City Beat: City’s proposed 2026 budget up by 4.4%

Springfield City Council is mulling a fiscal 2026 budget for the city that represents a 4.4% increase from the current fiscal year.

The proposed budget for fiscal 2026 is $529.8 million, up 4.4% from $507 million in fiscal 2025. That’s larger than the modest gain of 2% from FY2024 to 2025 but smaller than the 11.4% gain from FY2023 to 2024, according to past SBJ reporting

The balanced spending plan was submitted to council by acting City Manager Collin Quigley on April 29 and presented at the May 19 council meeting for the budget year beginning July 1.

The budget shows the largest portion of the city’s revenue, 37%, coming from sales and use taxes at $194 million, with the next largest portion being charges and fees, 28%, at $148 million.

Other revenue sources, rounded to the nearest percentage, are property taxes, 5%; other taxes, 6%; intergovernmental, 7%; licenses and fees, 2%; transfers, 9%; and other resources, 7%.

Roughly 31% of revenue goes to the city’s general fund, with 26% coming from the enterprise fund, covering the airport, clean water services, solid waste and golf, and 23% counted as special revenue, generated by the art museum, emergency communications, law enforcement sales tax, public health, parks, transportation and others, according to a chart from the Finance Department.

Director of Finance David Holtmann said the budget outlines continuing normal revenue growth and operating levels, with 7.5 new positions added within the general fund and 11 new positions proposed from other funds. He noted significant reductions in staffing and other expenses for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board are planned. Holtmann said the park district is endeavoring to address its overall budget and financial stability.

The general fund includes the new three-quarter-cent general sales tax, approved by voters last year, with a quarter cent going toward public safety, including police and fire pension contributions and wage increases, and a half cent going toward future recommendations by the city’s Citizens Advisory Board to fund projects in line with the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan.

Council also heard first reading of an ordinance to set its preliminary tax levy on real and personal property for the upcoming fiscal year. The levy is proposed at $0.614 per $100 assessed valuation.

In 2024, final valuations of real estate, state-assessed utilities and personal property were $3.9 billion, including $3.2 billion from real estate. Estimated valuation for the fiscal year still in progress is $4.1 billion, including $3.3 billion from real estate.

A vote on the budget is scheduled for June 9.

Brody Corners change
Council heard an ordinance proposing a change to the Brody Corners tax increment financing redevelopment plan for a 28-acre development at the intersection of Sunshine Street and James River Freeway.

The change would allow residential use in the redevelopment area, originally proposed in 2022 for a mix of retail, restaurant, office and commercial purposes, according to the staff report on the ordinance. The approved 23-year TIF allows 50% of new sales tax generated in the redevelopment area and 100% of new real property taxes to be redirected as payments in lieu of taxes.

The plan allows for the funding of about $3.4 million in reimbursable project costs for the $27 million development, which involved blight remediation, public infrastructure and site development improvements, according to the report.

The report notes that development at the Brody Corners site has been slow to materialize, with only a Maverik gas station located there so far. The developer is West Sunshine Development LLC, registered to Mike Seitz.

Amanda Ohlensehlen, the city’s director of Workforce and Economic Vitality, told council the developer wishes to incorporate residential units in a mixed-use format behind commercial spaces.

The anticipated cost of residential improvements would be $10.5 million, not to be funded by additional TIF funds, she said.

“This will help to boost the viability of the project and is a market-driven decision,” she said. “Introducing residential uses is expected to make the entire area more attractive for commercial development, thus creating a more vibrant mixed-use environment.”

She said the change is in response to market reality and provides flexibility for the developer to attract additional investment.

There was no discussion from council on the measure, which has a vote scheduled for June 9.

Storm response
Council heard a measure to allocate $1 million of interest revenue toward cleanup of April 29 storm damage, with a vote set for June 9.

Councilmember Monica Horton said she didn’t know if that was enough and noted that she wanted the city to provide curbside pickup of brush or central location of brush disposal for residents. She noted that many residents are still waiting to remove debris from their properties.

Additionally, council approved a proposal to extend a waiver of limb and brush disposal fees at city facilities through the end of May.

Other action items

• Blight declarations and redevelopment plans were given the OK for Pinnacle on the Park at 525 S. Campbell Ave. and the Hampton-Florence redevelopment area on the south side of East McDaniel Street. The moves allow for a 10-year tax abatement on the assessed value of new construction for both projects. The Pinnacle on the Park plan provides for the rehabilitation of the 142-unit public housing development Stillwell Columns Apartments, constructed in 1982, while the Hampton-Florence plan will allow up to 14 new multistory duplexes to be built.
• Council authorized $20 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds for the acquisition and rehabilitation of the 138-unit John B. Hughes Apartments, located at 2100 N. Clifton Ave., at the request of OAHS JB Hughes TC LLC.
• Council considered approval of a $3.2 million bid from JD Wallace Contracting LLC for the LeCompte Road improvement project, which aims to improve the Division Street and LeCompte Road intersection and expand LeCompte to three lanes with a sidewalk. Stormwater infrastructure improvements are also part of the plan. The project is being paid for through a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce and a direct appropriation from the state of Missouri. JD Wallace submitted the low bid, with one other bid of $3.5 million submitted by Emery Sapp & Sons Inc. Both bids were below the city engineer’s estimate of $5.4 million. A vote is set for June 9.
• The savings from some 60 sworn officer vacancies in the Springfield Police Department were put to a new purpose by council at the suggestion of Quigley, with $930,132 of budgeted salary money approved to cover unfunded equipment needs for the SPD. The planned purchases include $228,000 for red dot pistols for all sworn officers, a $158,000 drone and remote deck, a $142,000 recruiting and marketing campaign for the new fiscal year and exterior insulation and finishes for police headquarters. Computers, ammunition and weapons simulation systems are also among the purchases approved.
• The annexation of 49 acres of vacant land in the area of 3830 E. Division St. at the request of East Division Development LLC et al. clears the way for Cooper Estates, a new mixed-density residential development in northeast Springfield.
• Council approved a conditional use permit for a warehousing and storage facility proposed by the General Council of the Assemblies of God on a lot at the intersection of Division Street and Campbell Avenue. Additionally, Good Samaritan Boys Ranch was granted a conditional use permit for a donation drop-off center at 424 E. Norton Road to expand its operations.