Mayor submits balanced budget; council demands line‑item justification and finance‑committee review

Mayor Ken Matthew presented a proposed balanced budget for fiscal year 2026–27 and formally submitted it to the council: "Now I submit this budget to the city council for their consideration. Respectfully submitted by Ken Matthew, the mayor." The budget, he said, represents his layout by department and aims to close a projected shortfall.

Several council members pushed back, saying the submitted package lacked specificity about the mayor's reported $2,062,000 in reductions. A councilmember noted the city charter requires a proposed budget be filed and available for inspection but argued "nowhere does it say it has to be balanced," adding that the council needed specifics on which positions, operating expenses, or benefits the reductions would affect. Mayor Matthew repeatedly said the council can revise the mayor's proposal during deliberation.

Mayor Pro Tem urged the council to treat the budget as a planning document and to demand details. "We don't have any specificity on these cuts," the Mayor Pro Tem said, arguing that numbers without context risk cutting personnel or services the city needs. Council members asked for line‑by‑line justification and requested that the finance committee review the mayor's changes before the council acts.

The meeting ended with a motion to convene the finance committee in haste to reconcile the figures and provide detailed justifications. The council verbally approved the motion and planned to schedule the committee meeting before the next regular session.