Property taxes are going down this year in Dawson City, Yukon, after council passed the town’s 2026 budget.

The budget includes a $12.3-million dollar capital expenditure program, the bulk of which will go toward water and sewage upgrades. The capital budget also includes the purchase of a new fire truck.

The town’s operating expenses this year will be just over $11 million.

“We are confident that funding identified in the 2026 budget will be secured from the Yukon government,” said David Henderson, the town’s outgoing chief administrative officer,  in a written statement.

“Going forward, the Yukon and federal governments have been signaling that money is tight and all municipalities face ongoing needs for infrastructure investment.”

Henderson says there was a decision made by council to lower property taxes this year. He says residential rates have been lowered by 2.5 per cent from 2025, and non-residential by 2.1 per cent. 

He said “a measurable amount of growth” in the town has made that possible.

“You can’t always do that… the price pressures are there. So sometimes it works, sometimes the price pressure doesn’t allow you to do it,” he said. 

Property taxes make up about 39 per cent of the town’s annual revenues, with the rest coming from government transfers and service fees and charges.

Wastewater infrastructure, new fire truck

Out of the $12.3 million in capital expenditures this year, $8.8 million will go toward water and wastewater upgrades. Henderson says that’s mostly associated with newly-constructed drinking water reservoirs, which weren’t factored into the budget until they were complete.

“So that adds to it immensely,” said Henderson.

There’s also the regular replacement of pipes, separate from any cost associated with January’s water main breaks that flooded parts of town.

Another major expense in the capital budget this year is a new $890,000 fire truck for the town’s protective services. It’s expected to arrive in the coming weeks.  

Mayor Stephen Johnson says the town was lucky to acquire the vehicle at that price.

“They have a life. And over the years, they’ve been told, ‘OK, your truck is timed out now get rid of it.’ And it’s an expensive proposition to do that. So we were very lucky in finding this unit,” he said.

The town also listed “notable issues for coming years” in its budget summary, including the new $65-million recreation centre which is expected to open in spring 2028. The money is coming from the federal and territorial governments.

Dawson City’s publicly-owned cable TV is also shutting down at the end of May. That’s expected to cost approximately $150,000, to remove the cable lines in town.

The town is also currently partnering with the Yukon Government and Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation to review possible locations for a new lagoon wastewater treatment system. It will potentially open in five to seven years, and replace the current treatment facility which is slowly nearing capacity. 

The operating cost is estimated to be around $500,000 annually, which will be covered by the municipality. Johnson says ground conditions are being assessed at possible sites at the moment. He says it will be most likely near Callison, an industrial subdivision just outside the town and is being designed to not be too smelly.