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EDA approves 2026 budget and moves to pay off Voyager Way loan
Summary
At a Sept. 8 special meeting, the International Policy Economic Development Authority approved its 2026 budget and agreed to use Riverfront funds to pay about $280,000 toward the Voyager Way road loan, officials said.
The International Policy Economic Development Authority approved its 2026 budget at a special meeting on Sept. 8 and agreed to use Riverfront improvement funds to pay off a Voyager Way loan that staff estimated at about $280,000. The commission voted to adopt the budget after brief discussion and a voice vote in which commissioners answered questions from staff and peers.
Commissioners said the EDA maintains other balances that helped make the payment possible. Emma, an EEA staff member who presented budget details, said the EDA had roughly $900,000 on hand across its accounts, and that using Riverfront funds to retire the Voyager Way obligation would reduce that specific liability by about $280,000. The presentation also identified budget placeholders: $25,000 for professional services and roughly $26,984 for preventive services and office expenses.
The budget approval followed a motion to pay off the Voyager Way obligation and a separate motion to adopt the EDA's 2026 budget. A councillor seconded the budget motion, and the chair called for discussion before taking a voice vote. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the source and size of the funds and whether the payoff would affect the EDA's operating budget. Staff confirmed the payoff would assist the EDA's 2026 budget planning by removing the outstanding Voyager Way liability.
Discussion-only items included requests for plain-language explanations of fund uses and when prior changes to the budget had been made. Commissioner Dale and others asked whether approving the budget at the preliminary stage was required; staff replied that the preliminary approval timeline applied. No formal amendments to the budget were proposed during the meeting.
The vote was recorded as a voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried. The commission did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. No additional substantive actions on the 2026 budget were taken at the meeting.
The EDA did not set an implementation schedule for the Voyager Way payoff during the meeting; staff will follow procedural steps required to transfer or allocate the Riverfront funds as part of regular financial operations.
