Scottsdale staff present $2.21 billion FY25-26 budget; reserves and one‑time pension payment shrink fund balance

Scottsdale staff on April 7 presented a $2.207 billion proposed budget for fiscal year 2025–26, telling the Budget Review Commission the plan balances resources and spending while drawing down reserves and repurposing some capital spending.

Budget presenter Sonia opened the commission briefing, saying, “I am very pleased to present the fiscal year 25, 26 proposed budget to the commission.” She and other staff walked commissioners through the major totals: a $885.5 million operating budget, $952.0 million proposed for capital improvements, and $370.4 million in contingencies and reserves. Staff said the proposed total is a 3.8% decrease from the current adopted budget of $2.29 billion, a decline driven mainly by lower capital spending and smaller reserves.

Why it matters: the proposal uses one‑time resources to lower a material pension liability and to carry forward large capital projects that were not completed in the current year. Staff said the city begins the budget with $1.39 billion in beginning fund balance and expects an ending fund balance of about $751 million; that difference is explained in part by a $50 million one‑time…