Doug Valeski, director of finance for Mount Vernon City, said the city faces a $6,000,000 shortfall in 2026 and that the council has directed staff to ask Fortis to pursue a levy increase with voters. "By law, the City has to adopt a balanced budget each year," Valeski said. "So when we have a projected deficit like the $6,000,000 shortfall we are facing in 2026, we have to either raise more revenue by asking the voters to increase the levy, cut spending, or both."

Valeski told the council the city has already taken multiple cost-cutting steps while trying to preserve services: reducing discretionary spending to just over 5 percent, instituting hiring freezes, reevaluating staffing needs, limiting travel and training to essentials for police and fire, pursuing grants, using COVID relief funds to bolster equipment reserves, and partnering with the school district and county on shared staff positions. "But now there is basically no more cost to cut without reducing services," he said.

The council’s direction to ask Fortis to pursue a levy increase was presented as the next option after those measures. The meeting record did not specify a formal vote, a timeline for a ballot measure, the size of the proposed levy increase, or whether Fortis is serving in a consulting role; those details were "not specified."

The discussion combined factual budget projections and staff recommendations; Valeski described the council’s action as a step to address the projected deficit, not as a final revenue outcome. Any levy increase would require further steps and, if placed before voters, approval at the ballot. The transcript did not include a motion, roll-call vote, or a schedule for further hearings on the levy request.

The city’s immediate next steps as recorded were limited to the council’s direction to involve Fortis in seeking a levy increase and continued review of budget options. Additional details on the proposed levy amount, timetable, and legal citations were not provided in the meeting record.