Finance committee advances 2026 executive operating budget and 2026–2030 CIP after department-by-department review
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Summary
The Kenosha Finance Committee advanced the 2026 executive operating budget and the 2026–2030 capital improvement plan after department presentations and discussion.
The Kenosha Finance Committee on Nov. 12 advanced the city’s 2026 executive operating budget and the 2026–2030 capital improvement plan to the committee of the whole after hearing presentations from department heads.
The mayor (name not specified) introduced the package as "very tight" and said staff achieved a balanced budget while preserving services and providing modest employee increases. "There are no reductions in service load," the mayor said, adding the budget is at the maximum levy increase allowed and the city remains under levy cap space "which I think we talked about were less than $7,000." The mayor warned that a levy-cap violation could mean the city loses $3.6 million in state aid or related funding.
Department presentations summarized key operating and CIP requests across the city. Highlights included a proposed $200,000 professional services allocation to rewrite the city’s zoning code (a 12–18 month project), a proposed increase in city development acquisitions funding from $400,000 to $700,000 to acquire strategic redevelopment parcels, and a $5,580,000 federal grant for a multi-use path extension. Library director Sarah Townsend reported rising usage and opened the bookmobile/outreach expansion, and public works described a multi-year stormwater CIP that totals tens of millions of dollars over five years.
Finance and administration staff explained conservative revenue assumptions, including a $3.0 million interest income projection and continued attention to a 10-year debt paydown policy. The city administrator and finance director said some vehicle and equipment replacements were moved into the CIP to smooth operating-year levy impacts.
After discussion and line-item questions across departments including police, fire, IT and joint services, a motion to approve the operating budgets and the CIP "as a whole" passed on a roll-call vote with all committee members voting aye. The committee also moved a mayoral resolution to establish phased stormwater utility rates to the committee of the whole (see separate article for details).
Next steps: the committee’s approvals forward these budget and CIP proposals to the committee of the whole and then to the full Common Council for final adoption and any amendments.
