Boise City Council advances FY2027 budget to reading calendar, approves foregone property tax resolution

The Boise City Council heard a broad public hearing on the proposed FY2027 budget and related matters and voted to place the appropriation ordinance on the Aug. 11 reading calendar and to approve the city’s foregone property tax resolution.

Alicia, the city presenter, told the council the proposed FY2027 budget totals about $1.2 billion and supports more than 2,100 employees. She said roughly 62% of the plan is enterprise funds, the general fund totals about $347.8 million, and capital and equipment investments make up approximately 45% of the budget. The proposal includes a 2.7% base property tax increase, below the 3% statutory maximum, reduced from an earlier 4% proposal after higher-than-expected taxable value estimates, Alicia said.

The public comment period drew residents and advocates on several topics tied to budget allocations. Mark Salisbury, a West Boise resident and founder of Citizens for Library in West Boise, said the community values library access and supported the 2.7% proposal while urging efficiency. “Therefore, I do support the 2.7% in proposed increase,” Salisbury said, and described a survey of 532 respondents showing 58% preferred the mayor’s $2,000,000 pledge go toward land for a branch and 42% favored an express library.

Multiple speakers from environmental and community groups urged council members to keep a $2,000,000 line in the budget for a low‑income community solar pilot. Lisa Young, director of the Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club, urged maintaining the line item and tracking results of the pilot, saying it could be a stepping-stone for wider clean-energy projects. “We urge you to maintain this line item in the budget,” Young said.

Tim Hennessy, who identified himself as Boise Riverkeeper, called attention to an approximately $72 million deferred maintenance backlog reported in earlier budget workshops and urged reallocating existing line items to direct more funding to maintenance this year. He proposed a series of cuts or delays that he said could free roughly $20 million for backlog work.

After public testimony, council members discussed trade‑offs in the budget and thanked community members for participation. A motion was made to place the appropriation ordinance for fiscal year 2027 on the reading calendar for Aug. 11, 2026; the motion was seconded and carried by recorded approval. Council members also moved and approved Resolution 319‑26 to authorize the foregone property tax for FY2027.

The meeting record shows the council took separate motions to advance the appropriation ordinance to the reading calendar and to adopt the foregone resolution; both actions were recorded by the clerk and carried. The council also heard and advanced related fee and development impact fee items to the reading calendar.

The next formal step will be the Aug. 11 calendar when the appropriation ordinance returns for further reading and potential final action.