LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - With uncertain revenues and the rising costs of goods and services - municipal budgets are tight, including the City of Lima's.
Mayor Sharetta Smith has submitted the city's 2026 budget to council that reflects a 9% reduction from the 2025 budget. It's estimated at $45.9 million. The mayor says the budget represents discipline without disruption by tightening where applicable while maintaining safety services for residents and maintaining neighborhood stability.
"We were able to look at each of our departments and right size our labor force for each of our departments," said Smith. "We were we did shift some workers from one department to another to reduce strength on the general fund, but we feel like that these decisions that we made for 2026 is going to put us in a position to be able to remain fiscally strong for the coming years."
Council will begin its formal review of the budget in the coming weeks after the first of the year.
