Gilbert officials were presented with a sobering financial outlook during a town council retreat Dec. 8, and the message from budget staff was blunt.

“Fiscal '27 is going to be worse than fiscal '26, and we know '26 was a really tight budget year with a lot of things on the cutting room floor,” Budget Director Kelly Pfost said.

Pfost detailed rising operating costs, slowing revenue growth and a widening gap between available funds and service demands heading into the fiscal 2026-27 budget process. Council is scheduled to adopt the budget in June 2026.

Pfost reported that requests for the upcoming budget already exceed $80 million when combining ongoing general fund needs, one-time funding and capital improvement projects.

That total includes about $36 million in ongoing staffing and op

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