Kenai council adopts FY2027 budget after last‑minute amendments
June 04, 2026 | Kenai, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
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Kenai’s City Council adopted the FY2027 budget on June 3 after approving several last‑minute amendments to the draft ordinance. The council enacted ordinance 3523‑2026 as amended by unanimous voice votes during a meeting at Kenai City Hall.
The council’s action front‑loads funding for operations and capital: the ordinance commits $4,584,359 of general‑fund balance for future capital improvements and updates the FY2027 salary schedule and classification plan that take effect July 1. Council members approved an amendment to add $46,420 (for a total increase to the grants‑to‑agencies line) to fund the Peninsula Piranha Swim Team’s request to help cover utility costs should the team reach an agreement to operate the Kenai pool.
Why it mattered: Council members said the changes respond to community needs and operational opportunities. City Manager Eubank told the council, “what this amendment does is it puts the funding in the budget to allow us to issue a grant,” and cautioned that grant execution would require a separate agreement before dollars are distributed.
Other approved amendments included a pilot to use aviation‑tracking databases to bill transient airport activity (the administration estimated roughly $130,000 a year in additional revenue could be captured and that the vendor would charge about 12 percent of revenue collected), and a capital appropriation of $180,000 to upgrade council‑chambers audio‑visual systems intended to improve recordings, livestreams and accessibility. Council also discussed—but later rescinded for separate discussion—an HR professional‑services line item that had been reduced for the purpose of tonight’s review.
The council’s action placed several items in the adopted budget while preserving follow‑up steps: the Piranha grant still requires a negotiated grant agreement, and the AV appropriation will proceed through procurement and project scoping before purchases. After votes on amendments and final reading, the ordinance passed with the required majority.
The meeting included one public speaker on the budget item: Sarah Castimmore, treasurer of the Peninsula Piranha Swim Team, who asked council to support the utility‑cost amendment if the team takes over pool operations. The council concluded its budget deliberations by making numerical corrections to appropriation totals and approving the ordinance as amended.
The council’s action front‑loads funding for operations and capital: the ordinance commits $4,584,359 of general‑fund balance for future capital improvements and updates the FY2027 salary schedule and classification plan that take effect July 1. Council members approved an amendment to add $46,420 (for a total increase to the grants‑to‑agencies line) to fund the Peninsula Piranha Swim Team’s request to help cover utility costs should the team reach an agreement to operate the Kenai pool.
Why it mattered: Council members said the changes respond to community needs and operational opportunities. City Manager Eubank told the council, “what this amendment does is it puts the funding in the budget to allow us to issue a grant,” and cautioned that grant execution would require a separate agreement before dollars are distributed.
Other approved amendments included a pilot to use aviation‑tracking databases to bill transient airport activity (the administration estimated roughly $130,000 a year in additional revenue could be captured and that the vendor would charge about 12 percent of revenue collected), and a capital appropriation of $180,000 to upgrade council‑chambers audio‑visual systems intended to improve recordings, livestreams and accessibility. Council also discussed—but later rescinded for separate discussion—an HR professional‑services line item that had been reduced for the purpose of tonight’s review.
The council’s action placed several items in the adopted budget while preserving follow‑up steps: the Piranha grant still requires a negotiated grant agreement, and the AV appropriation will proceed through procurement and project scoping before purchases. After votes on amendments and final reading, the ordinance passed with the required majority.
The meeting included one public speaker on the budget item: Sarah Castimmore, treasurer of the Peninsula Piranha Swim Team, who asked council to support the utility‑cost amendment if the team takes over pool operations. The council concluded its budget deliberations by making numerical corrections to appropriation totals and approving the ordinance as amended.
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