LANSING — After months of presentations and discussion, the City of Lansing has its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
City Council approved the 2026-27 fiscal year budget, which begins on July 1, during its May 18 meeting. The $307 million budget includes $182 million in the general fund and some increased fees or fines, with some of the largest increases for building code violations.
“I would like to thank everyone at this table for actively participating in the process,” City Council President Peter Spadafore said during the meeting, while acknowledging work from the finance department and other city offices.
Spadafore highlighted, among other aspects of the budget, three new detention officers that will allow five Lansing Police Department officers to move to patrol work, along with six officer positions with money from state revenue sharing grants. The budget also includes continued funding for community violence intervention programs like Advance Peace and the Lansing Empowerment Network.
“In neighborhoods, we’re talking about $1.5 million for sidewalk repair, increased road paving and, everyone’s favorite, continuation of the (combined sewer system) separation project, but we know that’s necessary,” said Spadafore, the 4th Ward representative.
Council began its budget process months ago when it sent Mayor Andy Schor’s administration its budget priorities. Schor submitted his budget proposal in March and council heard budget presentations from department directors through early May. The process concluded on Monday, May 18, including a four-minute Committee of the Whole meeting and about five minutes of budget discussion during the regular City Council meeting.
Councilmember Adam Hussain, who represents the city’s 3rd Ward, said the lack of debate during the May 18 meeting wasn’t a sign that city officials or council members aren’t serious about a budget that reflects the city’s and residents’ priories, but instead a better working relationship between council and city administration.
“The last few years with Mayor Schor’s administration, I think you guys have done a fantastic job and really, almost an unprecedented job,” Hussain said, “in terms of actually recognizing this council’s work and working to balance that, obviously, with different departmental request and things of that nature.”
For example, Hussain said the while budget’s $1.5 million for sidewalk repairs isn’t enough for every block that might need work, it’s far higher than the $200,000 a year included in the budget when he was first elected about 10 years ago.
In a statement, Schor said he was “excited that the process was so smooth” and that there was agreement on funding for many issues, including public safety, roads, sidewalks, housing and homelessness.
“The proposed and passed budget reflects our priorities for the City of Lansing,” he said. “Putting together the city budget is a collaborative process that includes the priorities of the Mayor, the City Council-passed budget priorities, as well as taking input from residents and departments on the needs and wants to have our city continue to grow and thrive.”
In addition to approving the budget, council also took steps to get quarterly reports of transfers between certain funds, which is allowed by the city charter. The wastewater, flood control, major and local street and parking systems funds will be among the reports.
Information technology costs were one item that increased in most budgets, which department heads attributed to rising IT costs in general.
What’s in the budget
The 2026-27 general fund budget will be $182 million, up from the current $173 million general fund budget.
The public works department has one of the broadest sets of responsibilities in the city, including snowplowing, road repairs, sidewalks, sewers, garbage collection and property maintenance. Its $145 million budget is down about $7 million, or 4.2%, from the current budget.
However, the department will have $41.4 million for road work, including about $17.3 million for local streets and $100,000 for permanent speed bumps, although the city has not determined the exact locations for the speed bumps, officials said.
The Lansing Police Department budget is $63.7 million, a 3% increase from the current budget. Police Chief Rob Backus told council in April that his budget priority was hiring. The current budget adds six positions for new officers and adds detention officers for the city’s lockup, which will allow five officers to move to patrol work.
The Lansing Fire Department’s budget is $48.8 million is about 7.7% higher than the current budget, but includes three new firefighters. Increases, in part, came from inflation and an increase in call volume, particularly with medical calls, Lansing Fire Chief Carrie Edwards-Clemons told council in March.
The city’s budget also includes two new call center agents in the city’s 311 center, $4 million for fleet vehicle purchases and $800,000 for the pod community to shelter people who are homeless.
The budget comes with some increased fees or fines, with some of the largest increases for building code violations. The fines for first and subsequent violations will double, going from $150 to $300 for a first offense, $250 to $500 for a first repeat offense and from $500 to $1,000 for a second repeat offense, according to city documents. Earlier this year the city made other changes to its building inspections process, including a revamped system for tagging residential properties considered unsafe.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing council OKs budget with $41.4M for roads, $1.5M for sidewalks
Reporting by Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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