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Fort Thomas finance committee reviews amended 2025–26 budget, flags insurance and police spending increases
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Summary
At an April 14 Finance Committee meeting, staff presented an amended 2025–26 budget and an initial 2026–27 draft that increased some revenue estimates and proposed amendments including higher insurance spending, increased police overtime and equipment purchases, and a placeholder for a third school resource officer; no formal votes were taken.
The Fort Thomas Finance Committee met April 14 to discuss amendments to the 2025–26 budget and an initial draft for 2026–27, with staff proposing higher revenue estimates, insurance-cost increases and additional police spending while council members asked for more detail and time to review.
"The intent of this meeting, in my eyes, is very much a discussion," said the committee chair (speaker 2) as the session opened. Linda, the finance staff member who presented the packet, said staff recommended amending the beginning fund balance to $15,533,965 (per the recent audit) and starting the 2026–27 fiscal year with a projected beginning balance of $12,000,550. Linda presented projected total revenues of about $19,547,000 and projected operating and capital expenses of $23,280,000, leaving a projected ending general-fund balance near $8,817,000.
Why it matters: those projections set the baseline for what the city can spend on services and capital projects next year. Committee members stressed this meeting was an opportunity for questions and changes rather than a final vote — the public hearing is scheduled for the May council meeting, a first reading is planned for June 1 and a second reading for June 15.
Key revenue and amendment items: Linda outlined several line-item adjustments driven by recent year-to-year trends. Proposed increases included automobile taxes to $722,500, real-estate tax revenue to $6,545,000 (assuming the rate is unchanged but assessed values rise), a payroll-license projection of $4,600,000, a net-profits-license projection of $850,000 and an insurance-premium tax estimate of $4,100,000. She also proposed reducing field-lease rental revenue to $25,000 to reflect billing timing and flagged a $264,000 grant the packet includes for a proposed trail project.
Insurance and procurement questions: multiple council members raised concerns about large jumps in insurance budgets (amended/projected figures moved toward $125,000–$130,000 in several departments). Linda said historical actuals showed higher costs than some prior budgets had estimated and staff will solicit bids, including from the Kentucky League of Cities, and provide a clearer breakout of property, liability and workers'-compensation costs.
Police budget and public-safety items: Linda presented police-department projections that include personnel, equipment and capital requests. Committee members discussed adding a third school resource officer (SRO) as a placeholder in the draft. "When I got here, we paid for 100%," said a council member (speaker 1), noting past negotiations had moved the school-district contribution to roughly a 50/50 split; the city would budget the full expense while planning to recoup roughly $35,000 per SRO from the school district if negotiations succeed. Police requests also include two vehicles ($132,000), replacement patrol rifles, additional license-plate (Flock) cameras, and a $25,000 drone; staff said some purchases would use forfeiture funds subject to legal restrictions.
Forensic audit, outside CPA support and forfeiture/opioid funds: the packet includes a proposed $35,000 addition to cover a forensic audit, and committee members discussed using an outside CPA firm to handle some finance work while the city fills the finance director role. The outside firm named in discussion was MoneyHoff and Lang. Linda said the police forfeiture account currently holds about $62,000 and the department plans to budget spending roughly $40,000; opioid-settlement funds (Linda estimated close to $400,000) are being held in deferred revenue and staff are working to identify legally allowable expenditures.
Claims, staffing and oversight: at one point a council member (speaker 6) said the preexisting finance function had been "non existent" at the time earlier budgets were prepared; the point was discussed rather than formally adjudicated and staff explained hiring external support and tighter audit practices are being used to improve controls.
What comes next: staff said they will update the packet with clarifications and redistribute it before the May public hearing; the committee reiterated that no formal action was taken at the April 14 meeting and that council will consider amendments and readings on the stated schedule.
The meeting continued with department-level line-item questions and more detailed follow-up requests from council members for breakout tables and procurement plans; no votes occurred in this session.
