Centerville council tables FY26 final budget after debate over reserves, lobbyist and community spending

The Centerville City Council opened a public hearing on the fiscal year 2026 final budget and then voted unanimously to table adoption until its June 17 meeting to allow more time for public comment and for final property-tax figures, staff said.

Finance staff told the council that the county assessor and auditor had provided preliminary property‑tax revenue figures and that figures on the state website had fluctuated in recent days; the staff increased the property‑tax estimate shown in the packet to $2,311,420 but noted the number remained preliminary and under state review and could change before the council adopts a final budget.

City Finance Director Nate Pazier summarized other changes implemented since the tentative budget: an increased contribution to the capital projects transfer ($261,784), a reduced projected use of fund balance ($1,114,325), restored street-insurance costs ($7,292) that had been omitted in the tentative packet, and an increase to drainage maintenance contract amounts based on recent bids (to $225,000).

During public comment and council discussion, Council member Brian Plummer said he opposed some line items and urged the city to spend COVID-relief reserves on visible community projects such as scoreboards for athletic fields and cultural funding. “We have millions in reserves, and roughly 4,000,000 of that came from federal COVID relief funds,” Plummer said. He asked for a 2.5% COLA plus a 2.5% merit increase for staff and said he preferred spending that residents could see and use rather than on consultants and a lobbyist.

Other council members and the mayor responded that the lobbyist has helped the city secure grant funding for major water projects, citing staff statements that the city paid about $307,395 to secure approximately $1,570,000 in grant funding for a water tank project and that similar federal opportunities could be pursued only by active engagement. Staff and supporters of pursuing grant funds said that using lobbyists to pursue outside funding reduces the local tax or fee burden for costly infrastructure projects.

After discussion, Councilmember (name not specified in the record) moved and the council seconded a motion to table Resolution 2025-08 (adopting the FY26 final budget) until the June 17 council meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Staff said that state law requires final budget adoption by June 30 and that the postponement allows time for updated property-tax figures from the state tax commission.