Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Port Republic budget workshop outlines proposed 1.4‑cent preliminary tax increase
Summary
City officials reviewed a draft 2026 budget that relies on $175,000 of prior-year surplus, adds $50,000 in expected recreation grant revenue, and would result in a proposed 1.4‑cent tax increase; no formal adoption occurred and the budget need not be introduced until March.
City of Port Republic officials on Jan. 27 reviewed a preliminary 2026 budget that would apply $175,000 of the city’s prior-year surplus and proposes a 1.4‑cent increase in the municipal tax rate.
Auditor Nancy Sbrolla told Mayor and Council the draft budget’s starting point would equate to a 10.2‑cent tax increase and that the proposed spending plan is currently $51,000 over the statutory tax levy cap. Sbrolla said the city closed 2025 with a $335,911 surplus and the draft uses $150,000 of that balance; staff added another $25,000 of surplus during workshop discussions, bringing the total surplus applied to $175,000. Sbrolla also said the budget includes a $50,000 expected reimbursement from a Local Recreation Improvement Grant that the city will receive once requested.
Chief Financial Officer Amy Stover and Auditor Sbrolla reviewed multiple line‑item changes from the prior year. Notable adjustments include a $6,000 decrease in Municipal Clerk salaries and wages, a $3,000 reduction in legal costs, a $12,387 reduction in the Public Employee Retirement System contribution, and increases for engineering services (+$20,000), liability insurance (+$5,500), and unemployment compensation (+$9,250). Stover and Sbrolla said some increases — including group insurance costs — fall outside the tax levy cap rules.
Sbrolla explained that $19,000 was included in this budget to raise funds for Ordinance 05‑14 that had not been previously funded; she said the remaining $19,000 required by that ordinance will need to be raised in the 2027 budget. Council also discussed a public‑works truck purchase; the city has approximately $60,000 in its capital fund that could be used toward that purchase.
Council President Roger Giberson said the proposed 1.4‑cent increase would be shared with the rest of Council and noted the budget does not need to be introduced until March, giving the body time for further review. Mayor Monica Giberson and council members thanked Sbrolla and Stover for their work preparing the draft.
In public comment, resident James Laughlin praised Municipal Clerk Brandy M. Blevin’s service, warned that limited staffing puts the city at risk of employee burnout, said some roads appeared untreated after a recent county snowstorm response, and suggested the city consider requiring residents to transport brush and branches to ACUA or Mannis facilities to reduce municipal collection costs.
No formal votes or motions were taken on the budget itself during the workshop. The meeting closed after the council moved to open and then close the public portion and adjourned at 6:44 p.m.
