Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City administrator warns budget at risk as property-tax referendum and union talks leave FY27 tentative
Summary
City Administrator Faye Johnson said preliminary FY27 general-fund estimates rose to about $303.2 million and warned a statewide property-tax referendum could cut roughly $21.7 million in property-tax revenue in FY28; she said outstanding union negotiations with PMSA and SEIU make a tentative balanced budget premature.
City Administrator Faye Johnson told the commission on July 27 that the city’s draft FY27 general-fund budget — previously presented at about $299.9 million — rose to roughly $303.2 million after final July 1 property valuations.
Johnson said the administration cannot present a tentative, balanced budget yet because two collective-bargaining tracks remain unresolved: negotiations with PMSA began late (June 24) and are continuing, with a scheduled session on July 29, and SEIU was only recertified July 21 and is expected to begin bargaining in August. “We’re in uncharted waters here in terms of negotiations,” she said, noting staff needs union financial proposals before revenue and expense assumptions can be finalized.
Johnson also warned commissioners about a statewide property-tax referendum the board had previously reviewed. Using county property-appraiser data, she said the city could face as much as a $21.7 million loss in property-tax revenue in FY28 if the referendum’s provisions (a roughly 5% reduction applied to nonhomestead assessments and larger homestead exemptions as previously described to the board) take effect. “Our property tax revenue represents 53% of the general fund; police and fire alone … represent 58% of the expenses within the general fund,” Johnson said, arguing that such a loss would force difficult choices on staffing and services.
Johnson outlined a schedule the administration is using to manage those uncertainties: tentative bargaining milestones in late July and early August, an August 19 work session to present a tentative budget if bargaining allows, statutory budget-adoption hearings in September, and a final budget adoption in late September with an October 1 effective date. The property-tax referendum is on the November 3 ballot; Johnson said the commission will hold a follow-up work session in mid-November if the referendum passes to assess the concrete FY28 impact.
Johnson framed the presentation as an interim update and asked commissioners to consider the timing and scale of any millage decisions only after negotiations and clearer revenue modeling are complete.
