Lexington Council adopts FY26 budget, approves accessible 14‑passenger bus for city schools

Lexington City Council on May 1 adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget and approved buying a 14‑passenger accessible bus for Lexington City Schools, a change funded by the city's equipment replacement fund.

The vote came after Finance Director Jennifer Bell and City Manager Tom Carroll presented three budget scenarios that differed only by how the equipment replacement fund would be used to pay for an accessible school bus. In the option the council approved (staff-recommended option 3), the city will buy the quoted accessible bus (priced at $106,000) and defer one new police vehicle and one used electric vehicle, producing a net reduction in near-term equipment fund spending compared with the bus price alone.

The purchase was debated as a tradeoff between available replacement vehicles for public safety and enabling Lexington City Schools to transport students who require accommodations to ride with classmates. Council members emphasized the school system’s immediate operational need and the city manager and finance director noted the equipment replacement fund had a healthy balance and that staff would re-check vehicle pricing before final purchase given uncertainty in vehicle markets.

Most budget figures were presented as context during the popular annual financial report earlier in the meeting: the city’s general fund revenues were reported at roughly $28 million and overall revenues at about $35 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The equipment replacement fund had a reported fund balance of about $3.6 million at the end of FY24; staff noted the budget had already planned to use about $115,000 of that balance and the bus decision would increase planned use to roughly $137,000 under one scenario.

After discussion — during which the council asked staff to monitor potential tariff and pricing changes for vehicles before executing purchases — Councilmember Driscoll moved to adopt the staff recommendation; the motion passed unanimously. The council then approved the full FY26 budget and the FY26–30 capital investment plan as presented with the modification to include the accessible bus.

The council and staff said they will revisit equipment purchases if market conditions change before the city issues purchase orders. The appropriation ordinance that formally authorizes expenditures is scheduled for a later meeting (staff noted June 5 in discussion as the legal appropriation step).