Mayor presents FY26 budget that trims positions, promises modest municipal tax change and aims to close structural gap
June 02, 2025 | Burlington City, Chittenden County, Vermont
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Mayor Mulvaney Stanek and the administration presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 general fund budget to the City Council on June 9, describing a package of program reductions, staff reductions and targeted investments designed to limit the municipal property-tax increase while paying for worker pay and benefits.
Chief Administrative Officer Shad and finance staff said the recommended budget would reduce the overall general fund by roughly $2 million from the prior year through a combination of program reductions and the elimination of 25 positions. City leaders said those were difficult choices made to reduce reliance on one-time federal funds and to move the city toward a more sustainable, multi-year budgeting approach.
Key points presented by the administration:
- The recommended municipal tax increase is “less than 1%” and the administration provided a worked example showing an increase of $35 on a $500,000 home compared with last year. The presentation noted that if the administration had not taken actions to reduce costs, the comparable increase could have been much larger (an illustrative $325 increase on a $500,000 home in a different scenario presented in materials).
- The proposed budget preserves city commitments to employee cost-of-living adjustments, paid-family-leave and health benefits while aiming to right-size management and consolidate IT and grant administration functions.
- Strategic investments remain in place for community health, community safety planning and a newly proposed interim housing strategist role in the mayor’s office intended as an incubation position that could later be integrated into a reconstituted CEDO.
- The mayor’s office said the budget places a high priority on affordability, housing, public safety and climate-related work while acknowledging that federal CDBG funding and other external grants are uncertain for FY26.
Councilors asked whether cuts could be deeper and whether the administration could find additional savings; the mayor answered that the administration had performed a deep review and that further cuts could risk core municipal services. Several councilors thanked staff for the hard work and said they would study budget details before the council’s final adoption votes later in June.
Why it matters: After several years of larger property-tax increases and the use of one-time federal funds, the administration presented a plan intended to stabilize the municipal budget and reduce structural dependency on temporary revenues.
What’s next: The council will consider budget resolutions and related tax-rate items at scheduled June meetings, with final adoption required by charter timelines in late June.
Speakers quoted are taken from the meeting transcript.
Chief Administrative Officer Shad and finance staff said the recommended budget would reduce the overall general fund by roughly $2 million from the prior year through a combination of program reductions and the elimination of 25 positions. City leaders said those were difficult choices made to reduce reliance on one-time federal funds and to move the city toward a more sustainable, multi-year budgeting approach.
Key points presented by the administration:
- The recommended municipal tax increase is “less than 1%” and the administration provided a worked example showing an increase of $35 on a $500,000 home compared with last year. The presentation noted that if the administration had not taken actions to reduce costs, the comparable increase could have been much larger (an illustrative $325 increase on a $500,000 home in a different scenario presented in materials).
- The proposed budget preserves city commitments to employee cost-of-living adjustments, paid-family-leave and health benefits while aiming to right-size management and consolidate IT and grant administration functions.
- Strategic investments remain in place for community health, community safety planning and a newly proposed interim housing strategist role in the mayor’s office intended as an incubation position that could later be integrated into a reconstituted CEDO.
- The mayor’s office said the budget places a high priority on affordability, housing, public safety and climate-related work while acknowledging that federal CDBG funding and other external grants are uncertain for FY26.
Councilors asked whether cuts could be deeper and whether the administration could find additional savings; the mayor answered that the administration had performed a deep review and that further cuts could risk core municipal services. Several councilors thanked staff for the hard work and said they would study budget details before the council’s final adoption votes later in June.
Why it matters: After several years of larger property-tax increases and the use of one-time federal funds, the administration presented a plan intended to stabilize the municipal budget and reduce structural dependency on temporary revenues.
What’s next: The council will consider budget resolutions and related tax-rate items at scheduled June meetings, with final adoption required by charter timelines in late June.
Speakers quoted are taken from the meeting transcript.
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