Monday, October 26, 2026 City Council Study Session

The City of Airway Heights City Council study session on October 26, 2026, covered the proposed 2027 budget, federal funding priorities, utility projects, and city property use. Staff presented a balanced $15.59 million general fund budget, noting personnel costs of about $11.3 million and ongoing contracted-service costs, including $275,000 year-to-date for Cycrest and about $400,000 for Payne Hamblen legal services. The budget discussion highlighted rising costs and relatively flat recurring revenues; no budget adoption vote was taken. Staff also reported that the city’s grant consultant had identified 118 potential grant opportunities, with eight awards totaling $1.71 million. A Department of Commerce grant application was among the top 10 recommended to the legislature; if approved, its $400,000 would be matched dollar-for-dollar by local businesses for facade improvements, up to $20,000 per business. Federal priorities discussed included $1.5 million for law-enforcement upgrades, a municipal court construction request submitted to a Senate subcommittee, a proposed $1.5 million childcare and youth center request, and fire-equipment funding options of $700,000 or $2 million. These requests were pending, not awarded.

On infrastructure and operations, staff recommended a $48,316.19 Century West amendment for additional Southside Lift Station engineering, bringing the work order total to $213,316.19; the added amount would be covered by ARPA funds, but no approval vote is shown in the transcript. Staff also described a proposed two-year, fully reimbursed agreement with the Air Force for city operation of the PFAS filtration system, to be brought to council for approval later, and an eight-month extension of a sewer-related intergovernmental agreement. Council voted 5–1, with one abstention, to remove the former fire station at 1208 South Lundstrom from real-estate listings and retain it for city and public-safety use. Staff estimated this could save about $12,000 annually in current costs and reduce future public-services-building costs by approximately $2.8 million, plus about $30,000 annually in operating costs. The interim city manager also reported seeking updated job-description and salary work and cost proposals from executive recruitment firms for the city manager search; no firm had been selected.