Finance
The City encourages residents to educate themselves regarding the City budget and the process by which the budget is developed and approved, including opportunities for the public to engage with the City Council. Listed below is information on understanding the City budget and a list of Council Meetings and Work Sessions where the proposed budget was discussed and approved. All meetings are open to the public.
To read the 2026 City Budget Book, click here.
Learn about the City Budget
The General Fund is the main operating fund for the City. It provides funding for many of the services residents expect to receive from the City. For example: the police and fire departments, street and park maintenance, planning, zoning, and building inspections.
Along with those services, the General Fund also funds the City's administrative functions, such as Human Resources, the City Clerk's office, the Elections office, and the Finance department. The General Fund receives its funding in several ways, including grants, state aid, and building permit fees, but its primary source of revenue is property tax revenues.
What is included in the General Fund?
Please note: this pie chart breaks down allocations of the City’s General Fund, but the graph does not include other City funds or reflect other sources of funding that the City leverages to cover expenses. For instance, the City utilizes a fund for the Pavement Management Program, which helps pay for street maintenance and repair, and which is not included in the 14.4% allocation to Public Works seen in the pie chart. For another example of additional funding not included in the pie chart, the City’s Inver Wood Golf Course is funded by user fees, and Veterans Memorial Community Center is partially funded by non-General Fund dollars from the Host Community Fund. These funding sources are not reflected in the 12.2% of the General Fund allocated to the Parks and Recreation Department seen in the chart above, even though Parks and Recreation oversees the golf course and VMCC.
In addition to the General Fund, the City Council also approves budgets for the following funds:
- Community Center
- Debt Service
- Economic Development Authority (EDA)
- Pavement Management Funds (PMP)
- Utilities (Water, Sewer, Storm)
- Inver Wood Golf Course
- Host Community Fund (HCF)
- Visit IGH Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB)
Public Meetings scheduled for 2025 in preparation for 2026 Budget approval:
2026 Budget items on this meeting agenda:
- Draft: General Fund Budget
- Draft: Property Tax Levy
- Draft: Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Presentation
Watch a video of the meeting here.
2026 Budget items on this meeting agenda:
- Veterans Memorial Community Center Funds - Operating & Capital
- Economic Development Authority Fund (EDA)
- Host Community Fund
- Debt Service Funds
- Pavement Management Fund
- Internal Service Funds: Technology, Risk Management, Central Equipment, City Facilities
- Public Safety Small Equipment Fund
Watch a video of the meeting here.
2026 Budget items on this meeting agenda:
To view the Preliminary General Fund Budget and Levy presentation given to the City Council, click here (PDF)
Watch a video of the meeting here.
2026 Budget items on this meeting agenda:
- Opioid Settlement Fund Budget
- Update to Proposed Community Center Budget
- Final Draft of Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) – MOVED TO NOVEMBER 10 COUNCIL MEETING
- To view presentations from this meeting, click here.