The Parks & Recreation Committee on Monday recommended that the city council approve the proposed 2026 budget, including quarterly payments to Troy Main Street ($60,000) and Troy Rec ($32,000), and signaled support for emergency council action related to millage certification and a zeroed Miami Conservancy District (MCD) assessment for 2026.

An unnamed staff presenter summarized a November 19 budget workshop and said the city expects income tax revenues in 2026 to be "relatively flat," with only modest gains from net corporate profit taxes. "We are not expecting much of any growth between 2025 and 2026," the presenter said during the committee briefing.

The presentation showed a five-year forecast that keeps the city’s priorities — economic development, public safety and quality of life — at the forefront of spending decisions. The presenter said the city expects to encumber large capital costs once projects are bid and contracts signed and noted projected increases of about 9.3% in operating spending and roughly 11% in capital investment between the 2025 and 2026 budgets.

Staff told the committee that two major projects — the Low Dam project and a downtown streetscape — plus the police department renovation are driving much of the capital demand. The committee left $2,500,000 in the 2026 budget for Phase 1 of the police station renovation, with another $2,500,000 anticipated in 2027. Staff described Phase 1 as work on first- and second-floor windows and basement renovations, and Phase 2 as repurposing first-floor holding cell space and other on-call-room improvements.

The presenter said the city currently pays about $200,000 a year to the Miami Conservancy District for flood-protection assessments and that MCD is reevaluating rates to address deferred capital needs. "Those costs... are going to increase substantially, as much as double, if not more," the presenter said, adding that staff modeled the impact and that the revised certification tables reduced the near-term revenue exposure. In the presenter’s projection, the city’s ending general-fund balance is roughly $33 million in 2026 and could fall toward $6 million by 2030 under current assumptions and planned borrowing.

On the county tax side, staff described a recent county reassessment that averaged about a 28% increase in assessed value but said the Miami County Budget Commission chose to certify a smaller 4.6% increase for municipalities this cycle, which the presenter said keeps the city’s revenue forecast effectively unchanged for 2026.

Committee members asked about funding mechanics for the Streetscape (sidewalk assessments that can be paid up front or amortized over five years) and merchant/billing fees; staff said revenue offsets are included for card and transaction charges. A resident urged the committee to find ways to smooth capital spending to avoid a steep drop in fund balance; staff replied that design, grants and borrowing timing drive much of the projected variability.

The committee voted unanimously to give a positive recommendation to bring the 2026 budget and related items to council and to ask council to adopt an emergency resolution on December 1 supporting the Budget Commission’s certification and the temporary zeroing of the MCD assessment for 2026. The presenter said the park-and-recreation master-plan consultant findings and public-survey results will be presented at a December 3 work session in the Bravo Room.

The committee also noted that Troy Development Council funding remains in the budget but staff will withhold authorization until an internal reorganization report is brought to council in early next year.