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Oshkosh officials warn shrinking levy room, rising personnel costs squeeze 2026 budget
Summary
City Manager Rebecca Grill and Finance Director Julie briefed the council on limits from state levy rules, shifts in state aid, and personnel-driven cost pressures shaping the 2026 operating budget.
City Manager Rebecca Grill told the Oshkosh City Council at a June budget workshop that the city faces tight choices for the 2026 operating budget as state levy rules and rising personnel costs compress available revenue.
Grill said the city must reckon with an “overreliance on property taxes in the state of Wisconsin” and recent changes in state revenue-sharing, noting Act 12 of 2023 redirected a portion of sales tax to supplement police, fire and EMS funding. “We have the expenditure restraint program…we're under the levy limits,” Grill said, explaining how those rules limit the city’s ability to raise levy revenue beyond net new construction and authorized debt adjustments.
The briefing said personnel costs account for more than 75% of the general fund and…
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