The Centralia City Council held a budget workshop ahead of its regular meeting Monday night and reviewed a balanced tentative budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year as the city expects to both take in and spend more money than in 2025.
City Manager Galen Mahle says the annual budget aims to efficiently meet the needs of the city.
“There have been meetings between myself, Jeremy (Henderson), Kim (Enke), and all of the department heads to make sure that we are putting together a realistic budget that is going to fill the needs and the projects that we have for 2026, but show that we’re good stewards of the finances that we have for the city.”
Overall, 2026 projected revenue exceeds 2025 revenue by $558,000. The main increase in projected revenue comes from the half-cent sales tax that goes into effect January 1, 2026. The sales tax is expected to increase revenue by $922,000. This increase is partially offset by a decrease in use taxes and replacement taxes totaling $176,000.
Expenditure is projected to increase by $1,120,000. Increased expenditure will come from $672,000 in increased personnel expenses due to collective bargaining agreements, $52,000 in increased health insurance costs, and $160,000 in increased pension contributions. These three categories together make up roughly 80% of the total increase in expenditure. Mahle noted that increasing pay for personnel is important to stay competitive with other municipalities and retain valued city employees.
Based on these conservative estimates, the city projects having a $42,000 surplus in the general fund next year.
