As council prepares to debate Lloydminster’s 2026 budget, new analysis shows the cost of salaries, wages and benefits has grown far faster than the city’s population and now represents the largest portion of all municipal spending.
Public budget documents reviewed by The Border Pulse show salaries have increased from $31.08 million in 2019 to $43.85 million in the 2025 budget. That is a 41 per cent increase in seven years. Over the same period, total spending increased by 35 per cent.
The result is that salaries now consume 35.6 per cent of all municipal spending, the highest share in the past seven years. Since 2019 the salary share has fluctuated between 30 and 36 per cent, but has now risen to its peak with the release of the 2025 budget.
The city’s growth has not matched this rise. Lloydminster’s population has remained nearly flat since the 2016 and 2021 federal census counts, and even with a projected 1.3 per cent annual increase, the city would only add about 1,600 residents by 2025.
Despite this, salary costs climbed by more than $12.7 million over the same period.
City budget documents show salaries are embedded across all divisions, including fire, RCMP support, administration, engineering, utilities, parks, recreation and facility operations. This means salary increases affect the entire financial structure of the city.
The 2025 budget includes a projected salary cost of $43.85 million alongside a total budget of $123.2 million. That places personnel spending significantly above contracted services, capital transfers and every other line in the operating budget.
Municipal salaries have now grown faster than both the city’s population and its overall spending.
For taxpayers, that means salary pressures are a growing driver of the mill rate, right alongside the rising costs of fire and police services that will be debated during the 2026 budget vote.
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