Lee's Summit city manager presents $380 million operating and capital budget; council advances budget bills

City Manager Mark Dunning presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and the capital plan to the Lee's Summit City Council, describing the budget as the city’s principal annual policy document and asking council to connect resources to council priorities.

Dunning said, “In my view, the budget is the biggest plan or policy that we put into place annually to forecast what do we hope to achieve in the next year and where are we heading.” He and budget staff described the overall picture: a total all-funds budget approaching $380,000,000, a general fund budget in the plan near $98,000,000 (the FY2025 amended general fund figure was higher because of adjustments made during the year), and a capital improvements plan approaching $792,000,000 over five years.

Budget managers recommended conservative revenue assumptions because of lingering uncertainties. Eric Stoyanov, budget manager, said, “For 2026, we're projecting a 3 and a half percent increase over the FY25 projection” for property tax, and staff projected a 2.5% increase in sales tax for FY2026. Stoyanov also flagged…