KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo city budget for 2025 has now been approved.
Commissioners took the vote last night.
Now, work will begin on the 2026 budget. In fact, in some respects, it already has.
Chief operating officer Laura Lam says they have already organized community surveys to get the discussion started with residents.
“It gives us a statistically significant sample, that helps us understand where our community is at.”
Another step will be a commissioner retreat next month to set specific targets and get propose initiatives from the elected officials that staff can begin exploring.
Finance director Steve Vicenzi says a large bond payment is due in 2026.
“Just looking at the 5-year plan in the budget book, we know 2026 is a year where we anticipate a small deficit, returning to normal after that,” Vicenzi says.
He says maintaining a healthy reserve fund will make it possible to cover that.
By the time a proposed budget is finally released in November, it’s already been researched, discussed and mostly agreed upon by staff and elected officials.
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