Shorewood council wrestles with 2026 levy as police and fire account for roughly 45% of proposed budget

Shorewood’s City Council spent much of a work session on Aug. 11, 2025 scrutinizing the proposed 2026 General Fund budget and how much to rely on property taxes to cover rising police and fire costs.

Finance Director Schmuck opened the discussion with an overview of anticipated revenues and expenditures and said preliminary levy estimates fell from about 12% in June to roughly 9.72% by the end of July. She cautioned that projections remain uncertain and reminded the council the levy could not be increased after Sept. 8, 2025.

The policy question that animated the meeting was how much of the city’s operating budget should go to public safety. Councilmember DiGruttolo said she had received resident pushback and would like the council to consider setting budget caps or requiring cost-benefit analysis rather than routinely approving requests from police and fire. She said the current presentation made it appear that “almost half” of the budget would be spent on Public Safety and asked whether council members were comfortable with that share.

Councilmember Maddy urged caution in comparing Shorewood’s numbers to other cities because Shorewood participates in joint powers arrangements that shift administrative costs to local departments. Mayor Jennifer Labadie said the Police Department had presented what she described as a “bare bones budget” and cautioned that cutting further could require fundamental changes to services. Councilmembers also discussed that multiple fire equipment replacements coincide in the same year and whether replacement schedules could be staggered to smooth costs.

On capital spending for parks, Councilmember Sanschagrin questioned a proposed increase in the Park Improvement Capital Fund from $135,000 to $305,000; Finance Director Schmuck said staff plan to shift resources from the Street Fund under the Long-Term Financial Plan so the change would have “zero net effect,” but future financing could require an increased levy or bonding and bonding for parks may be difficult.

Schmuck told the council many line items are fixed by contract, stating that union contracts and compensation agreements limit where cuts can be made. She asked whether the council wanted further direction; the council did not take a formal vote on the budget at the meeting. The Police Board had already approved its budget; the Fire Board was scheduled to consider its budget later in the week, and Councilmember Maddy—chair of the Excelsior Fire District board—was identified as a point of contact for questions about the fire budget.

Mayor Labadie opened the meeting’s public-comment period on the budget materials and noted there were no speakers in attendance. Councilmember DiGruttolo said she would submit additional questions to Finance Director Schmuck by email, and Councilmember Sanschagrin asked staff to identify potential cut items for council debate ahead of the preliminary levy deadline. The council adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

The city must set its preliminary levy before Sept. 30, 2025; Schmuck reiterated that the levy can be reduced after that date but not increased beyond the preliminary figure by the statutory deadline.