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Springfield projects $985.7 million FY26 budget; administration to use $2 million from pension reserve to close gap
Summary
CAFO Kathy Buono told the City Council the FY26 all-funds budget is $985.7 million, up 6.1% from FY25. She said nondiscretionary costs — schools, pension, debt service and benefits — account for roughly 82.5% of the total and that the administration will use $2 million from the pension reserve to close a remaining $2 million gap.
CAFO Kathy Buono presented an overview of Springfield City’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on May 12, saying the all-funds budget totals $985,700,000, a 6.1% increase from FY25, and that the mayor has approved using $2,000,000 from the city’s pension reserve to close a remaining shortfall.
Buono told the City Council the city’s operating allocation is $315.7 million (a 4.7% increase) while the school budget is $670 million (a 6.8% increase). She said nondiscretionary obligations — schools, debt service, pension and benefits — total about $813 million, or roughly 82.5% of the budget, leaving about $172.7 million for discretionary city operations.
The CAFO said the administration cut roughly 16.9 positions during FY25 but added three later in the year, producing a net decrease of 13.9 full-time equivalents, the first FTE decline since FY13. Buono described additional savings from vacancy management, staggered hiring and salary adjustments that yielded about $662,000 in reductions and said departmental OTPS (other than personal services) rose only 0.4% after excluding transportation, pension and benefits.
Buono said departments proposed level-service budgets and a 3% cut to OTPS where possible; she described the resulting budget as “lean” and said the administration exhausted other practical cuts before asking the mayor to use pension-reserve funds. She said $19.1 million remains in the pension reserve account established in February 2016 and that $2 million would be taken this year; the administration is not touching the stabilization reserve.
Revenue assumptions cited in the presentation include a 2.5% increase in taxes, $5 million in new growth and an expected $20.9 million from MGM. Buono emphasized that without the MGM receipts the city would face a larger shortfall.
Councilors pressed Buono on department-level changes and potential impacts on services. Buono repeatedly said core services would be maintained and that departments could request supplemental funds during the fiscal year through the council if operations proved unsustainable.
What happens next: Buono said department-level hearings will continue through May and that the full budget vote is scheduled for May 27. The mayor and council must still approve the final appropriations.
