The Columbia City Council is set to host its final public hearing for the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget on Tuesday.
The council will consider the more than $603 million budget ahead of a final vote on Sept. 21, as well as end-of-year budget adjustments, fee increases for permits and sewer utilities, and parking changes for rideshares downtown.
The fiscal year 2027 budget projects about $574 million in revenue, $547 million in operating expenditures, $56 million in capital improvement projects and $603 million in total expenditures, according to council materials.
Columbia's proposed budget, which covers city spending from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, is about $5 million less than the previous year's budget, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Daniel Boone City Building, 701 E. Broadway. The council typically meets on the first and third Mondays of each month, but this meeting was moved for the Labor Day holiday.
Pricing and budget adjustments
While the council will not vote on the annual budget at this meeting, it will decide on price increases to some city services.
The city requested to raise various sewer utility rates, such as increasing the sewer connection fee from $2,400 to $2,800 per dwelling unit, according to council documents.
These changes are "expected to be revenue neutral," but some customers will see increases and some will see decreases to their monthly bills, according to council materials.
Further, the city's Sanitary Sewer Utility Rate Study recommends a 3.25% revenue increase in fiscal year 2028 and the following fiscal years, according to council documents.
Additionally, the city has asked to raise monthly parking permit rates in designated 10-hour metered zones from $35 to $50.
This has not been updated since 2015, according to council materials.
The council will also weigh whether to amend the fiscal year 2026 budget to allocate an additional $18 million for the fourth quarter.
Rideshare changes downtown
Last August, the Columbia Police Department noted a rise in traffic congestion related to rideshare operators, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, as well as patrons violating traffic laws downtown, according to a council memo.
"The traffic violations and congestion stem from inadequate places for rideshare operators and patrons to utilize those services," the memo reads.
The department later worked with Uber and Lyft to test designated pickup and drop-off zones where metered parking had been temporarily blocked off, according to the council document.
This shift showed a "dramatic reduction in traffic violations and an overall improvement in pedestrian safety," according to the memo.
In response, the city is requesting to increase taxi and rideshare stands from 34 spaces to 66 spaces and start operating the stands two hours earlier at 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m.
"In the past, it was common to utilize these services at the end of the night to leave downtown," the memo reads. "It is now much more common to utilize these services to arrive downtown earlier in the evening."
The time shift will also allow police to address parking violations earlier, according to the memo.
The proposed ordinance will permit temporary parking for food and package delivery drivers, as well as impose a 15-minute loading and unloading time limit.
It also allows for emergency services to park in those areas during operating hours.
A diagram attached to the proposal shows updated rideshare locations along East Broadway, East Walnut, North Ninth Street, South Tenth Street and Cherry Street.
Other items
The council will also take a formal vote to impose a 1% public safety sales tax. Voters narrowly approved it on Aug. 4 by a vote of 15,042 in favor and 14,957 against it, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
This item also requires the city manager to provide an annual report on revenues and expenditures from the tax, which is estimated to provide $38 million in revenue annually.
The council will also vote on new restrictions for special events permits.
A proposed ordinance update would clarify that these permits are for occasional activities requiring public property or city services beyond normal operations.
In the past several years, the city noticed an increase in requests from commercial businesses, which has strained city staff, public safety resources and public access to the right-of-way.
The amendments would establish an annual limit of five special events permits for commercial businesses, organizations, property owners and affiliated entities.
The council was set to vote on establishing the new Creekside Community Improvement District, but the developer required additional time to evaluate costs, clarify scope and review proposed infrastructure improvements, according to a council memo.
The applicant and city staff requested tabling the measure until the Nov. 2 council meeting.
Mike Parks will be sworn in as head of Columbia's new Airport Department after serving as Columbia Regional Airport manager for nine years.
Columbia's Finance Department will also present the monthly finance report.
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