The proposed 2026 budget for the City of Williamsport, which includes a half-mill real estate tax increase, estimates a number of revenue sources that may arrive as planned, or be less than anticipated or not materialize.

The first reading of the 2026 proposed budget is on Thursday. A second reading occurs the following week.

Revenue up and down

Jamie Livermore, director of city finance, noted how she anticipated wage tax increases of $474,000. This nearly half a million dollars is based on speaking with the former treasurer, she said during a budget work session with City Council.

That also is based on recommendations from Public Financial Management (PFM), the Philadelphia-based financial management consulting firm working with the city on its five-year strategic management plan.

The proposed budget added the sale of condemned City Hall of $560,000.

Business privilege is expected to increase by 2% or $150,000, Livermore said.

As anticipated, the TV cable franchise fee is down $35,200, a reduction due to less expected cable usage, which lowers the fee.

Under building permits the city also budgeted $175,000 more, basing it on the income brought in this year and projections for next year. Livermore said she gained that insight through working with Gary Knarr, zoning administrator and Bureau of Codes administrator.

Interest income is down to 80% of what was brought in, Livermore said. “That is due to interest rate drop and the funds from the American Rescue Workers Plan being used up,” she noted.

Other income estimates were provided with less and some more in areas of the proposed budget:

• Rental inspections were down $22,000.

• Miscellaneous fire will be up due to income from the agreement with South Williamsport. That went up $186,000.

• Miscellaneous parks income is up $40,000. That is $250,000 of income from Bowman Field rental fees that normally goes through a special revenue fund will be moved into the general fund.

• The pension contribution was increased 5%.

• Excess 2024 tax revenue was moved into the emergency and reserve fund. That was anything over the tax revenue in ’24. The $250,000 from Bowman Field.

• For the city clerk, a change of $64 is shown in the budget. There is a 2% increase in salary that is in line with at-will employees. The increase in pension and increase for the minimum municipal obligation is offsetted by a decrease in ordinance advertising, according to Council President Adam Yoder.

Under the mayor’s office budget, legal services went down by $5,000, but that is an estimate.

“That is sort of a guessing game,” Mayor Derek Slaughter said. “We never know what we’re going to need legally throughout the year. We looked at the “historical,” and hoping in 2026 we might not have to use that fully, fingers crossed.”

The other area in the office is the money for the Lycoming County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and its spay and neuter program – showing a decrease.

Toward that end, the Williamsport Bureau of Fire will be willing to – and Slaughter said he was sure others would, too – hold some fundraisers for the SPCA.

The Bureau of Law and Legal Services budget removed the Federal Transit Administration legal services work and realigned it with PFM’s recommendation.

“We do think we will realize some savings due to that,” Slaughter said.

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz asked about the contingency funds for the mayor’s office and City Council.

“The Bureau of Law handles the solicitors while the legal services are used for insurance claims such as when the city gets sued and pays for legal claims for those insurances,” Livermore said.

The legislative contingency fund is completely at council’s discretion, she said.

Under the controller’s office, there is a significant decrease due to 2024 and 2025 audit costs and what the city anticipates moving forward now that it is getting clean audits and the finances are being updated. “That is a $132,000 reduction,” Slaughter said. The controller’s office showed an overall reduction in the proposed budget of 30 %.

As for the treasurer and tax collector office, the office shows an increase based on health insurance where most places went up 15 to 16 %, Slaughter noted.

Councilman Jon Mackey asked how many applications for treasurer/tax collector have come in since the resignation of the treasurer.

“We have four,” Slaughter said.

Yoder said it may be unpopular but he asked that the city budget reflected “extra” compensation to the full-time staff member in the treasurer office as she prepares to train another treasurer.

That was discussed but that individual is in the city union and those negotiations must be done with consideration.