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Lenoir City Council adopts FY 2026 budget, keeps tax rate at $0.94
Summary
The Lenoir City Council approved the fiscal year 2026 budget and an ordinance to keep the municipal tax rate unchanged at $0.94. Council cited a faster-than-expected fiber project, modest revenue adjustments and employee pay increases as key budget items.
Lenoir City — The Lenoir City Council unanimously adopted the city—udget for fiscal year 2026 and approved an ordinance keeping the municipal tax rate unchanged at $0.94, the council said during its June meeting.
The budget adoption authorizes spending for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. City staff told council the proposed FY26 budget shows relatively few changes from the prior year: a $3,000 increase in permit revenue, a $500,000 increase in an identified revenue line, and a $300,000 reduction in both revenue and expenditures tied to a fiber project that progressed faster than previously estimated.
City staff explained the fiber work—ame in ahead of schedule and the revised estimates shift roughly $300,000 of project costs and related revenues into this fiscal year rather than the next. The mayor and council also noted the budget includes a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and a 3% across-the-board raise for current employees.
"We just have to use what their estimates of completed project are," a staff member said when explaining the fiber project's revised timing.
Council members repeatedly thanked the budget team. In roll call votes recorded during the meeting, councilors McNabb, Wofford, Kennedy, Shields, Brandon and Simpson registered aye; the motions passed.
The council also approved a separate ordinance described as providing revenue for the municipality and confirmed the tax rate would remain at 94 cents per dollar of assessed value. Council members said the rate matched the prior year and would not change.
Among other budget-related items adopted in the meeting were line-item amendments and school-related budget ordinances presented separately and approved in roll-call votes.
The council handled multiple budget votes in sequence during the meeting; each motion passed on recorded aye votes.
Looking ahead, staff noted the CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation remains in place for a related transportation project, and that grant funding was reflected in budget planning.
The council directed staff to finalize documents and proceed with the adopted budgets and ordinance.
