Salina commissioners tentatively back 2% COLA, hold tax rate at revenue-neutral in budget study session

Salina city commissioners on June 23 conducted an extended study-session review of the proposed 2026 budget and signaled direction on multiple key items, including personnel pay, outside-agency funding and the property tax rate. The commission agreed in principle to recommend a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and a 2% maximum merit pool for city staff beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and indicated it will adopt a revenue-neutral mill levy for the coming year.

The budget presentation, led by finance and human-resources staff, walked commissioners through personnel-cost scenarios and fund-level projections. Finance director(s) and staff emphasized that a 1% COLA across all funds would increase personnel costs by roughly $361,000; a 1% merit pool would add about $143,000. Commissioners said the 2%-and-2% combination was their preferred balance between continued wage competitiveness and fiscal restraint.

Staff also presented a series of recommended outside-agency contributions. Commissioners indicated support for most of the requests with a mix of full funding and modest caps:

- Visit Salina (CVB/Chamber tourism operations and programs): staff presented a flat-request package totaling $1,140,000; commissioners did not object to the funding request as presented. - OCCK (public transit): after discussion about rising paratransit and driver costs, commissioners directed staff to fund a smaller increase than requested and settled on a 5% budget increase to OCCK while directing staff to continue working with the agency on cost-saving options such as fuel purchasing. - SCEDO (economic development) and SDI (downtown improvement): commissioners supported requested funding levels for both organizations; SDI’s façade-grant program funding was noted as a higher-percentage increase but small in absolute dollars and received assent. - Other recurring partners — municipal band, TPEC operating support, SkyFire and the Salina Liberty professional team — were left at their prior-year levels or approved with a request that more performance metrics be supplied where applicable.

On taxation, staff reviewed the city’s assessed valuation update and the standard property-tax “revenue-neutral” calculation used under Kansas law. Commissioners agreed to set the budget on the revenue-neutral basis, which staff said would reduce the typical homeowner’s tax bill by an illustrative $19.53 per year on a $200,000 home compared with the prior-year levy if valuations do not change.

Health-insurance and benefit funding also drew attention. Staff recommended modest monthly premium-share increases for employees — $11 for single plans, $24 for employee-plus-one, and $28 for family coverage — based on an actuarial consultant’s estimate that claims could rise 7–8% in 2026. Commissioners asked staff to continue exploring plan-design changes and to revisit those numbers later in the renewal cycle if experience improves.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the commission’s direction into the draft budget, prepare a public hearing notice for the budget adoption schedule and return with more detailed CIP and utility-rate materials (water/wastewater) at upcoming meetings.