President Nash opened the council's Nov. 12 meeting by presenting the proposed 2026 budget and urging confidence in the package that staff and council prepared. “Honestly, looking at this year's budget, it's the leaniest I've seen yet,” Nash said, praising Treasurer Brian Adams and Mayor Landrigan for their work.

The council then discussed the document at length before voting to approve the annual budget. Councilor Anderson, a member of the finance committee, described the review process and the limits councilors face when trying to change large, fixed portions of the budget: “If I had to sum it up in a word personally, it would be frustration,” Anderson said, arguing the council has limited authority over salaries, overtime and other large items and that routine board-of-estimate transfers further constrain council control.

Anderson said he proposed approximately $100,000 in cuts to reduce the tax increase but was unable to secure the five votes needed to adopt an amendment. He also told colleagues the council would have had to find about $400,000 in reductions to eliminate the tax increase entirely. Councilor Spry said she supported the council's careful review and endorsed the final package.

After the discussion, the council voted by voice to carry Ordinance 9822, approving the annual budget for 2026.

The budget approval follows multiple review sessions with department heads and was described by council leaders as intended to keep services while limiting spending. The council noted that some items are constrained by external rules or prior commitments and that staff will continue to monitor reimbursement and capital-project spending.

Next steps: the ordinance was carried at the Nov. 12 session; councilors said treasurer and staff will continue project-closeouts and reimbursement tracking at the December meeting.