October 2, 2026

WANT A SAY IN THE 2027 CITY BUDGET? GET INVOLVED FROM THE START.

City Hall wants residents involved before the budget is finished, not just after.

Beginning October 1, the City’s Personnel & Finance Committee will start working through the proposed 2027 operating budgets, with multiple public budget review sessions scheduled throughout October and November.

Here’s our challenge to residents: Follow the process. Ask questions. Share your priorities. Tell us where you think we should invest.

City budgets involve choices. Streets, parks, public safety, utilities, economic development, staffing, services and taxes all compete for limited resources. Those conversations are better when residents are part of them.

The process ultimately leads to the City Council Budget Public Hearing on November 30 and consideration of the final 2027 budget on December 7.

But don’t wait until November 30 to get involved!



Come along for the process from the beginning and help us build the 2027 City budget.

Here are the tentative key dates for residents who want to follow the process:

- October 1 and 8: Personnel & Finance Committee reviews tax-supported operating budgets.

- October 15, 22 and 29: Personnel & Finance Committee budget review sessions.

- November 5: Personnel & Finance Committee reviews utility budgets with the Utility Committee.

- November 12: Final committee review of all budgets, if needed.

- November 30: City Council budget public hearing.

- December 7: City Council considers adoption of the budget.

- December 18: Property tax bills are scheduled to be mailed.

General Fund Update

GENERAL FUND UPDATE FROM CITY HALL

The City’s latest financial report was finalized last week on Friday and shows continued improvement over last year through July. 

• Through the first 7 months of 2026, General Fund revenues totaled $6.39 million, up $445,000 (7.5%) from the same point in 2025. 

• Expenditures totaled $7.38 million, down $17,000 from last year.

• Taken together, the General Fund is $462,000 better off than it was at the end of July 2025. 

City employees deserve credit for managing these costs while continuing to provide the services residents rely on. 

Through July, General Fund spending was slightly lower than at the same point last year, despite rising costs for many of the things the City needs to operate. That takes careful work across every department, and it’s progress our community can be proud of.  

-HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE REPORT-

• Building activity remains strong. Building permit revenue reached nearly $220k through July, compared with about $50k at the same point last year.

• Ambulance revenue is on pace with the budget. It totaled $524k through July, up about $21k from last year.

• Investment earnings have grown. The City earned $135k through July, compared with $63k during the same period in 2025.

• Overall spending remains steady. General Government spending is about $75k below last year. Public Safety spending is up 3%, with Police and Fire spending generally in line with where we would expect them to be seven months into the year.

-WHAT'S THIS DEFICIT ABOUT?-

The report shows a $984k year-to-date deficit, compared with $1.45 million at this point last year (end of July). That figure is heavily affected by the timing of state payments. 

Through July, the City had received only 15% of the $4.9 million in State Shared Revenue budgeted for the full year, so the July deficit should not be read as a year-end projection.

-BIG PICTURE-

These financial results are encouraging and we've come a long way in balancing this ship, but the City still faces a real longer-term challenge: recurring expenses have been growing faster than recurring revenues for years. We’ll keep that front and center as we develop the 2027 budget and monitor results through the rest of this year. 

2026 Leaf Collection

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