Council hears $46 million 2026 budget; staff proposes smart‑meter rollout and $15.5M capital program

City finance and operations staff presented the proposed 2026 budget to the Columbiana City Council on March 3, highlighting a large capital improvement program and a proposed smart‑meter upgrade for electric and water metering.

Kevin told council income tax revenues were projected to remain flat in 2026 and that the administration did not currently plan transfers from the general fund into the water or sewer funds, although transfers were made in 2025 (the transcript records a $100,000 transfer to sewer and $330,000 to water last year). He said personnel costs are slightly higher in 2026 because there are 27 pay periods.

The capital improvement fund is budgeted at about $15,500,000 for 2026, up from roughly $3 million the previous year, driven largely by grants the administration has secured, Kevin said. The overall city budget for the year is roughly $46 million.

Kevin and staff described a smart‑meter package under consideration that would replace roughly 1,500 of the city’s estimated 3,200 electric meters. Staff said the system can communicate with existing water meters, allow remote reads and receive software updates; it would be procured through a purchasing co‑op so the city would not need to run a separate bid. Staff estimated the project cost at less than $600,000 and said the vendor could install meters to accelerate deployment.

Council members asked clarifying questions about revenue assumptions and thanked Kevin and staff for producing the budget. The council did not take final action on the budget at the March 3 meeting beyond first‑reading procedural steps on the appropriations ordinance.