Proposed city budget comes in just shy of $80M, 4.5% over last year

There will be opportunities for public input on the budget on May 13 and May 20. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester City Manager Katie Ambrose presented the city's proposed operating and capital budgets for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 at the City Council workshop meeting on Tuesday.

The proposed budget, inclusive of City, County, and School appropriations, comes in $337,280 below the tax cap. The proposed budget is based on the allowable FY 2026 tax effort of $79,552,624, an increase of $3,447,725 (4.5%) over FY 2025, calculated per City Charter requirements by applying 2.95% CPI and 1.58% Net New Construction to the FY 2025 tax effort of $76,104,899.

The proposed FY 2026 budgets break down as follows:

• City & County Budget: $176,260 below the tax cap
• School Budget: $161,020 below the tax cap
• Total: $337,280 below the tax cap

In developing the budget, departments were directed to limit Operating and Maintenance budget increases to 3%, exclusive of salaries and benefits. Any budget increases beyond this threshold required a formal "Issues & Options" Departments submitted 23 such requests totaling $1,526,719, of which 13 were included totaling $586,320, and 10 were excluded totaling $940,399.

The FY 2026 Capital Improvements Plan Budget is proposed at $34,731,602, supporting a variety of long-term infrastructure and departmental needs.

The FY 2026 General Fund is supported by revenues of approximately $56.7 million for City services and $78.4 million for the School Department. A full breakdown of revenue sources and expenditures is available in the budget documents.

City Council will host a Budget Retreat at City Hall on May 9, beginning at 9 a.m. during which the council will review information related to the operating and capital improvement budgets for various municipal departments.

There will be opportunities for public input on May 13 and May 20. Community members can participate, either in person or by submitting written comments in advance. Visit www.rochesternh.gov/getinvolved to learn more about providing input.