Resident questions timing, corrections to city 2026 budget materials; requests access to updated documents
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Summary
A resident raised concerns during public input that the city provided incorrect or incomplete printed budget documents and that updated 2026 budget materials were delayed from public release. The resident asked why the commission approved a "state certificate" when updated budget pages were not yet available.
During the public-input portion of the Sept. 23 meeting, resident Christie Bittner raised questions about the city's 2026 budget documents and the public availability of corrected materials.
Bittner recounted a special presentation and the city manager's submitted budget and said staff had told commissioners the submitted budget reflected updated information. She said the budget book contained errors that staff later corrected and that replacement summary pages were made available. Bittner asked, “What happens to unencumbered revenue from property taxes? Where does it go and who decides how it's spent?” and asked for the full budget book to be posted so residents could see how numbers were derived for the state certificate.
Bittner said she requested updated 2026 budget documents from the city clerk on Sept. 15 and was told the request would be delayed until Oct. 31, though she said the commission had approved the state certificate earlier in September. She asked how commissioners could approve a document that might not be finalized and said transparency and accountability required timely public access to the corrected budget pages.
The mayor invited follow-up; commissioners and staff acknowledged the timing concerns and the desire to make the complete, corrected budget book available to the public before or during the public hearing process.
