Augusta adopts revised 2026 budget; estimated mill levy falls to 58.227 amid public concern over taxes and staffing

Augusta — The Augusta City Council on Sept. 15 adopted a revised 2026 budget that reduces the city's general-fund cash reserve from $950,000 to $750,000 and sets an estimated mill levy of 58.227, city staff told the council during the meeting at City Council Chambers.

The adopted revision keeps four additional police officer positions requested earlier this year and uses $200,000 in carryover to help cover those costs, City Manager Josh Shaw said. "We don't set the mill levy. We set the amount of property tax dollars," Shaw told council members while explaining the change in the budget certificate and its effect on the mill levy estimate.

The move matters for homeowners: using 2023 census figures and the city's calculator, staff told the council that on a median home value of $162,000 (taxable value shown as $18,653), the change from last year's levy to the new estimate works out to about $2.75 per month — roughly $33 per year — for that median home.

Why it matters: council members said the options available during budget deliberations were limited and that the adopted plan was the best among difficult choices. Members of the public urged more aggressive cost-cutting and new revenue sources to reduce the burden on property owners.

Public comment and council discussion

Resident Ron Reed, who spoke during public comment, urged across-the-board cuts to contractual and commodities spending and suggested user fees and targeted surcharges as alternative revenue sources. Reed told the council, "I have no control over my property taxes," and said a 10% cut to contractuals and commodities in the general fund could exceed $1.2 million in savings based on his calculations.

Another resident, identified in the record as Shelby, criticized the city's spending on large capital projects and said Augusta is "aging out as a community," arguing the city needs growth to broaden the tax base rather than relying on higher taxes on existing homeowners.

City staff summary and mechanics

Shaw and budget staff told the council the key change in the revised certificate was lowering the cash-reserve figure by $200,000, which in staff calculations reduced the estimated mill levy by about 2.3 mills (from an earlier estimate of 60.505 to 58.227). Staff also noted the budget retains the four officer positions that drove the original mill impact and that other line-item choices — such as contractuals and commodities — would require detailed review to quantify savings.

Council reaction and vote

Council members said they spent more than 30 hours reviewing options this summer and described the adopted plan as "the best of the bad options" available. After discussion, a councilmember moved to approve the revised 2026 budget; the motion received a second and passed on a voice vote: "All those in favor, say aye." The clerk recorded no roll-call vote for the budget item in the transcript; the mayor declared the motion carried.

Next steps and context

Council members and staff urged continued public ideas on cost savings and revenue options. Staff said the city holds a pre-budget strategic retreat in mid-February and individual fund work sessions later; councilmembers asked staff to explore ways to increase public engagement earlier in the budget process so residents can offer input before final decisions are drafted.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting included the $200,000 carryover use, the revised cash reserve level ($750,000), the estimate that four officers would cost about $334,000, and staff's note that sales-tax revenue had been estimated conservatively in the 2026 draft (projected $1.6 million versus current-year estimates around $1.8 million). Councilmembers and members of the public raised housing and growth as longer-term tools to broaden the tax base.

The council's adoption of the revised 2026 budget was the principal formal action on the matter during the Sept. 15 meeting; separate items on the agenda addressed library tax limits, development financing and several capital projects and were voted on later in the same meeting.