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Williamsport council adopts 2026 budget after hours‑long debate over staffing, health‑care contributions and attrition
Summary
After extended debate over health‑care contribution increases and proposed attrition, Williamsport City Council adopted the 2026 operating budgets and a half‑mill tax increase; two proposed staffing cuts (partial firefighter attrition and a planned police hire) were rejected but council approved a $71,700 police salary‑line amendment to allow flexibility if a deployment occurs.
Council President Yoder announced final passage of Williamsport’s 2026 operating budgets Thursday after more than an hour of discussion on employee health‑care contributions, staffing and short‑term attrition measures.
The council voted 6‑0 to adopt the budgets and separately approved a tax ordinance that implements a half‑mill property tax increase incorporated in the spending plan.
The discussion centered on two main proposals recommended by the city’s financial advisers, PFM: increasing employee health‑care contributions for at‑will employees and enacting limited attrition to reduce near‑term payroll costs. Jamie Schroeder, an administration budget staffer, summarized PFM’s suggested ranges for health‑care contribution changes and…
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