Casey Council Adopts $43.4 Million FY2027 Appropriations Ordinance

Casey City Council Meeting | July 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Casey City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance #650, the city’s fiscal year 2027 appropriations ordinance, setting a $43,383,379 legal spending ceiling built heavily around pending and awarded grant projects.

FY2027 Appropriations Key Points:

• The ordinance appropriates $43,383,379 for the fiscal year running May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027.
• The street fund carries the largest departmental total at $9,367,374, driven by a $3.3 million site readiness grant line and a $1.5 million northwest-side drainage grant.
• Mayor Mike Nichols credited the Finance Committee with building in “grant possibilities” while “cutting quite a bit off our budget.”
• The vote followed a public hearing held earlier Monday evening at City Hall.

CASEY — The Casey City Council on Monday, July 6, 2026, unanimously adopted a $43,383,379 appropriations ordinance for fiscal year 2027, capping a budget process that stretched across multiple Finance Committee sessions in May and June and a public hearing held shortly before the regular meeting.

Ordinance #650, the annual appropriation bill for the City of Casey, sets the maximum lawful spending for the fiscal year that began May 1, 2026, and ends April 30, 2027. Mayor Mike Nichols summarized the public hearing for the council, saying the committee and City Treasurer Gail Lorton walked through comparisons between the fiscal year 2026 and 2027 budgets and that no questions were raised. Alderman Jeremiah Hanley moved to approve the ordinance, Alderman Tanner Brown seconded, and the roll call passed with all six aldermen voting yes.

“Thanks for the work and the effort we went in there,” Nichols said, publicly thanking the Finance Committee and Lorton. “We got everything done the way we wanted appropriations, including the grant possibilities, and at the same time cutting quite a bit off our budget and being fiscally responsible with the city’s money.”

Grant Projects Drive the Totals

Much of the appropriation total reflects grant-contingent projects the city has applied for or expects to pursue, which must be appropriated to be spent if awarded. The street fund’s $9,367,374 total includes a $3.3 million site readiness grant line with a $544,000 city share, a $1,550,000 BOST CPF grant line for streets, curbs and gutters, and a $1.5 million northwest-side drainage grant with a $468,750 city share — the same drainage project that was the subject of a separate public hearing Monday. The fund also appropriates $125,000 each for sidewalks, drainage and a road project, and $500,000 in contingency.

The sewer fund totals $7,697,617.50, including $1,875,000 for the I-70 utility extension project the council advanced Monday night, a $1 million CPF sewer relining grant line with a $312,500 city share, and $1,076,430 in site readiness grant capacity. The electric fund appropriates $8,308,375, anchored by $4,375,000 for electricity purchases, while the gas fund totals $3,637,375 and the water fund $3,131,187.50.

On the corporate side, administration appropriations of $3,751,700 include $2 million for the state’s new CDBG community revitalization grant program plus a $500,000 city share line, and $250,000 for nuisance property abatement — the funding stream behind the city’s ongoing demolition program, which is now working through its third list of condemned structures. The police department is appropriated $2,005,850, economic development $1,112,025 including a $1 million rural development loan line, the airport $1,880,000 including $1,687,500 in pass-through expense, and the park fund $487,975, which includes $37,500 for security cameras and $51,250 for Fourth of July expenses.

The appropriations hearing and adoption close out a Finance Committee process that included work sessions through late May and June. The committee, chaired by Hanley, has also moved toward providing monthly section-level financial reports to the full council.