City presents revised 2026 budget showing $1.7M revenue uptick; public hearing set for Sept. 9

Glenn, the presiding councilmember, opened the budget workshop and said no final action would be taken at the meeting and that “the public hearing will be on Tuesday, September 9 at 9AM at the New City Hall.” City staff told the council they had made multiple adjustments since the August budget meeting that together raise citywide revenue by about $1.7 million and reduce expenses by roughly $2 million compared with the current amended budget.

Krista, a city staff member presenting finance metrics, said the proposed general fund revenues total roughly $27 million and noted sales tax (about $9.25 million) and property tax (just over $8 million) as the two largest revenue sources. She said general fund personnel costs are about 52.4 percent of the fund, and that the proposed 2026 budget projects revenues up about 12 percent and expenses up about 3 percent from 2025. Krista also explained the city’s reserve policy: the general fund maintains a minimum fund balance equivalent to 90 days of operating expenditures and that any shortfall would be replenished over one to two years.

Staff walked the council through department‑by‑department changes, including targeted personnel additions and removals, capital project carryovers and deletions, and intercompany transfer adjustments. Staff emphasized the budget retains a fund balance after required reserves (noted in the presentation as an ending fund balance and a remaining available balance of about $7.6 million after reserves). The presentation also compared the city’s maintenance/operations and debt tax components with several peer cities and described proposed COLA and merit assumptions.

Discussion focused on near‑term timing and next steps. Glenn confirmed the council will not vote on the tax rate or budget at the workshop; the public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 and the council will take final votes on both the tax rate and the budget on Sept. 16. No formal motion or vote took place at the workshop.

The rest of the workshop covered department requests and options to add or remove items marked for further council consideration; staff said several items shown in red on slide decks were for council direction rather than final approval.