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Garden City commission approves draft changes to 2026 budget, holds mill levy flat at 38.483 for notice of hearing
Summary
Commission approved staff’s recommended adjustments to the 2026 budget and authorized publication of a notice of hearing to exceed the revenue-neutral rate; the changes keep the mill levy at 38.483 and include several reductions and a 1% salary pool increase.
On Aug. 5 the Garden City Commission approved a package of adjustments to the 2026 draft budget and authorized staff to publish the notice of hearing to exceed the revenue-neutral rate and the budget hearing for Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m. The action preserves the city’s mill levy at 38.483, consistent with the 2025 rate, while incorporating several line-item changes staff recommended.
Staff outlined the changes incorporated into the draft: a 1% increase to the 2026 salary pool (staff estimated $175,300 in increased costs), removal of a proposed education specialist position at the zoo (reducing budget by $65,200), a $50,000 reduction to general-fund carryover leaving $3,650,000 carried into 2027, transfer of $200,000 of excess 15-cent sales tax revenue to the general fund, reduced material street repair funding by $100,000, a $50,000 reduction in the transfer to the recreation reserve, and a $36,549.16 reduction to the downtown development fund to be transferred to the general fund. Staff also removed a $50,000 placeholder for a pay-plan review, a $325,000 placeholder for potential pay-plan adjustments, a $60,000 remodel allocation for communications department space, and a $40,000 allowance for employee surveys. The package includes principal and interest for a five-year general obligation bond of roughly $2.0–$2.1 million to replace five CNG solid-waste trucks and a recycling baler; staff will work with bond counsel and financial advisors if the commission moves forward.
With commission direction, staff will publish the statutory notice and prepare public hearing materials for the Sept. 2 revenue-neutral-rate hearing and the budget hearing. A motion to approve the draft changes and publish the hearing notice passed; the transcript records the motion and the vote but does not give an itemized roll-call of individual commissioners in the public record.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the mill levy mechanics and confirmed that the action preserves the current mill levy while allowing the public hearings and any further adjustments in advance of adoption.
