athens tn annual budget fy2025 2026

Unverified text extraction. Check the original page for numbers, names, and layout.

FY 2025-26 BUDGET OVERVIEW 
 
Budget Amendments 
In accordance with TCA 6-56-208, the city’s adopted budget may be amended during the fiscal year to meet 
the changing needs of the government in the same manner as any other city ordinance may be amended. 
 
Looking Forward to FY 2026-27 
Looking forward to the next  fiscal year and beyond, city staff is projecting a year of continued economic 
uncertainty due to high cost of living and excessive consumer prices, elevated home mortgage rates, general 
national and global  unrest, supply chain issues, labor shortages, and less federal aid. Several issues have 
been spotlighted that will need attention in the next fiscal year and beyond including funding the balance of 
the new F ire Station #3 construction ($2,000,000), funding the new fire station’s annual operating costs 
($800,000), renovating city hall ($4,100,000), expanding city hall to increase capacity ($3,200,000), further 
improving the downtown area, further improving all  city parks, consider completing the SE TN Trade and 
Conference Center for economic development purposes, resurfacing additional streets, creating a stormwater 
utility, enhancing EMS services, and adding several new full -time employees in the areas of I nformation 
Technology, Police Department, Fire Department, and Public Works, among other issues.   
 
The preceding information is intended to provide the City Council with a broad overview of the proposed 
FY 2025-26 budget. A budget work session will be held to review and discuss the proposed budget along 
with other opportunities to review and discuss the proposed budget during the May Work and Regular 
Sessions and the June Work and Regular Sessions before the budget ordinance is due to be approved in late 
June 2025.  
 
Respectfully submitted,  
Randall Dowling 
City Manager 
 
Changes to the Proposed Budget 
 
The following changes were made to the proposed budget during the various budget work sessions. 
 
1) Carried forward $285,000 from the previous fiscal year’s Information Technology budget in the General 
Fund to update the city’s IT infrastructure.  
2) Added $110,000 to the North City School demolition budget in the Capital Improvement Fund based on 
the actual bid.  
3) Added $40,000 to prepare a planning study to renovate and expand city hall in the Capital Improvement 
Fund as approved during the May 20, 2025 regular session.  
 
The total of these changes is $435,000 and $285,000 will come from General Fund reserves and $150,000 
will come from Capital Improvement Fund reserves.  
10