Budget committee forwards ECD 2026–27 budget to Economic and Community Development Board

The Budget Committee on an evening meeting reviewed the Economic and Community Development (ECD) draft 2026–27 budgets and voted to forward the proposal to the Economic and Community Development Board for submission to the comptroller’s office.

Staff presenter summarized the two primary funds under review: fund 4101 (the city-share operating fund) and fund 4102 (the Community Development Block Grant program dedicated to housing rehabilitation). The presenter said the worksheet shows a middle column with year-to-date spending, a green column with the proposed requests for the coming fiscal year (which begins July 1), and that staff aimed to keep the overall budget level while identifying potential reductions where feasible. “Our instruction from the staff level, like most years, was to do our best to keep a level budget,” the presenter said.

Committee members pressed on personnel and benefit assumptions. The draft keeps base salaries largely level, the presenter said, but includes a 6% across-the-board increase in projected health-insurance costs and explicitly budgets insurance for a vacant position the mayor directed staff to fill. The presenter said budgeting must assume the highest-cost family plan for that hire, which explains a substantial portion of the projected increase. Committee members asked whether the retired position held by “John” would be replaced; the presenter said a job description is being developed and the draft assumes funding for the role.

Members also debated marketing and advertising allocations. A member questioned whether the modest proposed increase for advertising will be adequate; staff replied that lower-cost outreach and social media reduce some need for large print or paid placements and that several small line items were consolidated into a single marketing allocation to allow flexibility and avoid duplicated spending across departments. The presenter said collaboration across departments and commissions — and the new hire’s responsibilities — are intended to improve coordination of outreach.

On the CDBG housing-rehab fund (4102), staff said the budget covers salary and benefits for David Zuberau and projects grant payouts for housing-rehab activities. From a HUD compliance standpoint, the presenter noted administrative costs must remain under 20% of total HUD allocations; to meet that constraint, staff allocated portions of certain staff salaries to the HUD-funded budget (for example, roughly half of one staffer’s salary and portions of others). The presenter described this submission as a first draft that will be reviewed with the comptroller’s office in early February and adjusted if needed.

After discussion, a committee member moved to approve the ECD 2026–27 budget as recommended by the budget committee and forward it to the Economic and Community Development Board prior to submission to the comptroller’s office; the motion was seconded and members present voted to approve. The presenter said staff will return with a brief update at the next meeting.

Minutes: the committee previously approved the minutes from Jan. 9 earlier in the meeting.

What’s next: staff will meet the comptroller’s office for revisions and report back to the committee; the Economic and Community Development Board will review the forwarded budget prior to final submission to the comptroller’s office.