Commission hears $14 million proposed general fund, seven new staff positions and millage details

City staff told the commission the proposed 2026 general fund budget is just shy of $14 million, up from a current-year figure staff identified as $12.5 million and current-year expenses of about $13.2 million after one-time reserve spending. Staff attributed the revenue increase mainly to higher ad valorem tax collections, increased building permit activity and new solid-waste rates taking effect Oct. 1, and noted grant revenue and a fire assessment increase also contribute to the larger budget. Dallas, the city presenter, summarized personnel changes and said the budget includes an up-to-4% merit pool tied to performance evaluations plus a 2% cost-of-living increase for all employees. He also said health-insurance renewal came in at a 3% increase after negotiations. Staff proposed seven new positions across city departments to handle growing service demands: a facilities inmate supervisor; an assistant director of community development; an HR technician; a plans examiner; a staff assistant in utilities; a director of public works and utilities; and a wastewater operator. Staff said some of the HR workload from the Newberry Community School (NCS) agreement will be paid by NCS and that adding payroll services for NCS adds roughly 80 employees under the city’s processing role. On millage and taxable value, staff said the commission’s proposed millage is 5.88 mills, the rollback rate is 5.6995 and the commission adopted a cap at 6.0623 mills; staff said taxable value for 2025 is “just shy of $900,000,000,” about $80,000,000 higher than the prior year. Staff noted raising the millage to the cap would generate roughly $153,000 of additional revenue without a re-noticing requirement. Small-budget items noted: staff said the city will rent a street sweeper a few times next year at a cost of a few hundred dollars per day and budgeted $30,000 for a skate-park design study from the wild spaces fund (the commission later confirmed that is wild-spaces money). Why it matters: staff framed the new positions and budget increases as responses to a spike in commercial and residential development activity, increases in service demand for planning and inspections, and the city’s new role processing payroll for NCS. The hires and contract increases affect operating costs and the city’s capacity to deliver permitting, utilities and public works services. What was decided or directed: staff said the positions are proposed; no formal hiring motions were made at the workshop. Staff also said it would provide printed CIP (capital improvement program) materials and will email backup to commissioners before budget hearings. Key figures cited by staff: proposed general fund about $14,000,000; current-year budget ~ $12,500,000 with current-year expenses ~ $13,200,000; millage proposed 5.88 with rollback 5.6995 and cap 6.0623; taxable value ~ $900,000,000; personnel budget for the fire department about $2,100,000 (a roughly $100,000 increase).