Lewiston officials outline preliminary FY26 budget, propose $413,000 in new property-tax revenue

Lewiston City finance officials presented a preliminary fiscal year 2026 budget at a special City Council meeting that would add $413,000 to the property-tax base to balance multiple funds, while relying on a mix of reserves and grant dollars for capital projects.

The presentation by Amy Gordon, city treasurer and finance director, laid out spending plans for internal service funds, capital projects and four non‑general governmental funds. "The amount that would need to go into the property tax base, in addition to the new construction and annexation dollars, is $413,000," Gordon said.

Gordon told council members the capital transportation program would continue to receive $2.7 million in property-tax support in the preliminary plan. Of that amount, $231,000 is earmarked for street preservation, $50,000 for sidewalks and ADA improvements and roughly $2.2 million for reconstruction projects. Gordon said the $2.2 million is intended to be combined with about $3.1 million in fund reserves and approximately $3.9 million in grant funding to complete an estimated $9.2 million in projects.

Gordon described the parks capital program as receiving $100,000 annually in property taxes. She said one ready-to-build parks item is a Pioneer Park shelter, and council appropriated $20,000 from park reservation fees and $70,000 from reserves to fund construction in FY26; Gordon said the park reservation account holds roughly…