The RDEK Board of Directors reviewed the DRAFT 2026-2030 Financial Plan on February 11, 2026.
Following the Board Meeting, the DRAFT Plan was updated to include the Board's resolutions. An updated DRAFT Plan that incorporates the Board's changes is now available for review and comment.
Here are two key links (click on the title to open documents):
- Budget Snapshot: Provides an overview of the highlights of the 2026 budget, including an overview and more specifics on each Electoral Area and the municipalities.
- DRAFT 2026-2030 Five-Year Financial Plan (as posted Feb.18.26)
- If you open the file on a computer, make sure your bookmarks tab is open (top left, will look like a table of contents icon usually), and then click on the small black sideways triangles to open the different sections of the budget for quick navigation.
The budget process starts annually in September of the prior year with staff updating the financial plan and meeting with the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. There are also meetings with Electoral Area Directors, Commissions, and other parties. This process takes several months and leads to the development of the DRAFT Five-Year Financial Plan. The Draft Plan is reviewed by the Board, their requested changes are incorporated and the plan is shared with the public for review and comment.
A public comment period is open now through Noon on Monday, March 9 and can be found below.
The Five-Year Financial Plan is generally adopted at the March Board Meeting each year.
One of the tricky parts about communicating (and understanding) the Financial Plan lies in the way Regional Districts work. Unlike a municipality that has one boundary and one set of taxpayers (where everyone within the municipal boundaries pays), Regional Districts in BC are based on service areas. So, for every one of the more than 100 services the RDEK offers, there is a boundary for that service area, and everyone within the service area pays for (and receives the benefit of) that service. What that means is that we have over 100 different “boundaries” with over 100 different sets of taxpayers. SO, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE BUDGET?
Well, how the budget will impact you depends entirely on what part of the RDEK you live/own property in and what combination of services are offered there. For example, if you live in Electoral Area C everyone will pay the same rate for the line item on their tax notice called “Reg Dist East Kootenay Area C”, but people living in Gold Creek will also be paying for Cranbrook Rural Fire Protection. At the same time, people in Wardner (which is also in Area C) don't have fire protection, but they pay a different line item for Wardner Street Lighting.
The budget process starts in September for the following year, with staff updating the financial plan and meeting with the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. There are also meetings with Electoral Area Directors, Commissions, and other parties. This process takes several months and leads to the development of the DRAFT Five-Year Financial Plan.
The DRAFT Plan is presented to the Board each year during a Special Budget Meeting. During this meeting and the February Committee and Board Meetings the following two days, the Board suggests changes and revisions to the DRAFT Plan.
Following the February Board Meeting, the Chief Financial Officer enters the requested changes into an updated DRAFT Plan. The Plan is then posted and a public comment period opened.
The Board reviews the Financial Plan during its monthly meetings in March and adopts the Plan at the March Board Meeting annually.
