Finance committee approves 5% department reduction plan, freezes midyear raises for 2026; flags staffing risk to state aid

The Franklin City Finance Committee approved a package of recommended departmental reductions and policy directions Oct. 28, as staff and aldermen worked to meet a 5% reduction target ahead of the city—s 2026 budget adoption.

Staff presented an updated memorandum with corrected amounts and typos and said departments submitted roughly $1,280,000 in requests; the 5% reduction target across departments equates to about $580,000. Committee members discussed a range of possible reductions and efficiency measures and voted to approve the list of recommendations and send them to the full council for consideration.

Key decisions and directions

- Freeze on midyear raises for 2026: Committee directed staff to implement a temporary policy that midyear pay increases will be frozen for 2026 and that any pay changes should be proposed at budget time and take effect Jan. 1. Members said they will bring a draft policy to the next finance meeting.

- Staffing freezes and targeted vacancies: The committee recommended freezing certain vacant positions for FY2026 as a first step toward the 5% target. Examples discussed included an engineering 0.5 FTE administration assistant, an inspections plumbing inspector…