FY 25-26 Final Adopted Budget

Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council:

I am pleased to provide you with a copy of the 2025-26 Annual Budget and 2026-27 Projected Budget. This document was prepared by the City’s Budget and Evaluation Department and represents a comprehensive publication of the City’s budget plans and policies for the upcoming fiscal year. The document includes a second year planning budget that gives us the opportunity to continue planning for and implementing the Strategic Framework. I presented the recommended FY 2025-26 budget to Council on May 20, 2025 and both hard copy and electronic versions were available for public review. The Council held three budget work session and a public hearing on the proposed budget before adoption. A series of council district based community meetings were also held to encourage the community to participate in the budget development process. City Council adopted the 2025-26 annual net budget, totaling $830,557,660 on June 17, 2025. The adopted FY 25-26 budget is 3.6% higher than the revised FY 2024-25 budget. The adopted budget addresses multiple Council priorities, maintaining a balanced approach to both service delivery and fiscal responsibility. This year’s budget includes funding for critical areas such as public safety, infrastructure, and economic development, while also addressing the rising costs of services and inflationary pressures on personnel and operational expenditures. The budget also continues to support our employees. The budget increases the minimum wage for all benefited positions to $20.00 or $41,600 annually and includes a 4% compensation adjustments for benefitted employees. Funding is also included to maintain insurance and retirement commitments with limited impacts on employees. The 2025-26 and 2026-27 budget columns in this document, as well as the narrative, reflect the budget as adopted by Council with changes made during Council deliberations. The Manager’s Message, however, is included as it was presented with the Recommended Budget. The overall property tax rate of 67.25 cents is unchanged from the previous year.

On behalf of the employees of the City, I thank you for your continued leadership and support of our efforts to meet your priorities in the delivery of high quality services to the Greensboro community.

Respectfully,

Nathaniel “Trey” Davis, III City Manager