TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Tucson is recommending a $2.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, a $53 million increase over 2026.
The city invited the community to attend an information session on the recommended budget for next year at the Udall Recreation Center presented by Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Anna Rosenberry.
The budget invests in core services, infrastructure, public safety, housing, and parks while maintaining a balanced budget and planning for the future. A large piece of the budget is the General Fund, which meets community needs such as parks and recreation, transit, and the police and fire departments.
After hearing from the public, the city manager will not be making cuts to what the community deems a priority.
"His recommendation does not include closing any fire stations, making changes to the operations of the pools or closing any recreation centers," Rosenberry said.
City officials admit not much money will be coming in, so they will have to make do with what they have.
"The departments will be leaving some positions open, unfilled for a period of time for the year and really managing the personnel budgets that they’ve been given in order to land us in the right spending spot for the coming year," Rosenberry said.
While the General Fund is flexible, Special Revenue Funds have restrictions and certain requirements for their use. For example, a one-time funding of $2 million to pay for the replacement of copper wiring due to theft will be funded from the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF).
The City of Tucson is also proposing an increase in certain rates and fees for services like water, trash collection, building permits, transportation, and parks and recreation programs to bring in more revenue.
READ MORE: Tucson holds community meetings over proposed rate increases for water and other city services
Tucson Parks and Recreation proposes rate and fee increases
Three more information sessions are scheduled.
The public hearing on the recommended budget will take place during the City Council meeting on May 5 before the vote on May 19.
Check out the budget to learn more about how the funds are being divided.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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