Aberdeen — Contract CPA Sarah Dunford presented the mayor's preliminary 2026 budget to the Aberdeen City Council on Oct. 22, 2025, saying the plan is structurally balanced but depends on an EMS reallocation, spending cuts and assumed interest revenue.

Dunford told council that general fund revenues are projected about 2.6% higher than 2025 estimates and that taxes account for roughly 78% of general fund revenues. She said salaries and benefits in the draft assume a 12% placeholder increase in medical premiums and a 3% wage placeholder, and that the budget includes several position reductions and reclassifications.

The budget relies heavily on an accounting change that moves the full cost of emergency medical services (EMS) into the EMS fund. Dunford said that change produces about $1.7 million in reduced general-fund expenditures because the general fund no longer subsidizes EMS. She also said the draft budget includes $1.1 million for parks and street asset replacement and does not use any armory proceeds this year.

Dunford flagged several long-term concerns: the city's pension liability for police and fire retirees is large (she cited a state actuarial estimate of about $23 million) and the budget assumes $1.65 million in interest revenue to help balance operations, an amount she warned was unlikely to be sustainable beyond 2026. She said the city currently lists 44 retirees in the related pension plans and that annual retiree costs could rise quickly if individuals enter long-term care.

Other items Dunford noted: the budget includes a $150,000 state DUI grant that would cover the salary and benefits of a police officer; indirect cost and asset-replacement plans remain consistent with 2025; and a vacant police specialist position remains on the FTE schedule pending grant funding.

The next steps she outlined: the council will hold a second reading the week following Oct. 22, with the third reading and budget adoption scheduled for Nov. 12, 2025. Dunford said additional department-level presentations can be scheduled if councilmembers request more detail.

Council discussion focused on the trade-offs that made the budget balanced, including the EMS rate change and position cuts. No final action adopting the budget occurred on Oct. 22; the item moved forward as part of the regular ordinance reading process.