Gadsden council adopts $80.9 million fiscal 2026 budget, approves employee pay scale

The Gadsden City Council on Tuesday adopted the fiscal year 2026 budgets, approving an $80,947,000 general fund operating budget and an employee pay scale. Council President Beck called for a vote after the ordinance was presented and the measure passed by voice vote. The ordinance the council adopted lists the budget totals the city will use for the coming fiscal year: General Fund $80,947,000; Special Revenue Funds $11,566,517; Enterprise and Internal Service Funds $16,558,556; Capital Projects Fund (two line items) $9,540,930 and $28,338,045. The ordinance also adopts the city’s employee pay scale for FY2026. Councilman Aviso asked for clarification on how bond proceeds appear in the city’s financial reporting after receiving a citizen inquiry; Brandon Phillips, finance director, said the bond proceeds are recorded as debt on the financial statements and the budget shows estimated debt-service line items. “On your capital projects where you have all of your line items for debt service, we have taken the number that has been given us by step on estimate and put that in this budget so it’s accounted for…as a debt payment,” Phillips said. The council voted to adopt the ordinance following that clarification. The motion passed by voice vote; the clerk recorded the ayes and the chair declared the motion carried. The ordinance also includes the city’s updated employee pay scale for FY2026, which was presented to the council as part of the budget package. Council members did not amend the ordinance during the meeting; questions concentrated on accounting treatment of bond funds rather than changes to spending priorities.