FY2027 budget formation underway
City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr., presented the fiscal year 2027 proposed budget for the City of Dover to the City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.
The proposed budget across all funds totals $227,452,568, an 8.9% increase of $18,523,098. The general fund portion of the budget is $183,077,453, a 7.5% increase of $12,700,828.
More information about the budget, including presentations, meetings, documents, and the complete budget will be added to this page as the budget process continues.
The overall budget includes the school budget, which the School Board adopted at its Jan. 12, 2026 regular meeting. Leading up to the adoption vote, the School Board held six workshops, and a special meeting to receive its initial budget presentation on Nov. 17, 2025. The City Council and the School Board also met jointly on Dec. 3, 2025, to review preliminary budget estimates and tax cap calculation. Video recordings of all budget workshop/meetings and presented documents can be found below.
Sign up for Budget Revealed e-newsletter
During the City Council budget process, City Manager Joyal releases a weekly newsletter that recaps the budget introduction and subsequent departmental budget presentations. Sign up for the newsletter at bit.ly/doverdownload, and select "Budget Revealed" from the list of newsletters.
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Budget Schedule
- Wednesday, March 4, 7 p.m. - Workshop: Departmental Budget Presentations from Police, Fire and Rescue, Library, and DoverNet (Informational Technology)
- Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m. - Regular Meeting with City Budget Public Hearing
- Wednesday, March 18, 7 p.m. - Workshop: Departmental Budget Presentations from Community Services and Recreation
- Wednesday, March 25, 7 p.m. - Regular Meeting: No planned budget discussions
- Wednesday, April 1, 6 p.m. - Workshop: General Budget Review
- Wednesday, April 1, immediately following workshop - Special Meeting: Budget Adoption
- Wednesday, April 8 – 7 p.m. - Regular Meeting: Fallback Budget Adoption Date