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Mead releases proposed 2026 budget; public hearing set for Oct. 27
Summary
Town staff presented a draft 2026 budget on Oct. 13, 2025 and scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 27. Major points: police operations remain the largest general-fund expense (about 35'36%), public-works spending is substantial when street and project funds are combined, and staff proposed adding a parks operations supervisor and funding a CJIS-compliance consultant for police records.
Administrative Services Director Mary Strut presented the town's proposed 2026 budget to the Board of Trustees on Oct. 13, 2025 and set a public hearing for the board's Oct. 27 meeting. The draft covers general and enterprise funds, capital projects and impact-fee funds; staff will bring any necessary 2025 amendments alongside the Oct. 27 hearing.
Strut told trustees that taxes remain the largest general-fund revenue source and that the police department is the single largest line-item in the general fund, "about 35-36% of that general fund budget." She explained that public-works spending appears lower in the general fund but becomes the town's largest operational area if the streets fund (the dedicated 1% sales-and-use tax) and project funds are combined: "If you take the two pieces... you get our public works is $6.4 million. That is coming mostly from taxes."
Staff proposed a few targeted additions: an operations supervisor position focused on parks and landscapes to support the community center and Main Street planters; a CJIS-compliance consultant (estimated $15,000'$20,000) to review criminal-records access and vendor compliance; and a roughly $30,000 auto-transfer switch to add to the wastewater-treatment project budget. Strut noted the town's ending fund balances are lower because several multi-year capital projects are now being spent down.
Strut also summarized permit and impact-fee assumptions used to project impact-fee revenues: staff expects roughly 90 to 100 residential building permits per year in the near term and used a forecast of 91 permits in 2026 to estimate police and municipal-facilities impact revenues. She reminded trustees that the town expended its remaining ARPA funds during 2024 to avoid additional single-audit reporting burdens.
Trustees may continue the public hearing on Oct. 27 if they need more time; staff invited trustees to review materials and meet one-on-one with the director on any technical questions before the hearing.
