Georgetown work session previews requested 2026–27 budget with 3.7% COLA and staffing, capital asks

Georgetown City staff presented council members with the initial departmental requests for the fiscal 2026–27 budget at a work session on April 14, laying out staffing proposals, equipment and capital placeholders, and conservative revenue assumptions ahead of the mayor's proposed budget scheduled for May 11.

Stacy, the presenting staff member, said the requested budget includes a recommended 3.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and reflects a change by the Kentucky Public Pension Authority that will increase employee retirement/insurance contributions for many workers by roughly 1%. "This is information only," Stacy said, and stressed the figures are a starting point rather than a final recommendation.

Major staffing requests in the packet total roughly $1.8 million in new positions. The police department requested eight additional sworn officers (seven for patrol, one for the special victims unit) and a civilian crime analyst; staff identified new personnel and associated equipment and operating costs (radios, body cams, vehicle leases and fuel) as the primary drivers of a year-over-year increase in the public-safety request. Stacy said the packet listed salaries-and-benefits for the officers and analyst as a substantial portion of the increase presented to council.

Other notable staffing and operating requests included an assistant finance director (salary-and-benefits estimated in the presentation at about $156,000), a five-person stormwater crew to be housed in public works (presented as a $438,842 request for salaries and related costs), and an IT program that includes managed services, licensing renewals and a $125,000 cybersecurity assessment placeholder.

Staff also presented capital placeholders: architect-provided preliminary figures for a police-department renovation and a new 911 facility (design-fee and construction placeholders provided to guide budgeting but not negotiated contracts), a $450,000 order-of-magnitude placeholder for a Clayton-Broadway stormwater feature design and construction estimate, and multi-million-dollar shared-cost estimates for parks projects (noted as 50/50 cost-sharing with Scott County). A possible city contribution toward Dela Plane Anderson road improvements was shown as a percentage placeholder tied to a larger appropriation the council may consider.

On revenue, staff said payroll-tax growth projections were modeled conservatively at about 5% (down from prior 9% assumptions) after reviewing employer-level trends. The presentation flagged a continuing decline in cable-franchise fees and used conservative assumptions for insurance-premium taxes and investment income. Staff calculated a minimum required fund balance of about $14.7 million under current council policy and noted that if every departmental request were funded the city would substantially draw down designated excess fund balance.

Stacy reiterated that this presentation represented departmental requests and that the mayor would present a formal proposed budget in May. Council members asked clarifying questions about specific line items and requested missing presentation slides shown by the water company be attached to the prior meeting's minutes. No formal budget votes were taken at the April 14 work session; follow-up questions will be circulated to the full council by staff ahead of the May presentation.