The City Council voted 5-0 Monday to approve the 2026-27 Fiscal Year operating and capital budgets. The approval followed an extensive discussion on the item during a workshop meeting held April 21.
The conservative budget is based on 2026 actuals in sales tax revenue with a one percent reduction applied, equating to a $234,000 reduction in revenue from actuals collected in FY 2025-26. Revenue from use tax, which is sales tax applied to online sales, was budgeted at $5.2 million, a two percent reduction, or $106,000, from actuals collected in FY 2025-26.
The budget was approved as presented during the workshop meeting on April 21 with one exception — the addition of a police officer position. The position was added at the request of Mayor Jim Curd and Ward 1 Councilor Tim Sherrick and was approved by all five Council members. Two officer positions were requested by the Police Department in the early stage of the budget process but were not included in the proposed budget initially due to an expected decline in sales tax revenue for the upcoming year. The department has added 21 police officer positions in the past 10 years but is still four positions short of the optimal number based on national standards.
Potential changes are also pending regarding proposed utility rate increases. Increases in rates are necessary to continue operating the City’s water, wastewater and sanitation services at current levels. Regarding water rate increases in particular, which was discussed at length by the Council on Monday, the increases are driven by the rising cost of materials required for the water treatment process.
While the budget was compiled based on an increase of 13.4 percent for the average residential utility customer, the Council indicated a desire to shift water rate increases from base rates to volumetric rates, or implementing higher increases for households that use more water to alleviate the need to increase rates for households that use less.
It is anticipated the Council will consider how to apply the rate increases next month, potentially in conjunction with the results of a comprehensive water and wastewater cost of service analysis that is currently underway.
The analysis will cover a five-year period and will include rates sufficient to pay for operations, maintenance and known capital expenses — including major wastewater plant upgrades that are mandated by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. The Council is expected to hear the results of the study in June.
For more information, see City Beat April 23, 2026.
View the full final budget at www.cityofbartlesville.org.
Capital projects schedule
The Council also voted unanimously to approve a schedule for capital projects identified through the 2026 Half-cent Sales Tax Extension and the Enterprise Fund 5-Year Capital plans.
The list of projects includes a storm siren upgrade, street improvements, vehicles replacements, materials for drainage improvements and equipment.
See the full schedule here.
BDA, Visit Bartlesville
The Council also approved FY 2026-27 operating budgets for the Bartlesville Development Authority and Visit Bartlesville. The BDA budget includes a $655,088 appropriation and a $202,486 carryover, for a total budget of $857,574. Visit Bartlesville received a $345,000 appropriation, contributing to a total budget of $383,190 including carryover and other revenue.
The BDA serves as the City’s economic development arm and is funded through the 1/4-cent Economic Development Sales Tax. Visit Bartlesville leads the City’s tourism efforts and is funded primarily through the hotel-motel tax. Both the BDA and Visit Bartlesville are governed by individual boards, though funding approval through City tax revenue requires City Council authorization.
For more information, see BDA, Visit Bartlesville budgets approved.