Branson introduces proposed FY2026 budget; Gretna Road TIF, wastewater expansion and lodging compliance among top priorities

Branson officials on the evening of the finance committee briefing introduced the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and outlined programmatic and capital priorities that city staff say will guide spending next year. The presentation included department-level detail across finance, public works, planning, police, fire, utilities, parks and other services and set the schedule for formal readings before the Board of Aldermen.

City finance staff and outside consultant Ben Hart (Baker Tilly) framed the budget assumptions: a 2% sales-tax revenue increase was used for planning and a 4% increase was assumed for tourism tax revenues amid recent volatility. Finance staff said roughly $4,300,000 of the tourism-tax budget is earmarked for marketing while about $14,000,000 is proposed for capital improvements in 2026. Staff also noted upcoming debt maturities: Branson Hills 2007 bonds are set to mature in 2026, with Branson Hills 2005A and Branson Landing maturing in 2027, and said reserves are being positioned to meet those obligations.

“What you’re going to have presented to you this evening is kind of filling in the lines with color on, from the numbers of a spreadsheet,” Finance staff presenter Kathy said during her introduction, explaining the purpose of the department briefings.

Why it matters: The briefing was an introductory review; no budget votes were taken. The finance committee will review and may recommend amendments ahead of the board’s first reading of the 2026 budget on Oct. 28 and a final reading on Nov. 25. The session gave aldermen and committee members an opportunity to press directors on staffing, timing and contingencies for costly, multiyear capital projects.

Major projects and policy items covered

Gretna Road TIF – Planning and administration described the Gretna Road Tax Increment Financing project as 1 of the city’s largest near-term undertakings. Planning staff said the project will require dedicated project staff and third‑party plan reviewers to preserve turnaround times for commercial work. City administration said the development agreement for Gretna Road is already executed and staff are moving into implementation steps.

Utilities and wastewater capacity – Utilities Director Kendall Powell outlined a multi‑year capital program and asked to begin engineering for the Cooper Creek wastewater treatment plant expansion. Powell said the project would increase permitted capacity from about 3.4 million gallons per day to about 6.8 million gallons per day and that Lift Station 30 improvements are functionally linked to the plant expansion. Powell also reported that advanced metering infrastructure material had begun to arrive and that the department had requested more than $4.6 million in sewer-sales-tax projects for 2026.

Lodging safety and code enforcement – Administration and planning reported completion of a lodging compliance campaign. City staff said they initially identified about 60 lodging properties that were not in compliance with licensing or safety requirements; of those, eight establishments were closed and the remainder came into compliance following inspections and compliance assistance. Alex, representing administration, said the city used a compliance-assistance approach and followed up with site visits and written notices before taking stronger action where required.

Public safety and facilities – Police Chief Clint Schmidt reported the new police facility is on schedule and running under budget; he set a ribbon-cutting for Dec. 3. The police department also completed a ProPhoenix CAD/RMS deployment and expects to distribute patrol laptops to officers with the help of a $50,000 Blue Shield grant. The fire department briefed the board on two engines on order (44–46 months lead time) and a multi‑year training-tower proposal that could be sited alongside the new police facility.

Planning, permitting and CitizenServe rebuild – Planning staff described a long-running rebuild of the city’s permitting and licensing platform (CitizenServe) that will bring conditional logic, linked permits and a new fee schedule based on International Code Council valuation tables. The department said the building‑permit module will go live Oct. 15, with the full licensing and permitting model scheduled for January 2026.

Parks, recreation and tourism impacts – Parks staff highlighted record Aquaplex attendance (about 23,000 visits in 2025), new campground sites and the economic effect of six college softball tournaments hosted on new turf fields (staff estimated about $2.2 million in local economic activity tied to those events). Parks leaders also discussed trail connectivity, a skate-park contract nearing completion and preliminary mountain-bike trail work.

Process, timing and next steps

City administration and finance reiterated that the evening’s session was an introduction and that additional public hearings and committee reviews remain part of the budget adoption calendar. The finance committee was scheduled to discuss rate-model alternatives in subsequent meetings; the board’s first reading of the FY2026 budget was scheduled for Oct. 28 and the final reading on Nov. 25.

Votes and formal actions

No budget appropriations or policy changes were voted on at the briefing. The only formal actions recorded at the close of the meeting were procedural motions to adjourn the Board of Aldermen and to adjourn the Finance Committee; both motions carried on roll calls.

Ending note

Directors said the FY2026 proposal balances investments in infrastructure and service capacity with conservative revenue assumptions and continued attention to debt-service schedules. Staff emphasized that several high-cost capital projects are multi‑year efforts and will require follow-up decisions, design work and—where appropriate—external approvals before construction could begin.