Fond du Lac leaders outline balanced 2026 budget forecast, warn of limited flexibility

City Manager Joseph Moore and Director of Administration Tricia Davy told the Fond du Lac City Council on June 25 that the city will deliver a balanced 2026 budget in August but will have very limited flexibility because state rules limit annual levy growth and many revenue streams are outside local control.

Moore and Davy presented revenue and spending forecasts, a five‑year capital improvement plan and early results of a wage study as the council opened its long‑range budget review. "We're forecasting about 1%," Moore said when describing net new construction used to set the city's allowable levy growth. Davy added: "our tax levy can only increase by that amount or approximately 1%."

The presentation matters because the 1% net new construction estimate translates into a relatively small allowable levy increase — roughly $270,000 under the state's formula — against a total operating and capital program of about $40 million. That constraint, Davy said, means the city has little control over roughly 87% of its revenues (state aids, levy and…