Gahanna finance committee reviews 2026 budget request including self‑insurance plan, staffing and $19.5M capital ask

Gahanna’s finance committee met at a Thursday workshop to review the administration’s proposed 2026 all‑fund budget, including a plan to create a self‑insurance internal service fund, staffing requests tied to the new civic center and public safety, and a capital improvement program that requests about $19.5 million for projects across transportation, parks, utilities and city facilities.

The review, led by Director Burry and department leaders, laid out major budget drivers for 2026: continued local economic growth, a proposed transition to self‑insurance for employee health coverage, ongoing utility cost increases from the City of Columbus, and funding to support moving city services into the new Gahanna Civic Center.

Director Burry said consultants gave the city three reserve targets for the proposed self‑insurance fund and that the administration expects to exceed the highest target. "We had enough employees to be self insured and we can do this with no disruption to employee coverage, no increase to employee premiums, and then saving in excess of a million dollars by doing so," Burry said. The actuarial work presented three reserve benchmarks (low about $922,000; moderate in between; high about $997,000) and the administration’s plan shows an anticipated reserve of about $1,100,000 by 2026.

The administration is not proposing to draw on the general fund reserve in 2026; the general fund emergency reserve target is 25% of operating expenditures (about $10 million), roughly six months of operating costs and about $13.7 million above the two‑month minimum set by policy. Overall appropriations across all funds in the 2026 request total roughly $107 million, with 76% for operations, 18% for capital and 6% for debt service.

Revenues are projected to increase about 7% ($7.4 million) across all funds. The administration highlighted income tax and charges for services as primary revenue sources: about 72% of governmental funds rely on taxes or payments in lieu of taxes, while enterprise and internal service funds are funded primarily by charges for services. The budget includes a $4.5 million component in charges for services reflecting administrative charges associated with standing up the self‑insurance program and preliminary utility rate increases that together account for much of the projected revenue change.

Staffing requests are organized by department and priority. Miranda (Administration) summarized the personnel requests tied to the staffing study completed in 2024 and to operations at the new civic center. Key requests include: network analyst(s) and a GIS analyst in IT; reclassifying a senior center administrative assistant from part‑time to full‑time and adding recreation coordinator positions in Parks & Recreation; a management analyst for police records and an additional school resource officer in Public Safety; and a maintenance worker for Facilities to support the new civic center. Several items are reclassifications of current employees rather than net new full‑time positions.

Senior Director Schultz reviewed the 2026 capital requests and said the $19.5 million ask is split across categories: transportation and mobility (about $7.5 million), parks and recreation (about $8.0 million), utilities (about $2.1 million) and city facilities, fleet and IT. He noted that capital project allocations shown were the 2026 portion only and that many projects span multiple years. The West Gahanna utility improvements project, for example, shows a $120,000 2026 allocation while larger funding needs are expected in later years. Schultz also said a $136,000 grant was added to a park signage replacement line and that Creekside flood mitigation and plaza improvements remain under development with a complex funding plan not yet finalized.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about which requested positions had been previously presented (six were identified as previously brought forward: the network analyst and five facilities maintenance positions), where TIFs appear in the budget documents (TIFs are included in the all‑funds summary and will have their own section in the full budget book), and how certain capital adjustments were made. Staff said the full budget book and appendices will be delivered on Oct. 31 and that departmental slide packets and one‑slide presentations are scheduled for later November departmental reviews.

The meeting included one procedural motion to adjourn that was moved and carried; no votes on appropriation ordinances or formal budget adoption occurred at the workshop.

Next steps identified by staff: deliver the remainder of the budget book on Oct. 31, provide department one‑slide priority presentations on Nov. 17 and Nov. 21, and hold a council budget review on Nov. 24. Council members were asked to submit questions to the chair by the Thursday before the scheduled department review so staff can compile and respond.