Last Thursday, Council held its Budget Retreat to discuss their priorities for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 Budget.
As a refresher, the Mayor’s Administration will be working over the next few months to draft a Proposed Budget for the next Fiscal Year. Council will then amend and approve a final version of that Budget. You can read more about the city’s budget process here.
The Council Budget Retreat is an informal discussion outlining the broad issues and policy areas Council wants to support in the upcoming budget. There was no discussion about how much Council could or would spend on individual items.
During the retreat, Councilmembers each selected policy areas they considered to be their biggest priorities for the upcoming budget. The issues with the broadest consensus included environmental services, gun violence prevention, homelessness prevention and intervention, sidewalks, trails, & bike lanes, small/local business development, and traffic enforcement.
Each Councilmember also discussed some of their individual priorities:
Urban Service Area Expansion planning - Vice Mayor Dan Wu, Councilmembers Denise Gray (D6), Joseph Hale (D7), and Hil Boone (D12)
Traffic Enforcement: Councilmembers Emma Curtis (D4), Dave Sevigny (D10)
Workforce Recruitment: Councilmember James Brown (At-Large)
Public Safety: Councilmember Chuck Ellinger (At-Large)
Coldstream Business Park Development: Shayla Lynch (D2)
Sidewalks, Trails, & Bike Lanes: Hannah LeGris (D3)
Permanent Supportive Housing: Liz Sheehan (D5)
LFUCG Government Center: Whitney Baxter (D9)
Council and the Mayor’s Administration will meet together on February 6th for a Joint Budget Retreat. At that Retreat, both branches of government will share and discuss their respective priorities for the upcoming Budget.
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Watch the meeting: You can attend the Joint Budget Retreat in-person on February 6th at Lextran's headquarters.
