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Macedonia finance committee advances 2026 budget planning; police policy subscription and insurance pool highlighted
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Summary
On Sept. 25 the Macedonia finance committee reviewed the proposed 2026 operating budget and a 2025 appropriation amendment, discussing wage projections, a proposed subscription to Lexipol for police policy management, and expected insurance-rate changes from a regional consortium.
The Macedonia finance committee opened its Sept. 25 meeting to review the citys proposed 2026 operating budget and an amendment to 2025 appropriations meant to carry projected costs forward.
Committee leaders said they projected wages and benefits through the end of 2025 as a baseline for the 2026 budget and left a cushion in wage and benefit line items to absorb anticipated collective-bargaining increases. A finance staff member said the current three-year bargaining agreements expire in 2025 and that the committee did not propose a percent increase before negotiations, adding, "you don't want to show your hand." The staff member said the cushion in 2025 was intended to cover some or all of any negotiated raise.
The meeting also flagged a one-time contract decision for the police department: a subscription to Lexipol, a national policy-management vendor. A police department representative explained Lexipol centralizes model policies, pushes legal updates tied to case law and state rules, and manages staff acknowledgements and tests. The representative told the committee the service would cost about $20,000 per year for a department the citys size and that the expense was proposed in the police "contractor services" line on the citys appropriation schedule.
Committee members discussed the trade-off between the subscription cost and liability or administrative savings from having policies and training tracked centrally. "It's a game changer for us," the police representative said, describing the vendors testing, recordkeeping and legal review.
Officials also discussed insurance and benefit costs. The citys health-insurance coverage is pooled through an insurer and a local government benefits consortium (referred to in the meeting as the OGBC). Finance staff said the consortium aims to spread risk across eight communities and that, depending on membership and claims experience, it may keep next year's renewal increases in the single digits. The same staff member noted the city experienced a higher renewal last year, near 20 percent.
Other budget details discussed included EMS billing (officials said higher fees would increase offsets in the general fund), training line items (a finance staff member said the council training line was increased this year and that the budget included recent additions), and transfers between the general fund and special funds. The committee chair reviewed the municipal income-tax flow: most revenue posts to the general fund unless a levy directs receipts to a specific fund (for example the road levy, which is statutorily earmarked for road repair).
The committee did not adopt final appropriations at the meeting; members said they would combine the operating and capital recommendations and return with a consolidated 2026 annual-appropriation ordinance. The next finance committee meeting was scheduled for Oct. 23.
Ending: Committee members said they would assemble the operating and capital pieces into a single appropriation package for formal council action and return to the finance committee and council for final consideration in October.
