Lewiston council reviews FY26 general government budget, flags TIF dependency and attorney fees

The Lewiston City Council spent its Tuesday evening workshop working through the general government portion of the proposed FY26 budget, with department heads and staff outlining personnel, contracted services and one-time changes that together shift several line items but leave the citywide levy assumptions intact.

City finance staff led the review, noting line-by-line changes across small departments. Director Roy said the city administration budget shows an “overall decrease of $14,009.29,” with a $6,133 reduction in personal services attributed to TIF credits and a Sewell grant reimbursement. Marketing was listed with an “overall decrease of $30,866” driven largely by TIF credits; city attorneys were shown with a $66,000 increase, noted as a rate or utilization change, and elections costs rose because the budget includes two elections in FY26 instead of one.

Why it matters: several department budgets rely on TIF credits that, if not approved, would have to be moved into the general fund. That dependency was raised by Councilor Chittum during the workshop; staff replied, “Correct. That it was approved. If not, it will need to be moved into the general fund along with the amount of evaluation that was sheltered.”

Key details from department presentations: - City administration: five positions; telephone and data costs adjusted for new city administrator cell allowance; contracted DEI services reduced and partially offset by Sewell grant reimbursement. - Marketing: one employee; contracted services and telephone increases noted for account-managed devices used for marketing content. - City attorney: personal services marked up roughly $66,000. Staff said a modest rate increase and increased utilization both contributed: “It's both. Both. But the charge rate was a 5% increase,” staff said. - City clerk and elections: anticipated two elections in FY26 (November and June) drive increases in temporary wages, contracted services, printing and postage. - Finance, purchasing, accounting and treasury: various internal staffing moves (a half position moved into Purchasing), expected higher third-party printing costs (tax, water, sewer bills) and postage increases tied to metered rates. - MIS: proposed increases for maintenance and licensing tied to a new public-works project-tracking software and an accessibility requirement for the city website; a previously requested set of PCs and monitors were removed from the proposed fund-balance requests. - Planning & Code: overall increase of $77,355, reflecting a full year for a planning technician position and higher training and department apparel costs; the $50,000 comprehensive plan implementation line was recommended to be paid from fund balance instead of the operating budget.

Workshop discussion also produced several administrative clarifications. Director Roy said the $50,000 comp-plan implementation request would be removed from the operating budget and recommended for payment from fund balance (page 32 in materials). Staff also reported a social-services position originally included in the request would not be needed, producing an expected $54,559 savings; staff said the social services director had indicated a decrease in client volume.

Public and council questions focused on the reliability of revenue assumptions and how TIF approvals could change departmental budgets. Councilors also pressed staff for explanations of increases (for example, the city attorney line) and how temporary or one-time reimbursements (such as the Sewell grant) would be handled.

The council did not take a final vote on a consolidated budget at the workshop; the meeting functioned as an item-by-item review and clarification session ahead of remaining budget hearings and the formal appropriations process.