What: the city's 2027 general fund budget: cost increases, lease purchases and revenue assumptions.
Where it stands: about $15.5 million of fact-of-life increases against about $15 million of projected revenue growth, plus $25.2 million of new program requests.
Next: tourism, enterprise and stormwater funds (October 28), final recommendations (November 4), council budget workshop, capital improvement plan (November 30).
Agenda covered budget requests from Fire and Planning & Preservation, August monthly reports and the budget timeline (agenda only; discussion not yet summarized).
Staff walked through cost increases, about $11.4 million of lease purchases and revenue assumptions; a gap of about $500,000 remains before new program requests.
Base-budget gap closed ($2.9 million surplus; $1.5 million after $5.6 million of recommended new programs). A $3 to $4 hourly parking rate increase (about $4.55 million) was proposed to fund employee compensation; no final decision.