ALTON - As required by Alton City code 1-13-8.B.1, Mayor Goins submitted to the City Council a proposed budget compiled by the City Comptroller covering all municipal activities for the fiscal year that began on April 1, 2026.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
This proposed budget is an internal management tool based upon a careful consideration of departmental needs and fund resources, as presented to the Mayor by the Comptroller and department heads.
A resolution regarding the adoption and use of an internal administrative budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the City of Alton was introduced Wednesday evening by Alderwoman Elliot during the City Council Meeting and referred to the Committee of the Whole, to be discussed on April 20th.
Prior to this budget resolution being introduced, the Mayor and Comptroller shared the draft budget with City Council Members. After providing time to Council to review the document, the Mayor and city staff set aside several days to meet with Council members, answer their questions, and take feedback on where amendments should be made.
Street maintenance is the focus of the 2026-2027 budget. The monies directed to improve Alton’s roadways has been increased by roughly $1 million.
Mayor Goins said, “The condition of our streets is a frequent complaint for our residents. And in my monthly meetings with Council Members, this is also a recurrent topic. Working together with our department heads, we have chosen to make improving our roadways a priority.”
“The City of Alton has 167 miles of streets. If you assume that the average life of a street is approximately 20 years, that means that we need to be rebuilding 8 miles of streets each year to simply maintain the condition of our roadways today. We estimate that 8 miles of roadway being replaced each year will cost approximately $1.5 million in today’s dollars. Previous annual budgets have spent half that. This is a gap we must bridge if we wish to improve our roadways.”
Goins continued, “I would like to thank my staff for their hard work to produce this budget. I would also like to thank our City Council members who have taken the time to engage staff with their questions and comments.” The proposed administrative budget will be available for viewing on the City of Alton’s website, Comptroller page at Appropriations - City of Alton.
