Proposed 2027 Budget and Property Tax Levy Presentation

Jenny Roodie, Deputy City Manager CFO, presented the comprehensive proposed budget for 2027. The budget includes a 7.69% property tax levy increase, marking the final year of a five-year non-binding resolution. This increase translates to approximately $15 per month for the average homeowner. Pressures such as inflation (3.5% assumed for expenditures), increased demand for public safety services, and health insurance premium increases (7.5%) were discussed. The presentation also detailed general fund revenues (75% from property taxes) and expenditures (75% for personnel services, 60% for public safety). New FTE requests include fire, police (patrol, captain, social worker), IT, and facilities positions. Fund balance projections indicate a planned spend-down, remaining above policy minimums. Discussions also covered the EDA, Housing, Cable Franchise Fee, Forestry, Sustainability, Opioid, and Grant funds. Council members questioned the sustainability of consistent 7.5% increases, the plan for EDA fund utilization, and the spending requirements for LAA housing funds. The net impact of SAFER grants on public safety staffing costs was also clarified.

Communications Department Budget Presentation

Steph, the Communications Director, provided an overview of the department's mission to build trust and engagement through consistent, timely, and accurate information. The team consists of 12 full-time staff and one part-time, covering strategic communications, multimedia, community engagement, and community experience. Key achievements included a departmental restructuring, year-two implementation of the neighborhood grant pilot program, brand refresh, and website update. The 2027 budget remains consistent with 2026, with proposed increases for multimedia technology for the new City Hall and critical incident support/training. No new staffing requests were made for 2027, focusing on filling an already approved 2026 position.

Human Resources Department Budget Presentation

Mike, the HR Director, presented the 2027 HR budget, emphasizing the department's role in caring for city employees from recruitment to compensation and benefits. The five-person team manages a wide range of services, including payroll, labor relations, and health/safety. Achievements included successful cross-training (proven by handling payroll during a jury duty absence), settling three labor agreements, and hiring 335 staff in the last year. Challenges include growing demand for HR services, a competitive labor market (especially public safety), and rising insurance costs. The department is fully staffed, but requests $15,000 for an HR intern to assist during peak hiring seasons and foster future public servants.

Finance Department Budget Presentation

Alyssa Ryan, the Finance Director, presented the 2027 budget for her department, focusing on safeguarding public funds, ensuring sustainable operations, and empowering decision-makers. The department achieved its 30th consecutive GFOA award for excellence in financial reporting and delivered a clean audit with a new firm. They also implemented a new utility billing payment processor and the new budget system (ERP groundwork). Challenges include building departmental resiliency through cross-training, planning for the full ERP system replacement, and managing increasing software application costs and a changing grants environment. The department is reimagining a grants position to combine it with a financial analyst role to maximize resource efficiency. The overall department's operational expenses show a 5% increase, split across the general, water, and sewer funds.

Information Technology Department Budget Presentation

Tom Venibals, the IT Director, presented the 2027 IT budget, emphasizing digital transformation, operational efficiency, and security across the organization. The department's 12 FTEs support all city operations, including external partnerships. Achievements included completing capital investment, security, and operational assessments, leading major network infrastructure replacements, and significant progress on the Police City Hall project. Key challenges identified were constant cybersecurity pressures, shorter system life cycles for technology, and vendor inflation (up to 130% increase for some services). A collaboration and engagement specialist position is requested to drive adoption of modernized tools and support the upcoming ERP system implementation. Major budget drivers include Microsoft cloud instances, new phone platform licensing, broadband internet service increases (first in two decades), and AI licensing. The IT department anticipates an overall 14% increase in operating expenses, reflecting investment in managed security services and infrastructure.

Fire Department Budget Presentation

Fire Chief presented the 2027 Fire Department budget, emphasizing dedicated provision of fire, medical, rescue, and prevention services. The SAFER grant significantly helped by enabling early hiring of nine FTEs, and the trainee program expanded the candidate pool. Achievements included successful hiring and training of large groups, implementing a new records management system, and transitioning leadership roles. The new EMS Community Risk Reduction program is positively impacting high-frequency utilizers. Key challenges are the increased demand for service (over 10,000 calls last year), the strain of new state leave laws on 24/7 operations, and exponential increases in vehicle and equipment costs (e.g., $1M+ for fire trucks, $400-500K for ambulances). Staffing requests include one admin firefighter paramedic and upgrading three firefighter paramedics to fire captains, and one fire inspector to deputy fire marshal to right-size supervision. The budget also proposes equipping frontline vehicles with advanced Axon body cameras for improved documentation and real-time mapping. The department anticipates a 2% overall increase for 2027.