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Augusta council authorizes notice to exceed revenue neutral rate, schedules Sept. 2 hearing
Summary
At a short special meeting the Augusta City Council authorized staff to notify the Butler County Clerk of its intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate for the 2026 budget with a proposed mill levy of 60.505 and scheduled a combined public hearing for 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at City Hall.
The Augusta City Council at a special meeting authorized staff to notify the Butler County Clerk of the city’s intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate for the 2026 budget, setting a proposed mill levy of 60.505 mills and scheduling a combined public hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at City Hall.
Council members took the actions to meet a county filing deadline and to set an upper limit for the 2026 budget. Staff told the council the notice must be filed with the county by the 20th (described in the meeting as “Sunday”) to meet legal notice requirements, and that the number published now is a cap that the council may lower at the later hearing but may not increase after publication.
A staff member explained the process: “this is just the scheduling of the upcoming public hearings for the 2026 budget and for the revenue neutral rate component of that discussion,” and said the notice reflected “the culmination of the the last 3 months of work” by the council. The staff member also told members, “you have to send notice to the county if you're going to be exceeding the revenue neutral rate,” and stressed that the council could adjust the final budget downward after the hearing but “you do not have the ability to go up from this number.”
Council procedure: a council member identified in the record as “Counsel” moved to authorize staff to send a notice of intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate to the Butler County Clerk proposing a mill levy of 60.505 mills; the mayor seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote; no roll-call votes or named tallies were recorded in the transcript.
The council then voted to schedule a combined public hearing on the revenue neutral rate and the proposed 2026 budget for Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. That motion was moved and seconded and carried on a voice vote. Immediately afterward a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and carried.
At the scheduled Sept. 2 hearing the council will make the final determination on the 2026 budget and the final mill levy within the limits of the published cap. The filing deadline mentioned in the meeting was given as the 20th (Sunday); the transcript did not specify the month for that deadline.
