City Council reviews proposed 2026 budget, staff recommends conservative plan

Sherry, a city staff member, told the City Council that “the only thing on tonight’s agenda is just the introduction of the proposed 2026 budget.” The proposed total is just over $53.2 million, a 2.25% increase overall from 2025 and a 4.7% increase in the general fund driven largely by employee compensation and health-insurance costs.

The proposal matters because it sets spending priorities for city operations and reserves while the council and staff continue to respond to state-level changes and other uncertainties. Staff and the council emphasized a conservative approach to hiring and spending for 2026 while monitoring possible larger impacts in 2027–28.

City staff summarized the main elements of the draft budget and department requests. The plan recommends across-the-board salary changes keyed to job classes: a proposed 5% raise for public-works, police, fire and utilities employees; a 3% raise for full-time salaried employees outside public works; and a 2% increase proposed for department heads, superintendents and the chief-of-staff. Staff said the mayor and elected officials proposed those increases.

Staff outlined department-level line-item adjustments: the mayor’s office requested increasing…