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Milton council to aim for Dec. 1 budget that includes pending union contract
Summary
Mayor Boutem and staff told council they expect a union contract by Dec. 1 and proposed presenting a final 2026 budget that includes contract terms, rather than approving the budget and amending later; staff said the contract will affect wages and indirect cost allocations.
Mayor Boutem and Interim Finance Director Michelle Robec told the Milton City Council on Nov. 10 that staff hopes to present a union contract and a revised 2026 budget together on Dec. 1.
"We are hopeful to have a union contract to you by the December 1 meeting," Boutem said, adding that the council had already granted staff authority and that staff would remain within that authority. Council members discussed two options: approve the budget Dec. 1 and do a budget amendment in 2026, or hold a special meeting Dec. 8 to approve a final budget after union ratification. Councilmember Cedar asked explicit procedural questions about whether the Dec. 1 packet could include the contract; several members preferred to bring both the budget and contract at the same time.
Robec said the union contract would affect not only wages but also the indirect cost allocation and other budget line items. "It will not only affect wages, but it will affect the indirect cost allocation and some other allocations," Robec said. Staff indicated a preference to revise the Dec. 1 budget based on what comes out of a Thursday meeting and to present the budget and contract together.
Why it matters: incorporating a union contract into the final budget will alter wage projections and departmental allocations; the council's decision on timing determines whether changes are handled within the Dec. 1 approval or as a post-adoption amendment in 2026.
Council reached informal agreement to present the budget and contract together on Dec. 1, without scheduling a special meeting, and staff said they would proceed on that assumption unless council members objected.
