At the start of the Nov. 12 meeting resident Christie Bender raised concerns about the city’s adopted 2026 budget. Bender said she requested the updated budget forms in September, received a copy from the city clerk on Oct. 31 and identified discrepancies between the version given to commissioners on Sept. 9 and the adopted document she later received. "As I began to review the pages of this book, I observed that certain pages did not look the same as the previous book given to commissioners on September 9," she said, pointing to changes in mill levy tables, specific line items, totals for 2024 through 2026 and FTE positions.

Bender urged the commission to reexamine the budget document, order an outside audit as soon as possible, and provide taxpayers an explanation of how the city will spend funds next year. Commissioners thanked her for the comment; no formal commitment to an audit was recorded during the meeting transcript.

Provenance: Public comment period, Nov. 12 meeting.