Hagerstown officials propose FY26 budget with 5.5¢ real‑property tax increase to cover public safety, utilities and debt service

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — City staff presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on April 1 that would balance primarily by adding a 5.5‑cent increase to the real property tax rate and other revenue and reserve moves.

The proposal, presented by Scott Niswander, Michelle Hepburn and Brooke Garver, would produce a modeled surplus of $7,900 but relies on the tax increase to generate about $2.2 million in revenue, city staff said. “We were able to get balance for the charter and present to you today this budget that actually has a surplus of $7,900. However to get to that requirement it's going to be necessary that we propose a 5.5¢ real property tax rate increase as part of this budget,” Niswander said.

The tax increase is intended primarily to cover higher public safety spending. Staff said the Hagerstown Police Department budget would rise by about $3.2 million from FY25, with $2.8 million of that attributable to salaries, benefits and overtime tied to negotiated increases and hiring 13 full‑time positions (9 sworn, 4 civilian). If approved in its current form, the budget would fund 100 sworn officers and 25 non‑sworn positions.

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