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Meetinghouse 2027 Budget

Revenue

July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027

Revenue $310,893,296

Decline in 2027 Revenue

Through March 2026, the city experienced a steady decline in local revenue, including license and permit fees, departmental income, and investment returns, resulting in a 3.13% reduction in local receipts compared to the previous year.

Additionally, the city expects to see a drop of over $1 million in investment revenue in 2027 due to previously invested ARPA and Consentino borrowing proceeds. Permit fees have declined significantly because the major construction projects currently in progress were issued in earlier fiscal years. State aid has also fallen short of projections, with only a 2.3% increase in Chapter 70 funding, a $4.5 million reduction from early estimates, and a disappointing 0.76% rise in Unrestricted General Government Aid, coupled with a 6.76% increase in state assessments (charges to the city).

These lower-than-anticipated revenue estimates have intensified pressure on property taxes, necessitating the use of an additional $1.1 million from the city's tax levy reserve. This action will diminish the excess reserve to just $1.48 million. Budget forecasts indicate that this reserve may be nearly exhausted by 2028, assuming continued departmental increases of 2.5%, estimated employee benefits rising by 4.5%, and revenue increasing by 3.2%.

  1. 1/9/26 Directives to departments Mayor distributed budget directives to departments. Done.
  2. 1/15/26 Finance projections Finance prepared revenue projections, high-level budget estimates, identified budget pressures, compiled capital requests, and assessed debt capacity. Done.
  3. 2/5/26 Forecasts evaluated The budget team evaluated revenue and appropriation forecasts, offering insights into high-priority requirements. Done.
  4. 2/6/26 Department requests due Department budget requests, narratives and KPIs due. Done.
  5. 2/23-3/13 Department reviews Mayor, CFO and Deputy Auditor met with each department to review requests, priorities and KPIs. Done.
  6. 4/2/26 Capital requests ranked The budget team met with departments to discuss, rank, and prioritize all capital requests by utilizing standardized ranking criteria. Done.
  7. 4/3/26 Preliminary budget Mayor and CFO formulated Mayor's preliminary budget. Done.
  8. 4/9/26 Budget team feedback Presented Mayor's preliminary budget to budget team for feedback. Done.
  9. 4/10/26 Final revisions Mayor and CFO finalized and implemented the last revisions to the budget. Done.
  10. 4/13-4/17 Final review PDF, the budget book, opens the city's file in a new tab Mayor, Chief of Staff, CFO and Deputy Auditor met with departments to review final recommendations. Done.
  11. 5/27-6/8 Public hearings PDF, the City Council agenda, opens the city's file in a new tab Department public budget hearings -City Hall Council Chambers 6pm. Done.
  12. 6/16/26 Budget adopted Budget Adoption by City Council. Done. This is where the budget is.
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