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Nogales council reviews preliminary FY2025-26 budget, centralizes grant work and trims nonessential items
Summary
City staff outlined the preliminary FY2025-26 budget, showing increased general-fund reserves, proposed staff additions (including a centralized grant coordinator), higher health-insurance and pension costs, and targeted capital requests while directors said many wishlist items were removed.
Nogales City Council held a budget workshop May 14 to review the proposed FY2025-26 preliminary budget, with staff presenting department-by-department expenditures and a plan to centralize grant activity under the finance office.
The presentation, led by the city’s finance office, showed non-departmental expenditures rising from $15,336,715 in FY2025 to a proposed $17,684,760 in FY2026 and an increase in general-fund reserves from $10,460,006 to $12,774,362. Finance staff said the increase in reserves—about $2.3 million—was intentional and viewed as a positive sign of fiscal health.
City staff said the FY2026 budget reflects several deliberate choices to trim nonessential items. “We’ve gone over and put in what is needed and not what is wanted,” the finance presenter said, describing meetings with department directors to pare down requests.
Why this matters: Council members pressed for a budget focused on essentials—maintenance, public safety, core services—rather than one that adds discretionary projects. Staff said the aim is to protect reserves while funding required capital and contractual obligations.
Major staffing and program changes - Grants: Council was told all grant activity will be centralized under the finance office and the city manager. The budget includes a new grants-management program budget line and a proposed grant coordinator position to work with an external grant-writing company. Staff described one active example: a $5,000 proposal paid to the company to pursue a $5 million Safe Streets grant for street-light replacement. - Finance and revenue operations: Finance’s proposed budget rises to $1,769,442 largely to absorb increased bank and credit-card processing fees and to add three positions: a grant coordinator and two water meter readers (to be moved into finance and revenue functions). - Public safety and pensions: Police and fire departments show notable increases. Police proposed $11,075,862 for FY2026, reflecting vehicle replacements, newly budgeted stipends from recent contracts and a $252,000 pension increase. Fire’s FY2026 request is $10,867,953, which includes a five-year lease-to-own plan for three vehicles and a $138,000 pension increase. - Facilities and downtown revitalization: Staff proposed capital for roof repairs at multiple public buildings, insulation and flooring work, elevator maintenance at the Administrative Services Building (formerly referred to locally as the Chase building) and improvements to the Pima Delta Museum and other sites. The presentation also tied some work to downtown revitalization efforts and possible grant opportunities.
Other department highlights - Community Development proposed a higher budget mostly to add a second code-enforcement officer and to fund increased plan-review costs (presented as a $55,000 program). Staff and council discussed a plan to streamline business licensing and speed up plan review, and directors committed to a dedicated presentation in August on the business-license process. - MIS (information services) remains on a five‑year capital rotation with an increase to replace aging computers and move forward on an asset-inventory program. - City attorney: Council discussed a contract-model approach for outside counsel. The contracted attorney noted savings relative to the prior in‑house model and said the firm’s pooled resources reduce training and other personnel-related costs.
Council direction and process notes Council members repeatedly asked staff to focus on accountability and on converting long-standing wish-list items into a shorter list of essential maintenance and capital needs. The city manager and finance director said they had “axed” numerous nonessential requests to preserve fiscal prudence while funding critical repairs and operations.
Ending: Staff said this is a working budget; additional study sessions were scheduled. Council members set a tentative target to bring the budget for approval at the June council meeting, pending follow-up on health‑insurance figures and outstanding clarifications.
Speakers quoted or cited in this article appear in the speaker list below.
