By Guy Page
Just days before a key Burlington City Council vote on the 2026 budget, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak revealed at a press conference Tuesday that city officials are adjusting next year’s budget after discovering a $1.8 million error caused by double-counting commercial property tax revenues, News5 reports.
The Council is set to adopt the 2026 budget next Monday. The fiscal year starts July 1.
In response to the unexpected shortfall, Mulvaney-Stanak unveiled a “shared-sacrifice” plan to close the gap without major tax hikes. The budget already featured ‘austerity’ measures due to a large anticipated budget deficit.
The last-minute budget adjustments would eliminate two of the 10 planned new hires for the short-staffed Burlington Police Department, but would maintain the planned increase in the city’s racial equity office.
Key measures include:
- A pay freeze: the mayor and department heads will forgo cost-of-living increases (COLAs) for up to a year.
- A 25-cent rideshare fee increase at the airport, mainly affecting tourists.
- Limiting municipal property tax increases to about $100 annually for a median-value home, with a net decrease expected due to a school tax rollback.
- Reducing new police hires from 10 to 8.
- Additional savings through hiring freezes, deferred expenses, and new fees—potentially saving up to $2.4 million.
To avoid future errors, the city has removed the problematic tax item from its accounting software. The city council is set to vote on the revised budget Monday.
The cutbacks do not include any staff reductions in the city’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging office, which escaped other, earlier budget cuts unscathed. Mulvaney-Stanak’s budget includes a 10.6% increase to $792,000 for the five-person REIB office.