City of Middletown Council Meeting 11.03.2026

The City of Middletown, Ohio, Council meeting on November 3, 2026, included a presentation of the proposed 2027 budget. The proposal projects General Fund expenditures of $60.03 million, up 0.8% from the initial 2026 budget, and identifies about $11.95 million in general capital projects, including street paving, parks, building, and traffic-signal improvements; approximately $8 million for sewer capital projects; $7.21 million for water projects; and $1.65 million for stormwater improvements. These were budget proposals, not budget approvals. Council also discussed a planned neighborhood infill program for 355 city-owned lots, 121 of which were identified as potentially buildable or made buildable through parcel consolidation. Council favored a proposal-based, phased process, with expectations for timely completion and, where homes are built, owner occupancy; staff expects to develop a framework for council consideration in the first quarter of 2027.

Council approved a $2,500 grant for a fire-department hazmat suit tester and authorized a $1-per-year equipment lease for the restaurant at 6 South Broad Street. It also approved an emergency $104,000 change order to Burgess & Niple for additional services related to the Middletown Paperboard brownfield site and its Ohio EPA no-further-action documentation; staff said the cost would be replenished from state brownfield funding. Several procurement items were introduced but not yet acted on: an ODOT-administered $2.8 million State Route 122 resurfacing project, with a $1.4 million city share; a $350,000 HCI contract for Avalon Lift Station rehabilitation, based on the sole quote received; a $600,000 Building Crafts contract for water-reclamation aeration improvements; a $160,000 R.E. Middleton Construction contract for roadway reconstruction; and an extension of SmartBill’s water-bill printing and mailing contract through December 2027. A $220,000 federal safety-planning grant with a $50,000 city match was also presented. These items were scheduled for later consideration or were at first reading.