Dover begins work on its Fiscal year 2027 budget plan.
This week’s preliminary budget discussion lasted over two hours with council members grappling with the fact they start the process with nearly $6.8 million less to work with than they did a year ago.
Drafts of city budget documents show that the city general fund beginning balance is projected at $4.4 million for FY27 compared to $10.1 million for FY 2026.
Ideas on how the city can reduce costs and increase revenue were both on the table.
Budget teams from each department put together lists of cuts they can make to save the city money- things like Human Resources dropping its holiday party or the planning department dropping a planned vehicle purchase.
Places who saw significant proposed cuts included City Planning, Recreation, and Code Enforcement departments.
Code Enforcement will take the biggest hit- nearly 25% less in investment from the City's general fund, the lion's share of comes from a slash of the department's demolitions by over half.
Council also identified issues with services, like electric, where in FY 26 they operated at a 6 million loss after posting a 21 million profit in FY 25
Councilman President Fred Neil says an electric rate increase must be considered.
“That’s something we can’t avoid. People will come to us and say, ‘we can’t afford it.’ Well, what else are we going to do? We’ve already sold you electric at a lesser rate than what it actually costs us. How long can [we] stay in business that way?” he said.
Councilman Roy Sudler Junior says revenue shortages are a big cause, and the city should consider rehiring help to seek new funding sources.
“I think we need to look at bringing back a grant writer. I think that’s been a major void in our fund seeking initiatives. So, I think we need to bring back a grant writer.” he said.
Sudler adds the City could offer an intern position to students at nearby universities or honors society members in the local high schools for extra help with grant procurement.
The City’s charter requires that a budget be adopted by the 4th Monday in June - that;s June 22nd this year.
