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La Crosse officials to seek $2.7 million in cuts to meet budget threshold; staff weigh insurance, hiring pauses and service reductions
Summary
City leaders reviewed a proposed $4.66 million increase to the 2026 operating budget and heard staff say about $2.66 million in reductions would be needed to meet the city's ERP target. Options discussed included using insurance fund balance, a temporary hiring moratorium and targeted service cuts; a special council meeting was scheduled to identify specifics.
La Crosse's Board of Estimates spent much of its Sept. 4 meeting laying out the scale of the challenge in the proposed 2026 operating budget and agreeing to a special council session to pin down potential reductions.
Director Hawkins told the board the packet before members shows a proposed operating increase of about $4.66 million for 2026 and that staff calculated roughly $2.66 million in reductions would be required to meet the city's ERP threshold. Hawkins said mill-rate worksheets were omitted at this stage because those numbers will change as council decisions shape the final plan.
The discussion quickly turned to where cuts could come from and what staff could recommend. Hawkins said roughly 83% of the proposed increase ' about $3.76 million ' is for salaries and benefits and that…
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