Goodyear city manager recommends $1.83 billion FY26 budget, highlights $790 million five‑year CIP and $8 million in new ongoing funds

City Manager Wynette Reed and Finance Manager Ryan Biddle presented the City of Goodyear's fiscal year 2026 recommended budget at an April 14 work session, a spending plan programmed at roughly $1.83 billion and accompanied by a five‑year capital improvement program (CIP) totaling about $790 million.

Biddle said the recommended total includes an ongoing general fund portion of about $221 million within a $385 million general‑fund program. He told council the budget team identified roughly $8 million in new ongoing availability for FY26, up from the roughly $5.5 million projected in February, driven by stronger sales‑tax actuals, additional new‑construction property tax receipts and development services revenues.

The proposed budget, Biddle said, reflects the city's conservative forecasting policy: "we're going to walk through the fiscal year 20 26 city manager's recommended budget, which is programmed at $1,830,000,000 roughly," he said. Reed framed the recommended plan as aiming to “address many of the needs of our growing city while continuing to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money.”

Why it matters: the recommended plan funds a large CIP and continues additions to staff headcount — including a larger public‑safety hiring package — while leaving a policy reserve and planning for the operational impacts of new capital assets, such as future staffing for new fire stations.

Key facts and context - Total recommended budget (all funds): about $1.83 billion. - General fund, ongoing portion: roughly $221 million; general‑fund program total about $385 million with transfers included. - New ongoing availability for FY26: about $8 million (up from $5.5 million in February), attributed to additional sales tax actuals (~$1.7M), new construction property tax (~$600K) and development services revenue; CIP allocation change for project management personnel added ~ $1M; additional expenditure refinements freed ~$1.5M. - Five‑year CIP total: about $790 million; 87 projects total, 20 new projects. - Tentative and final adoption: statutory tentative budget adoption scheduled for May and final in June.

Budget priorities and fiscal guardrails Reed and Biddle emphasized the city's financial policies: conservative revenue forecasting, a 15% ongoing revenue policy reserve, and matching ongoing expenditures with ongoing revenue where possible. Biddle said the strategic plan continued to guide budget priorities and that the administration used restricted funds first for capital projects when appropriate.

Council and staff discussion Council members asked for clarifying details that will appear with the tentative budget, including the timing and phasing of hires and remaining callable debt paydowns. Biddle noted the city expects callable bond debt to be fully paid off by the end of FY27, which will free additional operating revenue in future years. Reed and staff also said they would return with more detail on some employee impacts (for example, how market adjustments translate to employee take‑home pay once insurance increases are factored in).

Ending Staff signaled they will present a tentative budget in May and the final budget in June. Several council members requested additional backup materials before tentative adoption, including a payroll impact summary and more detail on CIP schedules and project sequencing.