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Kingman staff present $309.9 million recommended fiscal 2026 budget; council hears assumptions and risks
Summary
City staff presented a $309.9 million recommended budget and five-year capital improvement plan that preserves services while using reserves, grant assumptions and conservative revenue forecasts; council asked about pensions, reserve levels and rate-driven revenue assumptions.
The City of Kingman’s staff presented a recommended fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budget of $309,900,000 during a council work session, citing council priorities, grant awards and conservative revenue assumptions.
The recommendation “reflects the city council’s priorities” and “represents a continued investment in the quality of life, public safety, infrastructure, and financial sustainability,” staff said. The presentation said total projected revenues across all funds are just over $245,000,000 and noted the budget package assumes some rate increases for water and solid waste.
The nut graf: City staff told council they built a balanced budget by reducing growth assumptions, relying on awarded grant funds where possible, and using a mix of transfers, reserves and targeted program financing. Staff flagged risks including tariff-driven inflation, uncertainty in federal funding timing and grant expiration dates that may require extension requests.
Most of the presentation covered the assumptions and major drivers behind the totals. Staff said they used conservative sales-tax growth assumptions—about 1.1% for FY26 versus the state forecast near 4%—to provide a cushion if receipts weaken. Departmental operating budgets show a 7.2% increase over FY25, driven largely by personnel and benefits; staff recommended a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and a 2% merit pool for eligible employees.
On interfund transfers, the city’s general fund will transfer roughly $6.5 million to a multi-year street repair program and $4.1 million to the capital projects fund, the presentation said. Staff also listed other transfers for transit support, debt service and benefits reserves. The recommended five-year capital improvement program totals just over $300,000,000, with outside participation and grants expected to cover more than $100,000,000 of that amount.
Public-safety pensions were a recurring theme. Staff recommended using the city’s $4.6 million pension reserve to restore funding levels for police and fire pension trusts. Staff said, “We are recommending to utilize the full $4,600,000 in reserve to get us back to almost 100%.” That action, staff said, would bring police to 100% funded and fire to about 99.8% under current actuarial assumptions.
The presentation included personnel changes: staff proposed 11 new full-time positions across funds and nine reclassifications. The budget includes modest insurance-premium increases (staff cited roughly 4.2% to 5.9% increases) and a proposed employee premium cost-share of $20 per month for single coverage and $35 per month for family coverage.
Councilors questioned timing and scope. Staff emphasized that all awarded grants are currently active but that many have narrow performance periods and staff is seeking extensions from grantors where needed. Staff said they would incorporate council feedback into the tentative budget and bring the final-adoption ordinance for council consideration at an upcoming meeting.
Ending: Staff asked council to raise questions as they walked the document; the tentative budget will be available for public review before formal adoption steps later in the budget calendar.
