Mayor's budget code changes drop off Homer council's Monday agendas

Mayor Rachel Lord's proposed changes to Homer's budget code are no longer on the Homer City Council's agendas for Monday, Oct. 26. The measure appeared on a tentative agenda for the council's Committee of the Whole, but the final agenda, posted Oct. 23, lists no discussion topic. Neither agenda explains why.

Alaska News reported Oct. 17 that Lord had proposed the changes, with council discussion set for Oct. 26. The tentative regular meeting agenda recommended introducing the ordinance Oct. 26 and holding a public hearing and second reading Nov. 9. The final regular meeting agenda, also posted Oct. 23, introduces two other ordinances but not the budget measure.

The city's meeting calendar lists as canceled the 4 pm worksession that was to cover the measure.

Lord told the council Oct. 12 that at the next meeting she would bring forward "an ordinance amending the section of City Code related to setting the City's budget," according to unapproved minutes in the Oct. 26 meeting packet.

The ordinance's text has not been published. The tentative agendas listed it by title only, and the Oct. 26 packet does not include it.

The chapter it would amend governs the budget, including budget assumptions, the city manager's budget message and the requirement that the budget be balanced, according to the city's adopted two-year budget. Under current code, Homer adopts a two-year budget every second year of a mayoral term. The city manager presents preliminary budget assumptions by the third Friday in April and a budget proposal by the third Friday in May. The council adopted the current budget, covering the fiscal years ending June 30, 2026, and June 30, 2027, on June 9, 2025.

The council's next regular meeting is Monday, Nov. 9, at 6 pm.