Committee reviews Department of Finance budget, NDAs and rising debt service; removes special tax district implementation from FY27 proposal

Council staff walked the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee through the Department of Finance’s FY27 packet, including the operating budget and two Non‑Departmental Accounts (NDAs) for Risk Management and State Property Tax Services.

Staff noted the executive’s operating recommendation increases Finance’s budget by roughly $1.6 million (about 1.17% over FY26), with most items being same‑services. The committee accepted staff’s recommendation to defer the countywide special tax district implementation and administration items from the FY27 budget — a reduction of $230,265 and the deletion of three FTEs from the packet.

Risk Management and State Property Tax Services: the Risk Management NDA carries a projected increase of about $2.4 million (9.8%), driven by actuarial projections of higher claims and rising commercial insurance premiums. The State Property Tax Services NDA (about $1.29 million, 20.1% increase) funds five programs including homeowner/renter credit supplements, SDAT assessments, a new tax‑sales homeowner protection program, and a county supplement to the state renters tax credit. Staff explained part of the increase reflects an SDAT billing correction.

Debt service: the committee received a separate briefing on debt service, which staff said is expected to rise by about $52.57 million (11.1%); geobonds account for about 82% of debt service costs. The executive’s FY27 geobond assumption ($340 million) exceeds the council’s SAG limit ($300 million); staff estimated that adhering to the council SAG would lower FY27 debt service by about $1 million and materially reduce cumulative debt service through FY32 (staff modeled a cumulative $90M+ difference across six years under differing assumptions).

Committee action and next steps: the committee accepted staff recommendations on the Finance packet, removed the special tax district items from reconciliation, and did not take separate action to change debt service appropriations this session. Staff was asked to provide additional six‑year fiscal modeling and to coordinate with OMB and Finance on CIP/paygo options if one‑time funds (for example, potential I‑Tax changes) are made available.

Representative quote: Jed Mallard, Chief of Administrative Services, explained the risk fund change as “an elimination of that expense...we had a return of contribution in FY26 due to excess investment income in prior years. This year we don't have that.”

The committee moved the items to the full council packet with staff adjustments and agreed to follow up on multi‑year debt and CIP planning.