Get informed. Do your civic duty. Nanaimo Votes 2026.

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