Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bridgeton council adopts $32.7 million 2026 budget and several ordinances in unanimous votes
Summary
The Bridgeton City Council unanimously adopted the city's 2026 budget totaling $32,733,585 and approved several ordinance updates, including a property maintenance code update to comply with state statute changes; multiple items were tabled for later consideration.
Bridgeton's City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt the city's 2026 budget and to pass several ordinances updating city code and personnel pay scales.
The council approved Ordinance 25-40, the annual budget for the 12-month period beginning Jan. 1, 2026, with a total appropriation of $32,733,585. Council member Patel read the budget breakdown on the floor: operational expenditures of $26,076,605, debt service of $2,337,755, and capital improvement and tax-increment financing expenditures of $4,319,225. "Move that bill 65-19 become ordinance 25-40," Patel said before the roll call.
Council also adopted Ordinance 25-39 (from Bill 65-18), which amends portions of the city's code related to the International Property Maintenance Code to restore compliance with a changed state statute and allow inspections for home sales to resume. Robert Gunn, the city's public works director, told the council the update "puts us back in compliance so we can start . . . doing the inspections for the home sales." The ordinance passed by roll call vote 8-to-0.
Two salary ordinances were adopted: Ordinance 25-41 (Bill 65-20), which repeals a prior salary ordinance and fixes compensation for classified employees for fiscal year 2026, and Ordinance 25-42 (Bill 65-21), which sets salaries for certain special service and salaried employees. Both ordinances passed without recorded opposition.
Several items were introduced and then tabled for further review, including Bill 65-22 (a comprehensive rewrite of the taxicab chapter) and Bill 65-23 (an extension of the independent auditing contract with Sikich CPA LLC, with the first-year audit fee listed at $42,200). Council members moved to table both bills by voice vote.
The council also approved two sets of minutes: the Nov. 18, 2025 budget meeting minutes (approved with seven votes in favor and one abstention from the member who did not attend) and the Dec. 3, 2025 council meeting minutes as amended.
The mayor closed the session after reading a brief year-in-review and announcing next year's budget meeting dates.
What happens next: The ordinances that were adopted take effect according to the city's code; tabled items will return to a future agenda for further discussion.
