Clayton presents FY26 proposed budget with tornado costs separated; FEMA reimbursement expected in FY27

Clayton City staff on a Friday work session presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget and said they had pulled tornado recovery costs out of the baseline numbers to give a clearer picture of ongoing finances.

The city’s presentation noted that an initial FEMA public assistance submittal included roughly $13.3 million in public‑damage estimates that had been booked into the finance account. City staff said they removed those tornado expenses from the version shown at the meeting so the board could evaluate the operational picture without the one‑time storm expenditures. “The tornado numbers were really heavy,” the presenter said, and added, “we're not really banking on any of the reimbursement coming until fiscal year 27.”

The bud get snapshot showed constrained ongoing revenue growth—sales tax trending near 1% annually, property tax growth largely tied to a small set of new projects coming online and reassessment cycles—and continued expenditure pressure driven by personnel and contractual costs. Staff reported personnel and benefits would comprise about 64.2% of general‑fund expenditures in the FY26 proposal with contractual services and commodities making up the remainder; when storm costs are backed out,…