Harpers Ferry council adopts FY26 budget revision and reviews town finances, reserves

Harpers Ferry, W.Va. — The Harpers Ferry Town Council voted unanimously July 29 to adopt revision 1 of the town’s fiscal year 2026 general fund budget after a lengthy briefing on municipal revenues, reserves and oversight requirements.

Finance officer Debbie (last name not specified in transcript) led the presentation and told the council the town’s budget — about $2.1–$2.2 million in scale — is funded by a mix of municipal taxes, parking revenue, business-and-occupancy (B&O) taxes, property tax distributions from the county, state remittances such as oil-and-gas severance and excise taxes, grants and leases such as cell tower rents. She said the town had carried forward restricted and assigned balances for specific projects and maintained an unassigned fund balance for general use.

The revision was approved by roll-call vote 6–0. The formal resolution directing the change states the council will submit the revision to the State Auditor’s Office for review as required by state law.

Debbie said the council had chosen a conservative budgeting approach — ‘‘underestimate income, overestimate expenses’’ — and reported the town still had roughly four months of operating reserves after the adjustments. She reviewed four fund-balance…