Minutes 03/23/2026 - Laserfiche WebLink

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March 23, 2026 General Fund FY25 Adopted FY26 Adopted FY27 Proposed % Increase $ Increase Total Revenues 326.97 M 339.23 M 360.71 M 6.3% 21.48 M Real Property 130.46 M 136.40 M 143.23 M 5.0% 6.83 M Personal Property 38.07 M 38.87 M 39.62 M 1.9% 0.75 M Other Local Taxes 47.71 M 49.36 M 50.99 M 3.3% 1.63 M Utility Taxes 13.17 M 13.44 M 14.89 M 10.7% 1.44 M Fees 7.18 M 8.09 M 9.59 M 18.6% 1.51 M Intergovernmental 61.06 M 65.33 M 71.22 M 9.0% 5.89 M Other 2.55 M 2.69 M 2.50 M -7.1% -0.19 M Use of Property and Money 6.07 M 7.73 M 6.43 M -16.8% -1.30 M Charges and Transfers 8.15 M 9.31 M 8.59 M -7.7% -0.72 M Fund Balance 12.55 M 8.01 M 13.64 M 70.5% 5.64 M Key Revenue Adjustments To support necessary service improvements and infrastructure investments, the following rate adjustments are proposed:  Real Estate Tax remains at $1.24 per $100 assessed value  Water and sewer rates increase of 5%  Stormwater fees increase $.75 annually (New Rate: $17.00)  Expenditure Summary The FY 2027 Proposed Budget allocates resources to address community priorities while maintaining essential services. Public safety remains the largest category of General Fund spending, reflecting the City's continued investment in police, fire, and emergency services. Personnel costs — including the 3% general wage increase and grade/step adjustments — drive much of the year-over-year growth across departments, while targeted expansions in training, technology, and capital project staffing reflect the strategic commitments outlined in the pillars above. Major expenditure categories include: General Fund FY25 Adopted FY26 Adopted FY27 Proposed % Increase $ Increase by Cate gory 326.97 M 339.22 M 360.71 M 6.3% 21.48 M Personnel 119.06 M 120.88 M 128.97 M 6.7% 8.08 M Contractual 26.45 M 29.50 M 34.32 M 16.3% 4.82 M Other Operating 30.68 M 33.77 M 35.31 M 4.6% 1.54 M Capital 1.74 M 0.19 M 0.20 M 2.6% 0.01 M Debt Service 37.90 M 36.15 M 38.01 M 5.2% 1.86 M Internal Services 20.50 M 22.50 M 20.98 M -6.8% -1.52 M Schools Contribution 78.75 M 82.88 M 89.91 M 8.5% 7.03 M Charges and Transfers 11.91 M 13.36 M 13.02 M -2.6% -0.34 M Debt Management Debt Policy Metrics Analysis The City of Portsmouth maintains three debt policies and is in compliance with all three. The following summarizes each policy and the City's current compliance status. 1. Debt to Assessed Value Ratio less than 4% FINDING: Compliant at 3.1% Factoring in the Pension Obligation Bonds, the city is currently in compliance with its policy related to the assessed value of real property in the city. This metric suggests Portsmouth is utilizing a significant portion of its debt capacity, but future years show a steady decline in the ratio, indicating an ability to fund substantial projects in future years. The city is in the process of reviewing its policies to determine if amending the policy to remove Pension Obligation bonds from the calculation is advisable.