The Columbia City Council adopted its fiscal year 2027 budget during a meeting Monday night. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The priorities of the new budget include city employees, public safety, affordable housing and maintaining a resilient economy.
“I know that this was a tough budget year for us to come into,” Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said during the meeting. “I’m happy to see that we’ve restored some of the proposed cuts with our last amendments that we did … I did hear good feedback again from people who have attended the budget town halls.”
The vote was unanimous.
Revenue is expected to exceed $581 million during the 2027 fiscal year, up 4% following amendments passed during Monday’s meeting.
Fees and service charges take up more than half of the proposed total revenue, at 59.8%. The largest fund type increase is the Internal Service Funds with a 14.7% increase from fiscal year 2026.
“We're expecting to have an ending available cash balance of about $46 million,” Finance Director Matthew Lue said, adding that “20% of that will go for the cash reserve target, and it should leave us cashed above the target of about $19 million.”
Some residents still disagreed with what they felt were shortcomings in the budget. Jack Meinzenbach addressed renewable energy priorities within the budget and felt they weren’t sufficient.
“When I looked through the budget, I did not see a dollar that did this,” Meinzenbach said. “You have made no progress on renewable energy in the last three years.”
Total proposed expenditures are expected to exceed $606 million, which is a 0.2% decrease. Utilities is the largest functional group expenditure, accounting for more than half of all proposed expenditures, while personnel services is the largest expenditure category, accounting for about 29.6%.
Energy in the home
The council unanimously passed an ordinance to repeal Article X of Chapter 6 of the City Code and adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code.
Out of six proposed amendments, three passed. Those changes will adjust regulations to renewable energy systems, load management requirements and duct system testing.
The amendments that failed to pass would have changed regulations on occupied standby controls, ventilation systems, dwelling unit lighting and thermal envelopes for buildings.
The council also unanimously agreed to delay implementation to April 1.
This change is an effort to make homes more energy efficient, but individuals within the housing industry have argued that the changes may result in higher costs for consumers.
Several community members attended the meeting to oppose the ordinance.
“Tonight is the first time I felt compelled to address the council regarding code changes,” Susan Hart, president of Reinhart Construction, said. “I believe this will have a significant impact on our business community, our commercial construction and housing.”
Other dissenters included real estate agents and engineers concerned that rising costs would result in fewer home buyers.
“We’re deeply concerned about this additional cost because of all of our agents and the home buyers that we may no longer have," Realtor Brooke Sydenstricker McCarty said. “You’d be essentially taking away homes from veterans and a lot of first-time home buyers.”
Additional Columbia residents spoke out in support of the bill due to concerns about climate change and the importance of energy conservation.
“Putting profit before people has put us in a really difficult situation,” Mark Haim, director of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, said. “I’m asking you to do what you can to turn that around.”
Some council members agreed with residents that the ordinance would have a positive impact on the environment.
“It would be a tragedy to stick with the 2018 code,” First Ward council member Valerie Carroll said. “Climate change is real, and the cost of climate change is real.”
Second Ward council member Vera Elwood argued that the benefits to the environment outweighed potential increased housing costs.
“I don’t feel like I have heard enough information about the impact this will have on affordable housing in order for it to not be worth the impact on the (environment),” Elwood said.
Utility 'smartmeters'
The council also was scheduled to vote later Monday night on authorizing the issuance of bonds to pay for a new water and electricity "smartmeter" system that could cost an estimated $41 million.
The new meters, which would make it possible to read meters and keep track of energy use online rather than with manual labor, would be installed at businesses and homes over the next several years.
The new meters would automatically report usage rates to the city while allowing online access to customers for hourly and daily usage information. City officials also said the new meters would result in more accurate billing for customers.
If approved, the total expected cost would be $41.8 million, with additional yearly costs of approximately $640,925. Savings and revenue would increase by $71 million over a 15-year period under the new system, according to city staff.
The council will consider authorizing up to $39.8 million in special obligation bonds, which will be used to pay for the metering system.
Drug enforcement
The City Council was also scheduled to consider an ordinance that would allow Police Chief Jill Schlude and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood to enter the Columbia Police Department into a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force.
The DEA is a federal agency that combats drug trafficking and enforces drug laws across the United States, and it works with local agencies to help investigate drug crimes.
The agreement, according to the agenda, will assign an experienced officer to the task force for no less than two years, and will work under DEA supervision and be deputized as a DEA Task Force Officer.
If approved, the agreement will remain active until Sept. 30, 2031, unless terminated by either party within 30 days notice.
The Columbia Police Department has been involved in the DEA Task Force previously. In 2023, the City Council voted to participate in the task force.
According to a staff report on the agenda, the partnership will give the Columbia Police Department “additional tools, resources, investigative support, and federal partnerships to better address crimes involving narcotics and dangerous drugs.”
