Georgetown council reviews FY2026 budget requests; mayor to present proposal May 12

GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Georgetown City staff on Thursday presented a preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budget request to the City Council, outlining departmental hiring requests, capital priorities and revenue projections ahead of the mayor nd administration—inal proposed budget, scheduled for May 12.

Stacy, a city finance staff member who led the presentation, told council members the Mayor is “considering and planning to recommend a 2.9% COLA in this budget.” Stacy said the 2.9% figure comes from the Department of Local Government guidance and that the city pplied a new step schedule so employees will receive step increases plus the COLA, producing a combined increase that averages 2.9% across positions. Stacy said the direct salary-and-benefits cost of the proposed COLA, including retirement and payroll taxes, is just under $575,000.

Why it matters: the work session collected department-level requests and preliminary revenue figures that the mayor will use to craft a proposed budget. The presentation identified roughly $11.3 million in capital requests and a preliminary operating shortfall of about $695,000 before the mayor—inalizes priorities.

Most important details first: public safety, staffing and major capital

- Police: The Georgetown Police Department requested nine net additional staffing positions in its FY2026 budget package, including a new operations captain (estimated total compensation about $174,600), restoration of a lieutenant position that had been serving in dispatch (about $147,500), five full-time sworn officer positions (each estimated at roughly $119,535), two non-sworn safety officers (about $96,400 each) and a crime analyst/open-records clerk (about $96,400). Stacy said the department sked to raise overtime budget to $800,000 for FY2026. The police operating request was presented as roughly $15 million for FY2026, with personnel the primary driver of the increase.

- Fire: The Fire Department requested six additional frontline firefighter positions (estimated total compensation roughly $121,002.60 per firefighter) and included a $4 million placeholder in its capital request for site, schematic and early construction costs on a new station (staff described the $4 million as the department—stimate for the fiscal year rather than a final contract amount). Department materials identify replacement of the department—irst-due ladder truck as the top equipment priority; the memo states that the existing Truck 1 has been out of service roughly 38% of the last four years. Stacy said there are options to finance a ladder truck rather than paying the full cost in cash.

- Needs assessments: Both police and dispatch included requests for architectural needs assessments to study expansion or reconfiguration of current facilities; staff proposed a single RFQ for an architect to evaluate campus needs.

Other departmental requests and program notes

- Building inspection asked for one permit technician (total compensation about $82,800) to handle anticipated increases in permits tied to new projects. The department—stimated about $700,000 in permit revenue next year, below its $977,431 requested budget.

- Code enforcement (an interlocal program shared with the county and nearby jurisdictions) requested two additional officers (total compensation about $199,340). The program llocation formula was restated: 45% city, 45% county, 5% Sadieville, 5% Stamping Ground for operating costs; abatements are billed 100% to the jurisdiction where they occur.

- Public works and engineering: Public Works listed several vehicle and equipment capital requests including replacement dump trucks and a street sweeper (the latter identified as a stormwater maintenance function that could be funded by a future stormwater utility). City Engineer Eddie presented a menu of projects and asked council to consider contributing general fund dollars alongside municipal-aid (MAP) funds for a higher annual paving program. Specific projects mentioned included East Main improvements across the railroad, Main Street sidewalk rehab and city entry signage.

- Stormwater: staff presented stormwater operating and capital items in the Environmental Services fund and included a $234,500 line item to amend the feasibility study/consulting contract and proceed with the next phase of a stormwater utility design (parcel-by-parcel analysis and credit system design). Staff advised that implementing a stormwater fee would be a 12-to-18 month process if council chooses to proceed.

- Dispatch/911: The 911 center (an interlocal split 50/50 with the county) proposed adding positions and reallocating a lieutenant role back to the police department while restoring a civilian 911 coordinator. The center lso noted an ongoing maintenance contract for the new radio system (vendor AMK) that costs about $500,000 annually and began this fiscal year. Staff projected 911 fee revenue of about $1.61 million for FY2026 and said the fund currently holds a reserve of slightly more than $1 million that staff expects to spend down before recommending changes to the $8-per-month occupied-unit 911 fee.

- Cemetery: The cemetery fund is split 50/50 with the county. Staff reported projected FY2026 revenues and expenses will require transfers (the city nd county each expected to fund roughly $253,200 under current projections). City staff said they carried $200,000 in the FY2025 budget for land acquisition to expand cemetery capacity; acquiring new land for conversion under Land and Water Conservation Fund rules will require purchasing property of equal or greater value and a conversion process.

Budget assumptions, pensions and insurance

Stacy walked council through the budget ssumptions: the Department of Local Government—OLA guidance (2.9%), an implemented step schedule for pay progression, and recent employer contribution rate changes to the County Employees Retirement System (CERS). She said hazardous employer contribution rates will drop from 38.61% to 35.73% and nonhazardous rates from 19.71% to 18.62%; with salaries held constant, those rate changes represented an approximate $300,000 saving that helps offset COLA costs. Staff also increased property and liability estimates by 10% in initial modeling due to recent high claims and reflected medical insurance cost increases (stop-loss/third-party administrator guidance) in the health plan projections.

Preliminary fiscal picture and next steps

Stacy presented a high-level rollup showing the city preliminarily faces roughly a $695,000 operating gap given current revenue projections and the aggregate departmental requests, plus about $11.3 million in capital asks across departments. She emphasized the figures are preliminary: the mayor will review finance committee input and council feedback before presenting a proposed budget May 12; the first reading is expected after Memorial Day and the second reading in June. Staff noted the city—und-balance policy sets a desired 30% minimum for the general fund and that council may change the municipal order implementing that target if it chooses.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes for April 14, 2025: motion made by Miss Brent, second by Mister Crisp; council voice vote recorded as "aye" and the motion passed. No roll-call tally of individual members was recorded in the transcript.

What council will see next

Council members were told the mayor nd finance staff will return with the mayor—inal proposed budget on May 12, followed by staff and departmental presentations on projects and final revenue adjustments. Staff flagged items likely to return for more discussion including the ladder truck replacement, fire station site selection and financing, stormwater-fee implementation and the scope and funding of several large capital projects.

A direct quote from the presentation: "This is not the final budget," Stacy said. "There'll be some more presentations that will be given later on, and that you will be hearing from." Ending

Council adjourned the special meeting after the presentation; the mayor nd staff reiterated the May 12 budget presentation as the next major date in the schedule.