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City presents largely level mayor's budget; public safety and education funding rise
Summary
City finance staff presented an overview of the mayor's proposed fiscal 2026 budget, highlighting increases for public safety, education and capital equipment, modest headcount growth, projected vacancy savings and a potential fall bond refunding opportunity.
The city's finance staff told the committee that the mayor's proposed fiscal 2026 budget holds overall services steady while increasing funding for public safety and education.
The presentation matters because it sets the framework for departmental workshops and public hearings that will determine whether the proposals become part of next year's spending plan.
Finance staff opened with potential debt-service savings: "We saw, you know, in total $10,000,000 in interest rate savings," they said, adding the city has "callable bonds that will become callable in September" with about $52,000,000 in principal outstanding and an opportunity to refund those securities in the fall. The presenter said staff did not build those savings into the current budget because of economic uncertainty.
On recurring costs, the presenter said the city's retirement fund contribution increased by about $2,700,000 to follow actuarial recommendations. Health-care costs were projected to rise "about 4%," and general-liability insurance was increased by about $750,000, driven by prior settlements and market conditions. The budget also includes an additional appropriation of about $55,000,000 for the board of education, while the state's educational cost-sharing aid was shown as nearly flat.
Public safety received the largest department increase in the presentation: police spending was shown rising by about $8,890,000 (roughly 17.45%), primarily to cover labor-contract costs and a rent obligation that the city has partially deferred, and overtime budgets for police and fire were increased. The presenter said the city plans to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) revenue-replacement funds to offset part of overtime: "$2,000,000 in that ARPA revenue replacement for the police overtime and another $400,000 for fire," carried forward from prior guidance and current-year practice.
The proposed budget increases the number of funded full-time positions to 1,477, adding 13 new positions. The presenter said some hires would generate revenue, others would improve operational efficiency, and one position described as a community-resilience director is a conversion of an existing employee to a general-fund-funded role. The presentation listed new positions including a chief data officer in finance intended to centralize data access and reporting, a deputy controller for succession planning, two finance positions, two engineering positions and one in economic development. The presenter estimated the new positions would cost about $1 million in total.
Capital spending highlights included a shift to biannual borrowing, an increase in rolling-stock borrowing (from $4.5 million to $6.3 million) for fleet refresh and increased allocations for IT, police body cameras and education construction (a $15 million allocation was noted). The presenter said IT capital rose to $5 million and police capital to $4 million for body cameras and associated software.
Committee members asked for follow-up information. Alder Festa asked for comparative data on municipal education spending per student; the presenter said departmental workshops and school leadership would provide more detail. On data and analytics, an alder asked about using artificial intelligence; the presenter replied that the proposed chief data officer would help the city better extract value from existing systems such as Munis and other tools.
The presenter closed by noting this was an overview and that detailed, department-level workshops will follow. Committee members were reminded of upcoming meetings and public hearings as the budget process moves forward.
The presentation was discussed but not the subject of a formal vote at this meeting; departmental workshops and subsequent votes were scheduled.
For context, committee members raised specific questions about vacancy savings, the relationship between vacant positions and overtime costs (particularly in police and fire), and the city's assumptions for pension investment returns (the presentation assumed a 6.9% annual return in pension actuarial projections).
The committee scheduled further hearings and department-level budget workshops for March.
