Bristol outlines 2026 draft budget, proposes 2.5% raises and a one‑year longevity change

Bristol’s Town Council reviewed a draft municipal budget on Aug. 19 that proposes modest compensation increases and several operating and capital priorities while preserving reserves for planned projects.

Kathy Burke led the budget presentation and staff walked the council through the general fund, special funds and capital projects. Staff reported no increase expected in health insurance costs for the coming year but recommended a 2.5% across‑the‑board increase for municipal and police staff to help remain competitive with neighboring jurisdictions. "We're all pretty pleased with the way this came together," Burke said while walking through the spreadsheets.

Council discussed recruiting pressures in public safety and the desire not to fall behind neighboring agencies; members noted other jurisdictions have offered 3%–4% increases and cited the cost of training as a factor in retention. Staff also noted a recent state change affecting training-reimbursement for recruits that may give small departments additional tools to recoup training costs when employees leave.

Capital and program highlights included set-asides for paving and resurfacing projects, cemetery road expansion, parks capital (a proposed $10,000 transfer into parks capital), and continued work on several TIF-funded initiatives including the Earthway–Bloomingdale connector. Staff also flagged a new recurring expense: the county’s planned radio/records/dispatch migration, which will create initial and annual costs the town had not previously budgeted.

On personnel policy, staff proposed changing the town’s longevity (tenure) pay policy so that full‑ and part‑time employees become eligible after one year of service rather than two. Staff said the change is intended to bring uniformity across civilian and police pay practices and to simplify bookkeeping; council asked staff to draft a salary-ordinance amendment for the Thursday council meeting.

Next steps

Staff will present recommended ordinance language at the next council meeting for the salary amendment and will return the full budget as an action item for future adoption; the council made no final budget adoption at the work session.

Sources: Budget briefing and Q&A at the Aug. 19 Bristol Town Council work session; presentation led by Kathy Burke and town staff.