Finance staff reviewed the city’s debt-service levy and presented an illustrative impact on a sample homeowner to the finance committee on Oct. 16.

The city’s debt-service payments (principal and interest) total roughly the amounts shown in the executive budget charts; finance described a multi-year plan that aims to level debt-service levy increases after recent borrowing used for capital priorities such as flood mitigation and building projects. Staff said the plan expects the levy increases to subside in later years of the capital plan.

Staff provided a sample tax-bill comparison using average market values: with the assessor’s updated values the example compared a $350,000 “average” home (2026 assessment) to a roughly $308,000 equivalent in 2025. The illustrative city tax for the $350,000 home was projected at $2,730 in 2026 versus $2,841 for the prior-year comparable—about a $111 decrease on the city tax portion. Finance staff noted that this illustration did not include the new $160 garbage-and-recycling fee; when the fee is added the net effect for some households can be an increase in total housing-related charges even if the city tax line declines.

Staff emphasized that one-year examples can mask longer-term pressure: rising operating costs, retiree liabilities, and other expenses can absorb levy capacity over time even if a given city-tax line falls in a single year. Committee members asked about refinancing options and whether operating reserves could be used to pay debt early; finance staff said refinancing is evaluated periodically and early payoff is possible but carries trade-offs for reserves and fiscal health.