Alma City presents balanced preliminary FY 2025–26 budget; public hearing set for May 13

City staff presented a preliminary, balanced fiscal year 2025–26 budget to the Alma City Commission and asked commissioners to set a public hearing for May 13, 2025, at 6 p.m.

The budget presentation, led by a city staff member identified in the meeting as Chris, showed total projected revenues and expenses of $6,250,000 and used planning assumptions that include a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for nonunion employees, step increases for eligible staff, and a 5.5% increase in fringe‑benefit costs for health and pension. The city manager and staff framed personnel as the largest ongoing pressure: personnel costs account for roughly 68% of the general fund budget, operating expenses about 27% and capital roughly 3.5% in the preliminary proposal.

Why it matters: staff said the city can present a balanced budget this year without using fund‑balance reserves, but rising labor and benefit costs and constrained capital funding will force policy choices. The presentation flagged several near‑term decisions that would affect long‑term capacity: whether to bond for a multi‑year parking‑lot replacement program, how to treat vacant positions, and…