Despite the backdrop of economic shifts and future financial unknowns, Naperville officials are proposing a balanced 2026 operating budget and capital improvement program, based on preliminary information.
Top-level city staffers had the second of three budget-related workshops with the city council Tuesday, Oct. 28. The initial workshop, held in late September, focused on capital projects.
A big-picture look at revenues and expenditures
As both sides of the city’s financial ledger came into sharper focus in recent months, pieces of the puzzle came together. The city’s vote in September in favor of a continuation of the 1% grocery tax, for instance, provided clarity on what historically has been a reliable revenue stream.
But even with the grocery tax in place, Finance Director Raymond Munch early this year indicated Naperville was still set to face a $2.5 million deficit in the year ahead if a status quo approach to the budget continued. Updated projections in August inched the figure higher to $4 million…