City Council approves budget for fiscal year 2026, Sept. 15

At their Sept. 15 meeting, the Columbia City Council approved the City's budget for fiscal year 2026.

The FY26 budget outlines priorities and planned activities for the upcoming fiscal year which runs Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026. The City's priorities for FY26 include public safety, housing and investing in City employees.

"The approval of our FY26 budget positions us to continue meeting the needs of our community. As Columbia grows and the cost of providing services rises, we are committed to pursuing innovative and sustainable approaches to generating revenue," said City Manager De'Carlon Seewood. "By planning proactively today, we can ensure that the programs and services our residents value remain strong for years to come."

Ensuring the safety of the community is a core function of the City, and the prioritization of attainable housing is an important step in helping everyone in the community thrive. Additionally, the City has worked to invest in its workforce over the past three years, including implementing a comprehensive classification and compensation study to ensure it remains a competitive employer.

To ensure each of these priority areas is supported through our budget, the City will utilize around $2.7 million in general fund reserves.

The City's is working diligently to identify additional resources to ensure the City is able to provide the level of service residents have come to expect in future fiscal years.

Budget breakdown

The City of Columbia's total budget is broken down into two parts. The first part is the operation budget, which is the financial plan that covers the day-to-day expenses of all funds, such as salaries, utilities and supplies. This portion of the annual budget is supported by the City's annual revenue sources and must be balanced each fiscal year, as required by the City Charter that states, "In no event shall the total amount of the proposed expenditures exceed the estimated income of the city."

The second part is the capital improvement plan (CIP) budget, which goes to fund current and future capital improvement projects. Capital improvement projects take more than a year to complete, so the funds appropriated for the projects are not spent within the fiscal year they are originally budgeted, making it appear expenditures exceed revenue. The capital budget is supported through multiple funding sources, including bonds, grants and cash reserves.

The FY26 budget is broken down as follows:

The City of Columbia Finance department has been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for the past 27 years.

The award reflects the City's commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the award, the City's budget had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines that measure how well the budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.

City of Columbia Vision
Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.

City of Columbia Mission
To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.