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Budget proposal for FY26 centers on public safety; council told police and dispatch account for most of levy increase
Summary
City finance staff presented a FY26 budget that increases the proposed property tax levy primarily to fund pay and staffing changes in the police and dispatch budgets; staff trimmed other spending and sought to limit new debt.
City finance staff presented a proposed fiscal 2026 general fund budget that would raise total expenditures to about $14.38 million and increase the municipal property tax levy, driven largely by police and dispatch costs.
Sarah, director of finance and administration, told the council the proposed budget reduces non‑public‑safety spending by $146,000 compared with the draft, but public safety increases — including market adjustments to police wages and dispatch staffing — account for roughly $710,000 of the year‑to‑year change. The city estimated the property tax levy increase at 9.5 percent as presented, and showed an illustrative impact of about $200 on a $200,000 home, with about $156 of that amount attributable to public safety and $44 to other items.
On policing, staff and councilors said the city needs to remain competitive with neighboring towns to recruit and retain officers. The presentation cited examples of neighboring communities raising starting wages; staff proposed wage increases in FY26 to reduce officer turnover and to support an expanded street crimes unit. The city also budgeted one marked police vehicle in lease financing and tactical equipment requested by police leadership.
Administrators noted several cost‑control measures: they deferred buying the oldest public‑works vehicle, did not fill a proposed economic‑development director post, and reorganized some fire department duties rather than hiring a building inspector. Staff said those decisions trimmed the overall increase outside public safety.
Staff also described capital spending priorities including $300,000 for the annual paving program, replacement self‑contained breathing apparatus for fire, and one police vehicle as a lease purchase. The proposed budget also includes a small payment toward outstanding debt on the Weldon Theater while the city determines long‑term plans for that facility.
Ending: Councilors questioned the timing and scale of police wage increases but signaled broad support for maintaining competitive pay and for the budget framing; staff will prepare a formal warning and the council will consider the ballot language and tax‑rate impacts after the reappraisal results are finalized.
