Williston starts 2027 budget process amid volatile oil and sales-tax projections

City Administrator Shawn Wenko and Finance Director Hercules Cummings outlined the 2027 budget kickoff at the April 28 Williston City Commission meeting, flagging public safety, infrastructure and personnel costs as primary priorities.

Wenko said staff intends to work through the budget cycle to present a near-balanced plan by October. “As usual the cost of business has gone up,” he said, noting a 15% increase in health-insurance premiums for 2027.

Cummings reviewed the city’s revenue assumptions and recent tracking: the 2026 sales-tax projection was budgeted at $11,000,000 and was tracking within about 3%; gross production tax was budgeted at $20,000,000 and was tracking within roughly 35%; and public-safety sales tax assumptions were approximately $13,500,000 after a local quality-of-life deduction.

Commissioner Brad Bekkedahl raised a budget risk tied to state-administered sales-tax caps and refunds. He said the state has queried the city for a $5,000,000 repayment tied to the capped refund program, a demand that can strain project plans when the city has already spent those receipts. “They came back to the city and said that we owe them $5,000,000 and they want it then,” Bekkedahl said.

Wenko and Cummings told commissioners staff will refine revenue assumptions and present options to close the remaining deficit, and that the budget process will emphasize maintaining public-safety funding while managing volatility in oil- and sales-tax revenue.

Next steps: staff will continue work on the 2027 budget schedule and return to commission with detailed proposals and timeline milestones.