City presents FY26 budget pitch as health care, pay and jail costs drive debates

Columbus city officials opened the first of three budget review sessions on May 6 with a wide-ranging presentation of the mayor's proposed FY26 spending plan and a running list of new personnel requests and program changes.

The city's finance director, Angelica Alexander, told the Budget Review Committee the administration projects $373,067,602 in revenues for FY26 and identified $18,645,748 in planned use of fund balance to balance operating needs. Alexander said the administration included a proposed 3% cost-of-living adjustment for full-time employees, a 1% market adjustment, and changes to health-benefit contribution splits.

City Manager Isaiah Huegley said the mayor and staff reviewed departmental requests line by line to deliver a balanced proposal, but warned that the administration had to remove items before the budget was finalized because the initial requests were roughly $12 million out of balance. "We had to go back for another review and take some things out in order to deliver as required by law to you a balanced budget," Huegley said.

Why it matters: Departments from public safety to courts and recreation pressed the committee for additional staff and operating money. Many of those requests create recurring personnel costs that councilors said must be matched to projected revenue or explicitly funded from one-time reserves. Officials repeatedly flagged sustainability and that some one-time federal ARPA support is temporary and will end.

Health plan shortfall and rate changes The city's benefits consultant, Melody Lewis of NFP, told the committee the self-funded health plan requires a net City contribution increase from $17,230,364 (FY25) to $20,048,946 (FY26) — a 13.7% per-budgeted-head increase. Lewis said major drivers are higher utilization, several very high-cost claimants in recent years and a modest expected increase in the insurer's administration fees. To reduce the gap, the administration proposed shifting active employee premium contributions to a 75% city / 25% employee split (previously 73/27) and modestly raising retiree subsidy levels for pre-65 retirees.

Lewis emphasized the budget includes incentives to encourage employees into the wellness plan, which the consultant says lowers per-member costs. "Members who engage with our health and wellness center show roughly an 11% cost difference versus those who do not," Lewis said.

Councilors asked for clearer breakdowns of the dollar impact on employees and retirees and asked HR and finance to return with precise dollar figures for each pay tier and the cost to the employer if different subsidy alternatives are chosen.

Public safety, jail costs and staffing pressure Sheriff leadership and the warden described rising jail-related costs and staffing strain. The sheriff said Muscogee County Jail has rising medical and mental-health costs tied to longer average stays and higher-acuity inmates; medical spending has grown sharply and the jail now must fund care for inmates who have chronic costly prescriptions while incarcerated.

Warden Glenn Short said the prison had 74 correctional officers working against an authorized complement of 99 and listed 25 vacancies that he said were difficult to fill and retain. Short asked the council to continue the stipend program that pays a fixed premium for deputies who work in the jail on their days off; the administration proposes $746,400 (with benefits) to make the stipend a planned item in FY26. Short said the stipend had reduced some violent incidents by improving coverage at peak times and enabling more shakedowns and supervision.

Councilors asked the administration to return with options for correcting pay and retention differentials across public-safety agencies (sheriff, police, fire/EMS and jail) and to present the cost of alternate approaches; several members asked staff to study whether parity or a broader retention strategy could be phased in.

Court and clerks: more staff requests Several court offices sought additional recurring staff. The Superior Court clerk asked to create a primary chief deputy clerk and a secondary chief deputy position to handle criminal, budget/finance and public information duties; the clerk also requested three additional courtroom deputy clerks to support heavier dockets. Recorder's Court and Municipal Court asked for extra deputy clerks and supervisory positions to clear heavy dockets and keep hearings moving.

Tax collections and delinquent-sales plan Tax Commissioner David (name on file with office) told the committee his office could increase delinquent collections if given modest staffing and pay adjustments, estimating the proposed additions could generate roughly $800,000'$1,000,000 in additional annual collections. He asked for two new positions (a tax specialist focused on personal property and an additional tax clerk) and several pay-grade adjustments to retain financial and management staff. Councilors stressed they wanted documented ROI projections and asked the commissioner to bring back a specific plan and timeline for increasing the number of tax sales and conversions to the land bank where appropriate.

District attorney and court services District Attorney William Kelly asked the council to fund additional victim-witness advocates. He described the state Victims'Rights Act as a statutory, locally funded mandate requiring victim contact and notification at multiple stages; federal and VOCA grants that once funded many of those positions have been reduced. Kelly said the DA's office needs to preserve the victim services positions now partially supported by ARPA funds, because ARPA support will expire and VOCA/grant funding is uncertain.

Technology procurement The DA and county prosecutors also requested a cloud-based case/evidence management solution (NICE Justice was discussed) that would let prosecutors access bodycam and phone evidence without manual transfers. The administration noted IT has the NICE Justice line on its request list and will evaluate integrated solutions with Columbus Police Department and other agencies to avoid duplicate systems and to seek multi-agency discounts.

SPLOST and capital projects Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge gave detail on SPLOST pay-as-you-go projects in the FY26 budget: $35.386 million in FY26 spending that includes transportation paving and trail investments, $5.8 million for stormwater projects, $12.436 million for parks projects (Flat Rock park, Benning Park and Lake Bottom funding among them), and public safety facility and vehicle replacements. The City is planning to issue the next SPLOST bond series this fall to fund the judicial center balance; related debt service will begin in FY27.

What happens next Councilors placed a number of departmental requests on the "add/delete" list for further review; staff said the ad/delete list will be revisited at subsequent budget review sessions May 13 and May 20 and that any recurring personnel additions should include identified, sustainable funding sources. Several councilors asked the administration to run a consolidated scenario that shows recurring operating implications (personnel + benefits) for FY27 and FY28 so long-term sustainability can be assessed before final adoption.

Ending note: transparency and follow-ups At the end of the session finance staff pledged to return with clearer breakdowns on three near-term items: the detailed dollar effects of the health-plan options on employee pay tiers and retirees; a reconciliation/explanation of how community-care millage reallocation and the fund-reserve drawdown were accounted for in the FY26 numbers; and an itemized estimate for park-patrol operating costs and any required build-out for the new judicial center office space if additional clerk positions are approved.

The committee scheduled two more budget review hearings (May 13 and May 20) before the administration advertises the proposed budget and the required public hearings in June.