Sandpoint council adopts $49.9 million FY2026 budget

The Sandpoint City Council adopted its fiscal year 2026 annual appropriation ordinance on Aug. 20, approving a $49,927,665 budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025.

Council held a public hearing before deliberations; no significant written objections were reported at the hearing. The ordinance’s title was read in council and, following a motion and roll-call vote, the council suspended the rules to adopt the ordinance under a single-night process, as allowed by council rules. Finance staff and department directors were thanked during the meeting for preparing the budget.

Council discussion included concerns expressed by Councilman Kyle Schreiber about discretionary capital spending and the need to focus limited resources on projects with clear, direct impact on constituents’ daily lives. Schreiber said the budget is the council’s “biggest opportunity to regain the trust of our community.”

The council also approved a resolution certifying the amount of foregone increase to be included in the budget (motioned and passed by roll call). The budget adoption included the usual appropriation, levy certification and provisions for severability, publication and an effective date as recited in the ordinance title read into the record.

The budget ordinance and related resolutions were adopted by roll call; staff will proceed under the approved appropriation schedule.