Evanston officials outline $342 million proposed 2026 budget and $90.5 million CIP, urge public input on property tax levy

City Manager Tash Stowe and finance staff presented the City of Evanston’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget and an accompanying five-year Capital Improvement Program to the City Council on Oct. 13, outlining measures to close a structural shortfall and a slate of major infrastructure projects.

The proposed budget totals about $342,000,000 excluding interfund operating transfers, and staff told council the general fund faces a projected 2025 year‑end deficit and a structural shortfall that will require a mix of reserves, spending reductions and a proposed property tax levy increase. “We think the general fund is projected to end with a deficit between $1,800,000 and $7,000,000,” Deputy CFO Clayton Black said during the presentation.

City staff said the budget would protect core services while responding to a sustained rise in personnel, pension and capital costs. The staff presentation singled out (a) a $700,000 increase in the city’s required annual public-safety pension contribution, (b) a recurring $2.6 million annual rent to operate the new civic center at 909 Davis, and (c) a $700,000 triennial tree‑inoculation program as among the larger new costs embedded in the general fund plan.

Why this matters: staff told council one‑time…