Administrator Kane Rath and Finance Director Tracy Roy opened a presentation to kick off the FY27 budget process and walked the council through the city's proposed five‑year Local Capital Improvement Plan (LCIP).

"The LCIP is a five year capital plan for the city of Lewiston for fiscal years 27 to '31," Finance Director Tracy Roy said, outlining a roughly $239,000,000 slate of projects and reporting that about $224,000,000 of that total is expected to come from city resources. Roy told the council the city's proposed use of local sources for FY27 totals about $42,500,000, including a city bond proposal of roughly $24.7 million and a school bond of $9.5 million.

Why it matters: Roy and Administrator Rath flagged the LCIP's relationship to the charter's 80% debt‑authorization rule. Roy said the plan as presented would put the city approximately $28,000,000 over the local 80% threshold; the charter allows the council to override that limit by a five‑vote majority or otherwise use non‑property tax financing such as TIF, state or federal subsidies, or enterprise funds.

Key projects and numbers included a Lisbon Street fire station replacement (about $7.7 million), a library exterior and HVAC program (tens of thousands for cladding and system upgrades), a $5.2 million police department initiative (to be the subject of a future, more detailed presentation), sidewalk maintenance ($850,000), street maintenance ($6.75 million), municipal garage vehicle and equipment replacement ($1.6 million), and water, sewer and stormwater capital programs across multiple years. Roy also presented outstanding debt totals as of Dec. 31, 2025 (city general fund ~ $50.5M; school ~ $60.5M; water ~$22M; sewer ~$19M; stormwater ~$13.5M).

Councilors asked for the slide deck to be posted for public review and pressed for clarity on debt forecasts. "That's for our current debt only," one councilor summarized after Roy confirmed the five‑year debt‑service decline assumed no new borrowing beyond items already issued.

Next steps: Administrator Rath scheduled the LCIP public hearing for Feb. 3, asked that finance committee and planning board recommendations be submitted by Feb. 15, and noted the council is scheduled to adopt the LCIP on Feb. 17 to meet a March 1 charter deadline.

The presentation closed with staff saying more departmental detail will follow at upcoming meetings, and that the council will take further votes on bond authorizations and any override of the charter's 80% limit as needed.