The City of Ridgefield has released its proposed 2026 operating and capital budget. The 2026 proposed budget includes $81 million in expenditures and $80.1 million in revenue. 

Public hearings on the 2026 proposed budget will be held at the City Council meetings on November 6, November 20 and December 4. 

Review the 2026 Proposed Budget

About the 2026 Budget:

The 2026 Budget represents the proposed fiscal plans for the City of Ridgefield for the 2026 calendar year. It brings together the direction and policies of our City Council working in a collaborative effort with the citizens, budget advisory committee, City staff, and other interested parties, and best determines the financial resources available to establish the operating and capital plans for the next budget cycle. 

As the City transitions from a dependence on residential construction to a more sustainable ongoing retail sales tax structure, the following goals were identified by the Budget Advisory Committee and City Council.

• Maintain the current level of service for all public services provided to the Ridgefield community.
• Provide the necessary staffing to support the current level of service.
• Provide the necessary resources to maintain the level of service through the transition period.
• Protect policy reserve levels in the General Fund through the transition.
• Maintain sufficient fund balance to pay debt service on current General Obligation Bonds and potential future debt issuance.
• Focus on current capital projects that are in process.

The 2026 Budget was developed based on the Council's adopted financial and budget policies and current and future economic forecasts. These policies provide the framework for the budget, starting with a baseline, a review of new requests/initiatives to determine what can be funded, staff and staff allocations, and the development of the special revenue and capital project budgets. The baseline budget requires the use of realistic revenue estimates and a modest level of increases in ongoing expenditures to account for growth, contractual obligations, and inflation. Baseline budgets are based on projecting current revenues that will fund the cost of providing core services. It excludes one-time only revenues and expenses, such as grants and capital purchases. New requests or initiatives are then received from each department based on staff knowledge of anticipated needs or implementation of Council policy. The capital budgets are developed from the approved capital facilities plan and prioritized based on critical needs, available funding, and what can reasonably be accomplished by City staff.