PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Peoria City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday holding the first preview of the city's budget, with pensions being the biggest talking point.

The 2026-2027 Biennial Budget invests more than $298 million into the city's six strategic priorities, which include infrastructure, community safety, business growth, downtown development, embracing equity and improving our quality of life.

City councilors, after previewing the full budget, dived into its police and fire pensions. The city needs to fund 90% of its public safety pension by the year 2040.

To solve this, they will increase year by year how much money they put into the police and fire pension. In 2026, that will cost $39.3 million, or 29.8% of the general fund revenue, according to the city's comptro

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