Washington City Council declines to adopt manager’s FY 2026–27 budget, orders further review

At a special meeting on April 22, 2026 at the Civic Center, the Washington City Council declined to adopt City Manager Jon Rorie’s proposed FY 2026–27 balanced budget and asked staff to return with refined options at a budget workshop scheduled for April 27.

Rorie presented a General Fund proposal that maintains the current 48.5-cent property tax rate and a $26,139,073 General Fund total. He told council that each one-cent reduction in the tax rate equates to roughly $160,000 in lost revenue and that a one-cent cut would require approximately $32,989,691 in new assessed value or an equivalent $160,000 in expense reductions. After Rorie asked whether anyone was willing to adopt the budget as presented, council members collectively responded, "no." No formal vote to adopt the budget was recorded at the meeting.

The manager’s materials listed $1,064,583 in cuts from the prior year and identified specific position reductions and deferrals across departments: elimination or deferral of an Assistant City Manager ($222,000); 25% reduction of a Public Information Officer position ($28,510); a Customer Service Representative ($73,000); two police positions (division commander and detective, $218,000); a 50% public works superintendent ($63,000); an adult services librarian ($90,000); and a recreation event and facilities supervisor ($97,000). Additional funding scenarios on the slides noted compensation and benefits pressures (for example, a 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment estimated at $252,000 and an 8% health-insurance increase estimated at $70,000) and options such as eliminating longevity pay to reduce costs.

Council materials also presented options for deeper reductions tied to multi‑penny tax cuts. The packet identified that a two-cent tax reduction would require roughly $320,000 in expense reductions and suggested examples of reductions and reductions-in-force (RIFs) tied to larger cuts. The presentation proposed departmental economies of scale for Planning & Zoning and Building Inspections (including possible contract alternatives) and recommended that the Recreation Advisory Committee pursue increased non-resident and out-of-county fees to help raise revenue.

Longer-term "horizon issues" flagged in the presentation included greater citizen engagement and consideration of shared services or consolidations for functions such as building inspections, a 9-1-1 center, EMS and some public-safety support services; a slide also noted a guideline that any subsidy for the GA Airport should not exceed 10%.

Council ended the session without adopting the April 13 budget proposal and tasked staff with further work; the council identified E911, EMS and inspections as topics for the April 27 budget workshop. The meeting was adjourned and a written record was signed by City Clerk Cynthia S. Bennett.

The packet and staff presentation provided the numerical scenarios cited above; where the packet listed position amounts but no final staffing decision was made at this meeting, those reductions are proposals rather than approved actions.