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Wagoner council reviews FY2026 draft budget, highlights flood response equipment, parks projects and staffing changes
Summary
City staff presented a draft fiscal year 2026 budget that increases spending for flood-response equipment, park projects (including Lincoln Park parking and completed pavilions), uniform allowances and personnel shifts; a public hearing will be held before final adoption.
City of Wagoner staff presented a draft FY2026 budget on May 20, outlining revenue estimates and department requests and flagging several items for council attention and future votes.
The draft includes targeted spending on flood-response equipment after recent flooding on the city’s northeast side. Staff said a PTO-driven pump option priced between $12,000 and $15,000, plus 50-foot hose sections costing about $4,000–$5,000 each, was added to the budget; staff also reported an ongoing discussion with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a vendor (LakeMaster) about a permanent hard-pipe solution to reduce future reliance on temporary hoses. Staff noted the city already owns an expensive 6-inch pump that cost roughly $80,000, while PTO-driven pumps offer a lower-cost alternative for some responses.
Parks and recreation items were also prominent. Council packet items showed Tekton Builders LLC work on pavilions at Lincoln and Dunbar parks is complete; associated payments and a small progress invoice from Infrastructure Solutions Group LLC were addressed in separate agenda action. The budget carries funding for Lincoln Park signage, masonry and irrigation and for a planned Lincoln Park parking lot intended to add roughly 70 spaces near the pavilion and an ADA-accessible sidewalk to a new swing. The draft zeroes out capital lines for projects completed this year and carries over funds where purchases were made but work remains.
Personnel and benefit changes appear across departments. The budget proposal reflects a 3% cost-of-living increase for salaries and includes line-item adjustments for payroll taxes, retirement and employee insurance. Staff proposed a new uniform policy for emergency services that would change an earlier monthly allowance to a department-managed purchase model, described in the packet as $650 per year for full-time employees and $325 per year for part-time employees (to be paid from departmental funds rather than added to paychecks). Departments also shifted some positions between budgets (for example, Kenneth Peters moved from parks to general government/special projects).
Other capital and operating items highlighted in the packet: a proposed transfer of $82,000 tied to a director position and restructured RETA funds; increased insurance and utilities estimates in multiple departments to reflect inflation; funding for a continuing street rehab program partly matched by a newly awarded EODD grant of approximately $140,000 for asphalt work in the Bollinger Addition; and a proposal to purchase up to a dozen AEDs for City Hall, public works locations and other facilities with an estimated per-unit consumable/pad cost noted in staff discussion.
Staff stressed the document is a working draft: specific procurements, grant awards and a formal public hearing will precede final council approval. The mayor and finance staff asked councilmembers to review highlighted line items and to bring any public questions to City Hall or to staff before the next meeting. A public hearing on the budget will be scheduled as required prior to final adoption.
The packet and council discussion cross-referenced GRDA and other grant sources, which staff said will influence final capital decisions and fund balances.
