The Highland Park City Council on Nov. 24 approved omnibus agenda items that included the fiscal year 2026 budget and related materials. The omnibus motion that passed 7-0 included items 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 through 19; City staff said the budget is balanced and includes a 10-year capital improvement plan.

Mayor Nancy Rotering thanked senior staff and finance department leadership for a "robust and balanced" budget. In remarks the mayor described the package as a $131,000,000 budget with 274 full-time equivalent positions and a $40,000,000 capital improvement plan focused on infrastructure, public safety and sustainability.

Finance Director Christy McCallough presented the public hearing on the proposed tax year 2025 property tax levy (to be collected in fiscal year 2026). McCallough said the combined city and library levy is budgeted to be 8.3% higher than the 2024 combined tax extension: a city levy of $19,800,000 (7.9% higher than 2024) and a library levy of $6,400,000 (approximately 9.5% higher). She said the increase is heavily driven by debt service timing and the city plans to issue new debt in 2026; the levy package includes $21,000,000 for the combined city and library aggregate levy and $5,400,000 for debt service. McCallough estimated the combined levy would increase the average Highland Park taxpayer's bill by about $138 for a $500,000 home, and said the council will consider final adoption of the levy at the Dec. 15, 2025 meeting.

There were no public comments on the levy during the hearing, and council members did not ask additional questions. The council then moved to close the hearing and later voted to go into closed session to discuss personnel matters.

Because the budget items were handled in the omnibus vote, the council did not take a separate roll-call vote solely on the budget outside the omnibus approval recorded earlier.