Troy City presents FY2025–26 budget; council questions funding, water rates, library bond

Troy City Council on April 14 reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget in a special meeting focused on capital needs, water and sewer rates, and the library bond proposal.

Frank (City manager) told the council the budget centers on three priorities: “preserving public safety, investing in infrastructure, and delivering quality of life.” He said 58% of the general fund is allocated to public safety and staff included more than $3,000,000 in capital investments for public safety projects, including an urgent roof repair project budgeted at about $1,800,000.

The budget allocates $11,800,000 for major and local road work, moves the Aquatic Center from an enterprise fund into the general fund (increasing charges-for-service revenue by roughly $600,000), and anticipates a 4.5% increase in citywide revenues driven by taxable value growth. Staff reported that taxes account for about 38% of total city revenue, grants about 15% and charges for services about 34%.

Bob Bruner (staff member) walked the council through long-term tax and taxable-value trends and said the city keeps roughly 27.8% of each tax dollar collected for Troy programs, passing the remainder to other jurisdictions. He emphasized that Troy’s taxable-value…