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Johnstown council approves 2026 budget using reserves and deferred revenue
Summary
Council voted to approve Resolution 10751, the 2026 budget, after the city’s auditor explained that reserves and deferred revenue balance the plan despite appearances that the budget is unbalanced on paper.
Johnstown City Council approved Resolution 10751 on Feb. 11, adopting the city’s 2026 budget after financial review and discussion of reserves and deferred revenue.
Joel Valentine of Wessel & Co., who reviewed the budget at council’s request, explained that the city’s fund balance (savings) and deferred revenue (grants received in advance of spending) were being applied to cover planned expenditures. "The fund balance is created by creating excess revenue over expenses over time. Deferred revenue is created by receiving grants in advance of spending them," Valentine said, and he told council that "there were enough reserves to cover anything in the budget, and it was balanced with the use of reserves and deferred revenue." Council member Samuel Barber noted that while the budget might not appear balanced on paper, the funding was in place to support planned spending.
Public commenters had urged council to ensure statutory compliance; Charlene Stanton told the council she believed the budget looked unbalanced and cited the Home Rule Charter and state statute requiring revenues to equal expenditures. Council members discussed alternative ways to display the budget but ultimately approved the resolution. The vote was recorded as Yeas: Mayor King, Mr. Arnone, Mr. Barber, Mr. Clark, Mr. Hamacek, Mr. Spinelli, Ms. Brandon-Taylor (7); Nays: None (0).
The adoption authorizes spending across several named funds (Liquid Fuels; CDBG; State Home; UDAG; State Grant; and American Rescue Plan/ARPA funds). Valentine noted some funds such as ARPA require spend-down of money already received.
Next steps: with the resolution approved, staff will continue implementing the budget and proceed with scheduled projects and fund-specific spending plans.
