Pleasantville council holds budget hearing; officials say tax impact will be finalized after state review

The Pleasantville City Council opened a public budget hearing on July 20, 2026, saying the budget was introduced in June but that the state issued review questions late that afternoon, which will require an amendment before the council can adopt the final budget.

“We received notification from the state to table it because later on, we also have budget amendments and review notes from the state,” said a city official (speaker 6). Auditor Scott Barron confirmed the state’s review typically arrives before the hearing and that the late questions meant the governing body could not adopt the budget that night. “As a result of that, we wouldn’t have been able to adopt the budget if the council had wanted to tonight because there’s much that has to be worked through and then approved by the state,” Barron said.

Residents pressed for specifics about the property-tax impact. Staff said the introduced municipal side of the tax rate showed an increase described in the meeting as "35¢" on a $100,000 assessed value—information staff said remains subject to the amendment and final state approval. “What’s really hurt us in the budget this year has been the health benefit increase,” the official said, noting that health-care costs and insurance premiums are driving the pressure on the budget.

City staff and the auditor said they expected to work with the state on the amendment and hoped to return the amended budget for adoption at the next meeting in August once the state’s questions are resolved. The meeting record shows the body conducted the required public hearing on the introduced budget but did not adopt a final amended budget that night.