New BrunswickFredericton city councillors passed the first step to approving a budget that would maintain the current inside tax rate, but not after some passionate disagreements.Motion to review funding cuts defeated at committee meetingSam Farley · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesFredericton council will review the 2026 budget for final approval at a meeting later in November. (City of Fredericton)Fredericton city councillors passed the first step to approving a budget that would maintain the current inside tax rate, but not after some passionate disagreements.The budget was first shown to reporters on Monday morning. The steady rate was heralded by staff as a response to the province freezing property tax assessments for 2026. City treasurer Alicia Keating estimated this would cost the city between $11 million and $15 million in property tax revenue.At a council in committee meeting on Monday evening, the budget was approved in principle, but it will need to win formal approval at a regular council meeting later in November.The meeting began with some councillors expressing support for the budget being able to maintain the tax rate given the challenges from the property freeze, but disagreements arose as some councillors pondered spending cuts.Deputy Mayor Jocelyn Pike said the budget was positive because it supported the city’s goals, such as building a new fire station in the southwest and stabilizing police officer staffing.”This is what we want to focus on,” Pike said. But a motion by Coun. Steven Hicks asking staff to come up with possibilities to cut $5 million in spending for councillors to review before giving the budget final approval drew lengthy debate and a rebuke from Mayor Kate Rogers.Coun. Steven Hicks brought a motion to consider possibilities to cut $5 million in spending, but it was defeated. (Sam Farley/CBC)”I want to emphasize that I’m not asking [for] these cuts just yet. I just want to have a fulsome conversation to see what this could possibly look like if we did,” Hicks said.When asked by other councillors what exactly he wanted to consider cutting, Hicks suggested transit, a study on the Garrison District, trail lighting, and the city’s plan to expand public river access.Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc warned against cutting services such as transit because it would disproportionately impact lower income residents.Coun. Bruce Grandy replied that he didn’t want this budget to be rubber stamped and that council should be able to discuss options.Next, Coun. Jason LeJeune, who had called the budget reasonable earlier in the meeting, asked for staff reports on cut amounts larger than $5 million as well, suggesting that council could then “choose their own adventure” in picking and choosing reductions based on the various possibilities.CAO Steve Hart said he would do as directed, but said it would be challenging to find that kind of savings.The budget includes funding for “things that will need to be done at some point,” Hart said, warning against passing the burden to future councils.Mayor Kate Rogers pushed back on the idea of deliberating a $5-million cut, and said the budget had been well-considered as it stands. (Ed Hunter/CBC)Rogers called it a good, responsible budget that provides residents predictability given the large revenue loss caused by the provincial freeze.She pushed back on the rubber stamp idea that there hadn’t been enough discussion, and said all councillors had chances to meet with city staff to discuss concerns or thoughts.”I’ve never deliberated so much over a budget,” Rogers said. Rogers went on to reject the idea of a choose your own adventure budget, and said that the city funds essential services, like transit and public safety, and that it made her nervous to come up with “random” numbers like $5 million for cost-cutting exercises.McGarrity defended the considerations, and said it was the democratic process to ask questions during a budget process.”That’s a responsible council. There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said.The motion eventually failed, with only Hicks and councillors Eric McGarrity and Margo Sheppard supporting it.”I feel horribly about the cost of living for my residents,” Rogers said.”And I feel really comfortable in knowing that the kind of programming and the kind of city that we’re delivering is trying to help them.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSam Farley is a Fredericton-based reporter at CBC New Brunswick. Originally from Boston, he is a journalism graduate of the University of King’s College in Halifax. He can be reached at sam.farley@cbc.ca
Disagreements arise among Fredericton councillors during budget deliberations
