Following a series of budget workshops, the North Pole City Council tore into the first reading of its 2026 budget on Monday, including pushback from some councilmembers on a lack of transparency.

Mayor Larry Terch recommended a $10.09 million operational budget for 2026, about $582,000 more than the current year’s budget.

“The council has the right to amend, change and edit anything as we go through the process,” Terch said Monday.

On the revenue side, most taxes are expected to come from general sales taxes, set at $5.66 million, followed by property tax revenue at $1.3 million. Alcohol sales taxes at are set at $360,000, online sales taxes at $800,000, tobacco taxes at $125,000, state collected shared taxes at $15,000, licenses and permits at $42,000, fees and services at $1.16 milli

See Full Page