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McGregor staff present balanced FY2026–27 preliminary budget, flag $1 million transfer for capital purchases
Summary
City staff presented a balanced preliminary FY2026–27 budget that relies on a $1,000,000 transfer from the McGregor Industrial Park Fund to pay for capital equipment (street sweeper, bucket truck, police cars) and outlined assumptions on COLA, insurance and retirement rates; council asked for follow‑up details on staffing, benefits and variance analysis.
City staff presented the proposed FY2026–27 budget at the McGregor City Council meeting on July 13, describing it as balanced while noting several provisional assumptions and a nonoperating transfer to fund capital purchases.
Lee, the staff presenter, told the council the budget is balanced using preliminary certified values and a planned transfer from the McGregor Industrial Park Fund (staff said a $1,000,000 transfer will fund capital improvements). "The budget as it's presented is balanced," Lee said, and highlighted capital items that the transfer would support, including a roughly $280,000 street sweeper, a $240,000 bucket truck for parks, three police vehicles and a city hall generator.
Staff outlined budget assumptions: a 5% cost‑of‑living adjustment across positions, an estimated ~15% increase in city‑provided health insurance costs and a roughly 10% increase in life insurance costs. Lee also noted a small change in the TMRS retirement rate (from about 13.2% to 12.84%). The utility fund budget as presented does not include a rate increase for FY2026–27, staff said, noting recent prior increases were intended to cover wholesale cost pressures.
Council members asked for more detail. Questions included the vendor and bidding for plan reviews and construction permits, whether the insurance consultant is shopping benefits on the city's behalf, the allocation of payroll across departments and whether a street‑supervisor position had been absorbed into laborer accounts. A council member asked staff to produce a year‑over‑year variance for operating expenses excluding the $1,000,000 transfer so the council can see the underlying operational change; staff agreed to provide that analysis.
What happens next: The budget presented is preliminary; staff said certified values and final tax‑rate calculations remain pending. The council did not adopt the budget at this meeting; staff will provide follow‑up detail requested by council members.
