'I'm proud of this one': Mayor Ken Sim talks budget with $50 million more for police amid property tax freeze

In his final budget before facing voters next October, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is presenting a property tax freeze and $50 million more for police, balanced by major cuts to arts, culture, community services and sustainability departments. 

And he’s confident it’s a political winner. 

“I think the distinction is pretty clear. We stand for public safety, we stand for affordability, and we stand for housing. The opposition, they stand for increasing property taxes by six to seven per cent,” said Sim, in an interview after the draft budget was released. 

“The distinction is really clear. There will be a clear choice in October of next year as to who people want to support.”

The budget, which mildly increases overall expenditures from $2.34 to $2.39 billion dollars next year, will have to be passed by council in two stages: once this month for a general direction, and a more detailed line item approval in the first quarter of 2026.

Sim said things aren’t set in stone, while also making clear he was more than comfortable with the overall direction — particularly on policing.  

“I’m proud of this one,” he said. 

“The devil’s in the details … we reserve the right to make changes. But I want to be very clear here: we are committed to public safety.”

Of the city’s 18 departments, five are set to receive a budget increase, with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) being the highest increase by a significant margin in both raw dollars and percentage.

Two departments — grants and Development, Building and Licensing — had their budgets frozen, while the rest saw decreases of up to 15 per cent. 

“We're focusing on core services … and we've made sure that we're investing in them. And then for everything else we have to make tough choices,” Sim said.

Earlier this week, Vancouver Police Board member Lorraine Lowe said there would “be pushback obviously” to the VPD’s increase, adding “the optics are, 'Oh, the police get everything they want.'”

Sim argued that the city's work to prioritize public safety is having the desired effect. 

“Violent crime is down to its lowest level in 23 years. Crime is down across the board in the City of Vancouver. And so when you make investments in public safety, you get better public safety,” he said.