Salisbury council approves amended FY2026 budget, adds assistant city administrator; proposed clerk media specialist removed

The Salisbury City Council on June 9 approved Ordinance 2935 — the citybudget ordinance for July 1, 2025to June 30, 2026 — as amended to reallocate existing funds and add an assistant city administrator position while removing a proposed media specialist role originally tied to the clerkoffice.

Council debate and public comment centered on whether the new communications role should be added now and paid from the FY2026 budget. Administration staff told the council the assistant city administrator represents a reclassification (from a vacant second deputy director position) intended to better align project management and execution. Administration officials said the media specialist/special projects position would have been in the clerkoffice to assist council and administration with communications and special projects but that the job description and HR processing were not finalized before the amendment was offered.

Why it matters: the amendment shifts existing budgeted dollars rather than increasing the overall adopted levy; it creates a…