Provo unveils FY2026 tentative budget with sidewalk funding and public safety priorities
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Summary
City staff presented the tentative FY2026 budget, tying council priorities to funding: roughly $1.5 million for sidewalk projects, increased public-safety compensation including a proposed 401(k) match increase for public safety employees, and targeted investments in code enforcement and employee retention.
City staff presented the Provo FY2026 tentative budget and said it reflects council priorities including housing and owner-occupancy initiatives, public-safety compensation, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Council Executive Director Justin Harrison said council priorities were translated into budget line items, including proposals to use technology for more targeted code enforcement and to bolster employee retention. Harrison said public-safety supplemental requests in the tentative budget include an increase to the 401(k) match for officers (from 2% to 4%) and a pay increase for starting police pay; Harrison reported the 401(k) match change would cost roughly $281,000.
Finance Director John Borg (recorded as John Borgett in the presentation) presented revenue assumptions, noting sales-tax revenue was projected to be down approximately $1.8 million from FY2025 and that fee updates were expected to increase other revenues. Borg said enterprise funds constitute about 55% of citywide revenues, with energy, wastewater and water making up the bulk of enterprise receipts.
Policy analyst David Pyle summarized the general-fund picture and common financial ratios, saying the general fund remains balanced in the tentative budget and that the city’s debt ratios are low. Pyle cautioned that transfers from enterprise funds are rising and asked staff to include comparative data for peer cities.
Harrison and staff said sidewalk funding was a council priority; the tentative budget includes nearly $1.5 million for sidewalk projects in FY2026. The council directed staff to provide more detail on exact sidewalk locations and to return with CIP pages for specific projects.
Staff said the tentative budget will move forward to public hearings and that some supplemental requests were prioritized and included while two larger general-fund requests (a SAFER grant–style firefighter staffing request and a Center Street remodel) were not included in the tentative budget due to constrained resources.