Carefree reviews FY2026 program-based budget, discusses pay study, capital projects and transparency

Carefree Town Council held a special budget workshop at which staff presented a draft FY2026 program-based budget estimating roughly $8.5 million in general fund revenue and a minimum $700,000 surplus while outlining planned capital investments and a recently completed compensation study.

Town Manager Gary Neese led the presentation and said the town is intentionally conservative in sales-tax forecasting and uses a five-year average to model receipts. "We anticipate approximately $8,500,000 coming into our general fund this this coming fiscal year and approximately $7,700,000 in expenses or a minimum surplus of $700,000," Neese said. He noted the town’s five-year average for local sales tax is about $5,320,000, while last year’s actual was roughly $6.3 million, creating a buffer that could raise the surplus above $1 million if collections remain strong. Neese added that last year the town collected about $500,000 in investment earnings, which the budget does not assume because it is speculative.

Why it matters: the budget supports public safety and infrastructure work that town leaders have prioritized in a council-approved strategic plan. Neese told the council the largest single expense is public safety (about $2.9 million), with operations, salary and benefits each roughly $2.2 million and risk management/legal/insurance about $440,000. He said combined town…