At a Monday work session, the Fairbanks City Council got a look at Mayor Mindy O’Neall’s first proposed budget since taking the helm. Her term began Oct. 27.
O’Neall’s recommended city spending plan for fiscal year 2026 estimates revenues of a little more than $50.6 million and operating expenses of just under $49.5 million.
That leaves a surplus of about $1.1 million. Conversations between the council and administration Monday suggested a pending collective bargaining agreement with the AFL-CIO will reduce that surplus by about a half million dollars, assuming the contract is ratified. The council last held an executive session to discuss the agreement in late October, the same day O’Neall took office.
Operating expenditures in the recommended budget total about $450,000 more than the 2025 amended budget. That’s to account for increases due to union contracts and six new positions O’Neall is proposing to add, according to the budget.
Those positions include two additional laborers, a public information officer, a second community paramedic, an IT director and a community response coordinator. The community response coordinator is meant to replace three grant-funded positions – the housing coordinator, Crisis Now coordinator and reentry coordinator – which are set to end next year.
Budget work sessions are scheduled to continue throughout this week, as the council hears departmental requests and then considers amendments. The council typically adopts its budget in early December. The city’s fiscal year aligns with the calendar year.