Guthrie manager presents conservative FY26 draft budget; council hears project and fund-balance details

City Manager Eddie Faulkner opened a special budget workshop on Aug. 5 to walk the Guthrie City Council through the draft fiscal year 2026 budget, telling the council the document is a “living, breathing” guide and that staff is budgeting conservatively while waiting for final insurance and year-end numbers.

Faulkner said staff forecasted flat sales-tax collections for FY26 and left a placeholder for health-insurance increases, noting ‘‘we have budgeted for that 20%’’ while expecting the final negotiated figure will be lower. He told the council the city set stabilization-target minimums of $1 million per major fund and presented projected fund balances that show the city remaining within those targets under the proposed budget.

The manager reviewed planned capital and grant-matched projects: airport construction and taxiway realignment tied to federal grant awards, a city match for an airport terminal estimated at about $6 million, and College Avenue Bridge reconstruction funded through ODOT with a local match the city estimates could reach $1 million. He described a proposed multi-agency training facility budgeted at $515,000 with a 50% grant match from the Department of Justice and said that project’s funding choice affected other buys: "Because of that grant match and the size of that, we have not funded any police units in this budget," Faulkner said.

Faulkner also discussed operating assumptions: 2% cost-of-living adjustments for nonunion employees, 2.5–5% merit ranges tied to evaluations, and ongoing collective-bargaining negotiations. He described a conservative approach to revenue forecasting to avoid relying on one-time surpluses and emphasized that budgeted capital projects may shift by timing: "That project funded was funded through ODOT…if those monies don't actually get expended, then you'll see a difference in what's budgeted versus what's actual," Faulkner said.

The presentation included water/wastewater planned upgrades (SCADA replacements estimated at roughly $55,000–$65,000) and smaller capital items such as storm-siren upgrades (approx. $25,000) and a new mower for airport/parks use. Faulkner noted that EMS collections had improved sufficiently to end a prior transfer from the GPWA fund to fire/EMS staffing.

The draft will be revised before the formal adoption scheduled for September once final insurance rates and year-end actuals are available. Faulkner invited council members to submit follow-up questions by email and said staff will return with final figures at the adoption hearing.

Ending: Council did not take formal budget action at the workshop; members asked for additional details and the city manager indicated staff will return with updates at the September adoption meeting.