Columbia City Council set to vote on $606 million budget for 2027 Monday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council is set to vote Monday on the proposed $606.7 million city budget for fiscal year 2027 following millions of dollars in cuts to the proposed budget.

According to a city document that includes council-approved amendments, the proposed budget is 0.2% lower than what the council approved for the previous financial year. If the budget is approved, it will start when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

The budget has undergone several amendments, including cuts totaling millions of dollars to the Columbia Police Department's original proposal. Public safety is projected to receive about $68.3 million, which is about a tenth of the budget and a 13.6% decrease in funding compared to FY 2026.

About half of the budget is allocated to utilities, which is about $304.8 million, an increase of 6.5% for FY 2027.

The budget is also broken down into categories, and under the proposed budget, the city will spend the most on personnel services, about $179.4 million.

The city expects to receive about $581.5 million in revenue, which is about 4% more than last year. It's also about $25.2 million less than what the city expects to spend.