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Mayor Gainey lays out 2026 budget: targeted cuts, no layoffs or tax increases
Summary
Mayor Ed Gainey presented a 2026 spending plan that he said balances modest, targeted reductions with continued investments in housing, bridges, safety and workforce development while avoiding layoffs or tax hikes.
Mayor Ed Gainey delivered the city’s 2026 budget address on Nov. 10, saying his proposal trims select spending while preserving core services and avoids layoffs and tax increases. “My budget proposal includes modest and targeted reductions in spending while avoiding any layoffs, avoiding any cuts to core services, and avoiding any increases in taxes,” Gainey said.
Gainey framed the budget around two fiscal pressures: a debt ‘‘cliff’’ in 2025–26 linked to pandemic-era refinancing and an ongoing decline in real-estate tax revenue following a county assessment appeals ruling. He said the administration used the city’s five-year fiscal planning ordinance to prepare for the lean years and forecasted improved fund availability beginning in 2027.
The mayor highlighted specific investments and savings in the proposal. He said the budget eliminates dozens of vacant positions and includes roughly $3,500,000 in personnel spending reductions. On capital and grants, he said the city expects to receive $17,000,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding from HUD to support community projects, and cited a $600,000,000 downtown reinvestment plan and the creation of more than 1,000 planned housing units downtown during his term.
Gainey underscored public-safety and alternative-response work: he described expansion of the Office of Community Health and Safety and a crisis-response model that deploys social workers alongside police, and he cited a 37% decline in homicide deaths among 13- to 17-year-olds during his administration. He framed those results as evidence of investments in prevention and diversion programs and renewed partnerships with community organizations.
On procurement and contracting, Gainey said the administration strengthened practices to expand disadvantaged business participation and highlighted a regional disparity study scheduled for public release in 2026. He urged other regional institutions to adopt similar procurement and workforce standards to ensure public projects support local job opportunities.
Gainey closed by asking the incoming administration and council to continue work on property-assessment reform at the state level and pledged to work with council to pass owner-occupied protection legislation before the end of the year.
The mayor’s address concluded without a council vote; council recessed for 10 minutes following the speech and later returned to consider the introduced bills and resolutions.
