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City finance office outlines $1.7 billion all-funds budget, flags revenue shifts and 43 new positions
Summary
City Finance Director Steve Curtis told the City Council that all funds in the 2027 proposal drop from about $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion mainly because of bond proceeds, while sales tax and property tax lines are projected to grow and the budget includes roughly 43 new positions across departments.
Steve Curtis, the city's finance director, opened the department presentations with a broad look at the proposed 2027 budget.
"So it went from 1,800,000,000 down to about 1,700,000,000," Curtis said, describing a decline in all-funds totals largely tied to the timing of bond proceeds. He told the council that sales and use tax is budgeted to grow about 8.5% over last year's budget (which Curtis said equates to a roughly 4% increase when measured against 2026 actual trends), and that property-tax revenues into the general fund are projected at about $128,700,000. Curtis also noted a planned general-fund carryover of roughly $9,000,000, and that the city kept its levy unchanged at 43.99.
Curtis outlined department-level changes as well: police and fire general-fund lines increase, parks receive a roughly $5,000,000 general-fund boost plus $5,000,000 in philanthropic commitments, and the proposal adds about 43 positions spread among police, fire, public works, parks, and the library. He closed by saying staff would remain available for questions throughout the presentations.
Why it matters: the finance briefing sets the spending framework the council will weigh as departmental presentations turn into amendments and final budget votes later in the cycle. Council members pressed Curtis on the sales-tax forecast and on the timeline for better state-supplied data; Curtis said he expects a response from the state within weeks and that the city continues to pursue improved detail.
