Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Deficit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City Manager: Dickinson faces roughly $826,000 general-fund shortfall
Summary
City Manager told the council the FY2026–27 general fund faces an approximately $826,000 deficit driven by rising labor and operating costs; staff proposed more workshops and a retreat to identify cuts and revenue options.
The City Manager told the council the focus of the workshop was the general fund and a projected deficit of “approximately $826,000,” down from an earlier estimate of about $1.5 million, and said rising labor, materials and contract costs—many up 30–40%—have outpaced revenue growth.
“We will review the factors contributing to this shortfall, the impact of rising operating cost, and the options available to develop a balanced and sustainable budget moving forward,” the City Manager said, urging additional meetings to resolve remaining issues. He noted that sales-tax revenue is split among several restricted funds and that property-tax roll figures were not yet available.
The presentation showed the general-fund revenue and expenditures on staff slides, with revenue presented lower than expenditures and the $826,000 shortfall driven in part by conservative budgeting for sales tax and recent adjustments moving costs out of the street maintenance fund and into the general fund. The manager recommended a half-day retreat or extra workshops for in-depth review and said staff would bring amendments to future sessions based on council input.
Next steps: staff will schedule additional workshops and a retreat to pursue cuts, possible transfers and other balancing options before adoption of the FY2026–27 budget.
