Erie staff proposes $225.7 million 2027 budget, cuts $3.5 million from operating requests

Erie staff is proposing a $225.7 million budget for 2027, including about $3.5 million in cuts to General Fund operating requests. The proposal also retains $4.9 million for a possible interim agreement tied to the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), the budget memo says. The plan is for Council review, not an adopted budget; the agenda schedules a first reading for Oct. 27 and a second hearing and planned adoption for Nov. 10, according to the meeting packet.

Updated budget materials list $225.7 million in proposed revenues and $225.7 million in expenditures across all funds, with a projected $8.6 million net decrease in fund balances, the Oct. 27 presentation says. The revenue total includes debt proceeds and transfers between funds. Excluding those sources, proposed 2027 revenue is $118,953,574, down about 4.1% from $124,069,241 in the adopted 2026 budget, the budget book’s revenue table shows. That comparison still includes sources such as taxes, fees and capital contributions; it is not a measure of operating revenue. Earlier budget materials assumed average General Fund revenue growth of 1.75%.

The proposal funds two police officers, budgeted at a combined $279,000 in salaries and benefits, and a wastewater manager, budgeted at $193,000. Staff said the hires would address rising service demands and provide dedicated wastewater oversight. The proposal also eliminates two vacant Planning and Community Development positions and shifts work from a vacant information technology position to a consulting contract. Staff described the changes as a net increase of 0.5 full-time equivalent, in its budget presentation.

The budget book lists a proposed $4,938,462 FY2027 allocation for NISP property acquisition, funded by the Water Fund. That is the budget line for the $4.9 million earmark, not a second allocation; the project’s 2026–31 forecast totals $43.37 million. The book separately lists $662,500 for FY2027 under NISP Conveyance Easement Acquisitions but does not specify whether that project relates to the possible interim agreement or how the property-acquisition funds would be used under it. Staff expects Council to consider the possible agreement in early 2027. If the town’s direction on NISP changes, Council could de-appropriate the funds or leave them unspent, the budget memo says.

The updated proposal moves the $30.75 million Erie Community Center expansion from the Public Facilities Impact Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund. The project would be removed from the budget if voters do not approve the related sales-tax measure. The latest five-year forecast projects the Capital Improvement Fund reaching a negative $4.95 million balance in 2031; staff says future capital projects can be adjusted to address funding needs, the updated presentation shows. An earlier capital plan listed a 2027 allocation for the center’s design and tied construction to a funding mechanism and Council direction, the capital plan says.