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Public Works presents 2026 budget with limited staffing changes, large capital requests
Summary
Director Don Edwards told the committee the operations budget is stable with the same staffing levels while the capital budget includes multiple high-cost projects, some grant-funded, and an estimated $300,000 liquid fuels allocation for paving.
Don Edwards, the borough’s Public Works director, told the committee on Sept. 9 that the department is proposing only minor operational changes in its 2026 draft budget and is maintaining current staffing levels. “For this reason, we are only proposing minor changes to how we operate,” Edwards said as he opened the presentation.
Edwards said salaries account for about two-thirds of the operations budget — “over $3,000,000” — and that the department is proposing the same staffing as the current year: 25 union personnel and five management personnel for a total of 30 positions. He said one position was eliminated a few years ago and that he and a colleague are temporarily carrying fleet-management duties. Edwards cautioned that the draft budget is not finished and he did not supply final numbers for non-salary operating expenses.
The capital budget, he said, is “an entirely different story.” Edwards listed several high-cost capital items under consideration for 2026: first-phase work on the Gay Street closure (largely grant-funded), design of a new Public Works facility, repair of failing brick crosswalks and intersections, replacement of an aging dump truck, design work for streetscape improvements on South High Street, a Goose Creek flood study (possibly moved to stream protection), an assessment of Burrow Hall infrastructure, a roof replacement at the library, and a replacement sewer-video camera. He also said the liquid fuels budget proposal mirrors last year’s, including $300,000 for road paving.
Committee members asked about capital variability and how large items would be funded. Edwards said the Public Works building construction estimate included in one draft was $3,000,000 spread over four years, and he noted that large projects would likely require bonds or phased financing. Committee members asked staff to provide more detail in future reports and to keep staffing needs under review as park and recreation responsibilities shift.
Why it matters: The department’s operating plan preserves current staffing while seeking funding for several large capital projects; the scale and timing of those projects will influence future debt and operating choices.
Next steps: Staff will produce a detailed capital report and bring revised budget documents to committee meetings; committee members were invited to provide feedback on a new project-report format Edwards said would be ready for October.
