Victoria indicatorsCity reserve funds
$316M at year end
No target found. Targets and comparisons
Source: City of Victoria. We read it on Nov 11, 2026.
Over time
Reserve funds at year end
2025 By year
- $316.5M
M municipal election: Oct 15, 2022
Targets and comparisons
Comparison only
The City’s Reserve Funds policy (revised November 2023) says a minimum and a maximum balance shall be established for each reserve fund. Neither the policy nor the Reserve Fund Bylaw lists those balances or a target for total reserves (checked November 12, 2026). Who could set them: Victoria City Council.
Documents checked: Reserve Funds policy (Department of Finance Policies and Procedures, revised November 2023) (published in Council meeting materials, 2025); Reserve Fund Bylaw (No. 15-050, amended by No. 18-080) (2015, amended 2018).
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Reserves |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $316.5M |
| 2024 | $297.1M |
| 2023 | $305.0M |
| 2022 | $318.4M |
| 2021 | $289.9M |
Who decides
City of Victoria Council. Adopts the financial plan by bylaw each year, then sets property tax rates by bylaw before May 15. Community Charter, s. 165
Show the 1 other body and the laws
| Body | What it decides | Law or bylaw | Last decision | Next decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Victoria Council | Adopts the financial plan by bylaw each year, then sets property tax rates by bylaw before May 15. | Community Charter, s. 165 Community Charter, s. 197 | Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw, 2026 (No. 26-040) and 2026 tax rates adopted May 7, 2026 | 2027 financial plan, then tax rate bylaw before May 15, 2027 |
| Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board | Prepares the police budget, which the councils approve as part of the City’s spending. | Police Act, s. 27 | Provisional budget due to the councils by November 30, 2026 (Police Act, s. 27) |
Councils: last general local election October 17, 2026; next on October 19, 2030, the third Saturday of October set by the Local Government Act, s. 52.
Each row says what a body decides and links to the law, order or bylaw that gives it that role. It does not say who caused a change: markets, households and other governments also move these numbers. Who decides what, for every measure · How we choose
What this number does not show
- Total of the City's reserve funds and operating surplus, less the unfunded employee benefit liability, as printed in the Annual Report.
One more limit
- Most reserves are set aside for specific purposes, such as equipment and infrastructure, and are not free to spend.
Not measured yet in city finances: city staff positions. See all 17 gaps
In plain words
Up 6.5% in a year. Up 9.1% since 2021.
Money the City holds in reserve funds at year end for future repairs, equipment and unexpected costs.
How we decide “Rising”
Reserves are savings for future costs; their right size is a policy choice. The change is 6.5% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold.
Reserves and operating surplus of $316.5 million at December 31, 2025, compared with $297.1 million a year earlier (+6.5%).
Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.
All notes on this number
Why it matters. Reserves help pay for replacing infrastructure without sudden tax jumps. Most are set aside for specific purposes.
- Total of the City's reserve funds and operating surplus, less the unfunded employee benefit liability, as printed in the Annual Report.
- Most reserves are set aside for specific purposes, such as equipment and infrastructure, and are not free to spend.
Which places
Area: City of Victoria
The City of Victoria municipality only, all neighbourhoods.
Included
- All City of Victoria neighbourhoods, including Downtown, James Bay, Fairfield, Fernwood, Oaklands, Hillside/Quadra, North Park, Burnside, Victoria West, Rockland, Jubilee and Gonzales
Not included
- Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Langford and every other municipality in the region
Official definition
How the agency describes it: City of Victoria (municipality).
How we got it
This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own document and refuses to show it unless the expected text is found.
Licence and credits
This figure is public but not under an open licence: the agency publishes it for anyone to read, and it is shown here with credit and a link to the agency’s terms. About licences.
- Licence
- Public data, not under an open licence. Used with attribution. Agency’s terms of use
- Updated by agency
- Annually (audited report published mid-year); latest release Jul 17, 2026
- Retrieved
- Nov 11, 2026, 9:45 PM B.C. time
Source: City of Victoria, Annual Report (Statistics section). Public document, used with attribution; not endorsed by the publisher.
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