At a July 24 special meeting, Keene City Manager Jonathan Sites and finance staff presented high-level objectives for the fiscal 2026 operating and capital budgets, saying the city is building new systems and processes but has not yet finalized tax or personnel numbers. "Our goal is to have the books to you by the council August 7," City Manager Jonathan Sites said as staff outlined departmental priorities and early revenue estimates.

Why it matters: Staff told council the city is investing in bookkeeping, systems and grant readiness that could enable midyear budget adjustments and faster reporting; at the same time, a notable increase in property insurance and several departmental cost pressures mean the draft budget will require trade-offs. "This is something that we want to address, but it just takes time and money," Sites said when describing road needs and the broader budget context.

Staff presented several near-term points of emphasis. Finance staff said the municipal finance team is consolidating three legacy systems (FundView, ClearGov and a legacy module) into a more usable foundation; Finance Director Mary said one staff member, Mira, has led the technical work and that the administration plans a five-year financial plan and improved cash-flow projections. "We have to wrap our arms around 3 of the systems, make them talk together," Mary said.

On costs, staff identified a $139,000 increase in property-insurance expense that had been underbudgeted in prior years and will now be reflected at actual cost. Mary said past budgets had held a property-insurance line at about $44,000 while the three-year average is actually over $100,000. "We can't hide this any more. We have to put it up," she said.

Sites stressed that personnel and fringe benefits are the largest outstanding items and are being addressed in a later meeting: "Our biggest nut is going to be employees and fringe benefits," he told council. Staff also emphasized planned work on grant readiness, meter replacements for the utility system, and the need for a five-year plan to guide growth.

On timing and process, Sites asked council to focus on department objectives rather than line-by-line changes this workshop and warned that some items might be pursued with grants or external financing rather than property-tax increases alone. "We're not gonna be able to accomplish everything. It's gonna take time," he said.

The workshop also included department-level presentations from human resources, court, community center, code enforcement and development services, each noting modest operational changes and, where applicable, projected increases in fee-generated revenue tied to homebuilding forecasts.

Less-critical details and next steps: Staff said final tax numbers are still pending; a full book with line-item detail is expected to reach council on Aug. 7. The city manager said staff will return with personnel and fringe-benefit details in the next meeting and will continue to seek grant and non-property-tax revenue sources for capital items.