Sunbury finance staff present balanced FY26 general fund draft, propose permit fees and staffing changes

Devin, finance director, presented the first introduction of the fiscal year 2026 budget to the Finance Committee on Sept. 17, saying the draft is focused on the general fund and is balanced against expected revenues. The packet shows anticipated general fund revenues "just a little over $8,500,000" and appropriations "just a little bit short of $8,500,000," with remaining capital project adjustments to be refined at subsequent meetings.

Devin said municipal income tax collections are conservatively estimated at $6.2 million for 2026 (staff estimate), noting the city is currently on pace to collect about $6.4 million year-to-date. She highlighted a proposal to add roughly $50,000 to fines/licenses/permits revenue by implementing permit fees currently not collected (fencing, patios and similar permits), based on an intern review that found about 1,100 permit requests processed over 2½ years with roughly 60% having no fee attached. Devin said the city will bring an ordinance to council to implement a fee structure, then use those revenues to hire a permit specialist: "Once we have that in place, we'll begin to collect the revenue and then hire…