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Portage city manager presents balanced 2025–26 budget; council schedules deep-dive sessions
Summary
City Manager Mr. McGinnis presented a balanced 2025–26 budget to Portage City Council, citing a roughly $36 million general-fund scale, reduced debt and scheduled Committee-of-the-Whole budget review sessions on April 29 and May 13.
City Manager Mr. McGinnis presented Portage’s proposed fiscal-year 2025–26 budget during the April 15 meeting, telling council staff had prepared a balanced set of budgets and that detailed documents would be posted publicly the following day. He said the general fund is on the order of $36,000,000 and that the city has reduced debt from a historical high to roughly $45,000,000.
"I'm pleased to present a budget that is balanced," Mr. McGinnis said, noting staff had trimmed requests and worked across multiple departments to present a final balanced package. He thanked finance and budget staff and identified a Committee-of-the-Whole deep dive scheduled for April 29 at 2 p.m., with a second session provisionally set for May 13 at 2 p.m. if additional review is needed.
Why it matters: the budget sets spending priorities, capital projects and debt management for the coming year. Council members were invited to submit questions ahead of the April 29 session so staff can prepare specific responses.
Details and context: McGinnis said the budget reduces debt levels and allows room for capital improvements that staff described as long overdue. Council members noted the budget is the council's most important annual responsibility and discussed the timeline for public review and question submission.
Next steps: the full budget document will be published on the city’s open-data site the day after the meeting and council will hold the Committee-of-the-Whole review April 29; council may continue consideration at the May 13 session if needed.
