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Kensington holds public hearing on FY26 budget; record remains open until May 2
Summary
At an April 9 meeting the Kensington Town Council held a public hearing on the proposed FY2026 budget, keeping the public record open through May 2. The town proposes no change to property tax rates, a 2.7% cost-of-living increase for staff, and anticipates $125,000 more in property tax revenue based on recent assessments.
Kensington held a public hearing April 9 on Ordinance No. O-02-2025 to appropriate and adopt the town’s Fiscal Year 2025–2026 budget. Mayor Furman and Town Manager Hoffman led the presentation; the council voted to keep the public record open until 4 p.m. on May 2, 2025.
Town Manager Hoffman reviewed key elements of the proposed budget: property tax rates would remain unchanged for a seventh consecutive year; a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment and select merit increases are proposed for staff; the Archivist position would be reclassified from contractual to part‑time; and the town expects property tax revenue to increase by about $125,000 for FY26, attributable to recent State Department of Assessments and Taxation assessments. Hoffman said some anticipated income tax receipts have been lowered following recent trends and that a large portion of the proposed Capital Improvement Plan spending reflects ARPA funds recognized as income as they are expended.
Hoffman also noted staff set aside funds to hire consultants to assist the Parking Task Force and the Development Review Board and that engineering and design work for three bridge projects is mostly complete with about $30,000 remaining for construction management. Residents raised questions about revenue differences between FY25 and FY26, the source of a donation to the Noyes Library, street‑sweeping frequency, and the county property tax rate’s effect on town finances; Hoffman responded that FY25 included a one‑time $100,000 escrow for the Silver Creek agreement, that the Noyes Library donation came from the mural line item in FY25, street sweeping is typically scheduled once per year (with budgeted funds to add a second sweep if needed), and the county rate increase does not change the town’s tax rates.
Council Member Crimmins moved to leave the record open on O-02-2025 until May 2 at 4 p.m.; the motion passed unanimously. The public may submit comments to the record through that deadline; the council will consider final adoption at a future meeting.
