Racine begins 2026 budget review; council debates suspending rules before department presentations

RACINE, Wis. — The City of Racine Committee of the Whole opened its multi-day 2026 budget review on Wednesday evening, Oct. 22, 2026, hearing five-minute overviews from nearly every major city department and a lengthy procedural debate about whether to begin questions that night or hold them in a separate session.

Council President Horton presided. Before departments began, a motion to suspend the previously described meeting procedures was made and taken to roll-call; the transcript records six ayes and six noes. After that vote, the chair directed that presentations proceed that evening and that detailed questions be taken during the scheduled question-and-answer session the following night.

Why it matters: the presentations outline spending priorities, capital projects and staffing for police, fire, utilities, public works and other city services that will shape the 2026 tax levy, federal- and state-funded projects and the city's capital program.

The procedural vote and how the council chose to proceed

Council members debated whether to "begin our questioning this evening by department after their five-minute budget overview" or to adhere to a previously circulated schedule that separates presentations and Q&A. The city attorney advised that suspending council rules generally requires a supermajority in certain budget-related matters; a roll-call recorded in the transcript shows the following votes on the motion to suspend rules or otherwise alter the planned procedure: Ald. Frazier — No; Ald. Townsend — Aye; Ald. Davis — Aye; Ald. Mack — Aye; Ald. Jorgensen — No; Ald. Weidner — Aye; Ald. Scada — Aye; Ald. Allen — Aye; Ald. Pete — No; Ald. Harmon — No; Ald. Pavan — Yes. The tally was recorded in the transcript as "6 ayes, 6 noes." The chair then announced that presentations would be heard that night and…