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Windsor Heights council weighs levy increase, pauses merit-pay pool amid budget squeeze
Summary
At a work session the Windsor Heights City Council discussed a proposed levy increase, recommended staff cuts that reduced a proposed 15-cent increase to 9 cents, proposed a 2.7% average nonunion pay adjustment and a pause on a merit-pay pool while councilors debated funding priorities and one-time uses of LOST funds.
The Windsor Heights City Council spent its work session reviewing a draft fiscal 2027 budget that would reduce the staff-recommended property tax increase after finance‑committee adjustments and pause a proposed merit-pay pool.
AJ, a city staff presenter, told the council the finance committee had recommended trimming the staff-sought 15-cent levy increase down by 6 cents, producing a 9-cent net increase and a levy rate shown in the draft materials. He said the staff proposal includes a 2.7% average nonunion compensation adjustment, and that the finance committee recommended suspending the 0–3% merit-pay pool for FY27 while the city conducts a broader review of compensation and benefits.
Why it matters: Council members said salaries and long-term commitments are outpacing revenue growth and that the city needs to prioritize which services to protect. Suspending the merit pool, staff said, would avoid a near-term hit to the levy and allow time for a more strategic approach to longevity, deferred compensation and other benefits.
Details: AJ described the compensation proposal as an average 2.7% increase tied to inflation trends; staff said some employees below the salary midpoint could receive more and those already at the top of their range could receive less, but that the average would be 2.7%. On the merit-pay pool, the finance committee recommended declining to fund it this year (the draft had 2% budgeted) and instead evaluating whether a portion of any FY26 surplus should be used for a one-time payout.
Council discussion also focused on the transit levy set by DART. Under the DART formula, 87 cents is what staff said would be required; several council members expressed support for setting the DART levy at 90 cents as a regional goodwill and economic‑development contribution while noting the increase would have only modest per‑household impact (council estimated a few dollars per year for a typical home).
Other items in the work session: staff recommended a $15,000 pilot increase in the fire department part‑time budget to test longer shift availability and improve three‑person engine response capacity; the council accepted that pilot. The comprehensive plan was budgeted at $75,000; members discussed delaying or splitting the work across fiscal years 27–28 to avoid competing with major road projects and to spread cost. Special-events funding and hotel/motel allocations were reviewed; councilmembers asked staff for a three‑year accounting of event expenses and confirmed the city’s baseline special-events contribution is $40,000 with additional fundraising carrying into next-year budgets.
What was decided: The budget discussion produced direction to staff rather than final ordinance action—the council agreed with the finance committee’s approach to prioritize a smaller levy increase, to pause the merit-pay pool pending further review, to pilot the $15,000 fire part‑time increase, and to return with more detailed costing and options, including potential phased funding for the comprehensive plan.
Next steps: Staff will bring a revised levy/levy-rate package and refined budget for formal consideration at the next city council meeting. The council did not adopt a final levy at the work session.
