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City manager outlines FY26 outlook, April–May budget schedule
Summary
Grand Rapids City Manager Mark presented a high-level FY26 outlook, previewing items commissioners can expect — legislative agenda adoption, master plan implementation updates, and an intensive budget review period beginning late April.
Grand Rapids City Manager Mark (city manager) gave commissioners a high-level preview of items expected this fiscal year and the timeline for the FY26 budget process during a workshop session.
Mark said commissioners should expect a continuing discussion about the legislative agenda and a series of committee briefings, including an Indian Trails feasibility update and a housing report from Housing Kent. He noted the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (ACFR) and scheduled committee items for the public safety committee.
On the calendar for the commission, Mark outlined a sequence of committee and commission briefings that will lead into formal budget deliberations: staff will brief the commission on legislative priorities, then the March period will include master plan implementation and materials-management discussions, followed by an intensive sequence devoted to budget hearings and adoption. "Every week in the month of May, from the April 29th through May 20th, we'll be dealing with budgets," Mark said as he sketched the review schedule.
He told commissioners that major labor contracts expire at the end of June and highlighted that the FY26 budget will include both a five-year capital outlook and one-year operational planning. He urged commissioners to finalize priorities quickly because departments have been developing their proposals since November and constraints on schedule make deep pivots difficult.
Commissioners used the discussion to point to near-term priorities they want reflected in the upcoming budget cycle, including implementation steps for the community master plan, better performance metrics, materials management and climate adaptation work, and investments in technology such as the ERP system and AI policy planning.
No formal actions were taken at the workshop; the timeline will be used by staff to schedule committee briefings and to align department deliverables for the April–May budget process.
