Menlo Park council adopts FY 2026—27 budget, uses fund 111 to preserve library and recreation services; approves one-year AFSCME pact

The Menlo Park City Council adopted the fiscal year 2026—27 operating budget and capital improvements program and approved a one-year successor labor agreement with AFSCME Local 829 that provides a 4 percent general wage increase.

Administrative services director Pani Ley presented the proposed $151.1 million package and described reductions the staff and council had negotiated to close an earlier projected gap. Ley said the proposal incorporated roughly $7 million in net reductions and identified options for further savings. Staff recommended, and the council adopted, a set of program reductions and the temporary use of Fund 111 to restore two budgeted items in library and recreation services (approximately $273,000), pending the council's direction.

Councilmembers discussed options to reduce subsidies for recreation programs and debated a phased fee increase for gymnastics and other user-fee supported activities. Several members asked staff to explore staged fee increases and expanded scholarship options to limit impacts on low-income families.

On labor, staff presented a successor memorandum of agreement for AFSCME Local 829 that provides a 4 percent general increase and carries an estimated total contract cost of $386,156. The council moved and unanimously adopted both the budget resolutions (including the Fund 111 restoration for library and recreation services) and the successor labor agreement.

The council directed staff to prepare implementation steps, post the adopted budget and capital program materials online and report back as part of the fall budget workshop and the annual monitoring schedule.