Franklin council approves balanced 2026 budget with modest levy increase
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Summary
The Franklin City Common Council approved the mayor's recommended 2026 budget after public comment and staff presentation; the plan uses a near-maximum statutory levy increase, holds most services steady and parks roughly $670,000 in unrestricted contingency while deferring major capital decisions to the finance committee.
The Franklin City Common Council on Nov. 11 adopted the 2026 mayor's recommended budget, approving measures the administration says balance city operations while limiting new borrowing.
The vote followed a public hearing, comments from residents and a detailed presentation by Finance Director Danielle Brown. Brown told the council the budget reflects roughly $50 million in net new construction valuation that partly offset tax pressure. "This year the preliminary levy increase is $445,000," Brown said, adding that the city portion of an average property tax bill would see about a 2.9% levy impact. She said the recommended changes leave roughly $670,000 placed into an unrestricted contingency fund that can be released by future budget amendments.
Paul Rotenberg, a retired city finance director who spoke at the hearing, warned councilors about the city's exposure in tax increment financing districts and dependency on developer guarantees. "There's an $887,000 dependence on developer guarantees to meet your debt payments within the TID districts," Rotenberg said, urging the council to consult financial advisers on the TIDs that have limited remaining life.
Brown outlined personnel and operating assumptions included in the plan. The budget contains no new full-time positions, reflects hiring freezes in some departments and budgets wage increases of 2% for nonrepresented employees, 3% for fire and 4% for police. She said departments that fell below compensation thresholds would receive market adjustments and that, after recommended changes, the general fund is balanced with no use of fund balance in the adopted plan.
Council members questioned contingency levels and long-term resilience. Alderman Owen Sluis said the adopted budget looks "bare bones" in parts and asked whether operational contingency could absorb unexpected inflationary pressures. Brown replied the budget retains a historic $150,000 contingency line and that the unrestricted contingency actions reflect council direction during committee review.
The council recorded a roll-call vote to approve the budget; the motion carried (6 ayes, 0 noes recorded on the meeting record).
Looking ahead, Brown told the finance committee that major capital projects and a large debt-planning discussion will be brought forward in January, and that the city will explore options to prioritize and finance key projects given the $37 million in capital requests identified for later years. The council also discussed risks tied to TID shortfalls and the need to address aging infrastructure, with debt service planning identified as a near-term priority.