General Fund request follows two years of $90,000 in city support as Salina works through a projected budget shortfall

Salina Grace is requesting $100,000 from the City of Salina for 2027, an increase of $10,000 over the amount approved for the organization in the current city budget.

The proposed allocation would come from the city’s General Fund. Salina Grace received $90,000 for 2026, making the new request an increase of approximately 11.1%.

The request is part of the city’s proposed funding for outside agencies. Commissioners did not discuss the Salina Grace allocation separately during the recent budget study session. Instead, they reached a general consensus to leave all outside agencies at their requested funding levels as staff continues preparing the 2027 budget.

That direction was not final budget approval. The commission can still change the amount before adopting the budget.

Funding has remained at $90,000

City records show Salina Grace was approved for $90,000 in both the 2025 and 2026 budgets.

When the organization presented its 2026 request to commissioners last year, Salina Grace asked for the same $90,000 it had received for 2025 and described the request as carrying no increase. The city ultimately included the full amount in its adopted 2026 budget.

The proposed $100,000 allocation for 2027 would therefore be the organization’s first increase in at least three city budget cycles.

The city’s current budget materials identify the requested amount but do not provide a detailed breakdown explaining how Salina Grace would use the additional $10,000. The materials also do not identify new services, staffing costs or specific operating expenses connected to the increase.

Organization reported shelter, meal and resource services

In its presentation to commissioners last year, Salina Grace reported providing 2,246 nights of emergency shelter, serving 622 unique clients and distributing more than 16,000 meals.

The organization reported a fiscal-year operating budget of approximately $570,000 at that time. It also said community donations had supported renovations and expanded services, including new laundry and shower facilities.

Salina Grace currently operates a Community Resource Center at 315 S. Broadway Blvd. Its services include a daytime shelter, free lunches, showers, laundry, clothing assistance, internet access, help obtaining identification and completing applications, and connections to other community resources.

The organization also operates a winter emergency shelter at Grand Avenue United Methodist Church from Nov. 15 through March 15. The shelter accepts men, women and families.

Salina Grace describes its approach as a wraparound model intended to connect people experiencing homelessness with housing, employment, health care, treatment and other services that could help them move toward stability.

Request comes amid General Fund shortfall

Salina Grace is one of several outside organizations requesting money from the city’s General Fund.

The proposed 2027 General Fund budget currently has an estimated shortfall of approximately $738,000. That projection already assumes outside agencies receive their requested amounts, city employees receive a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment and up to a 1.5% merit increase, and employee health-insurance premiums rise by 5%.

General Fund support for the outside agencies listed in the city’s budget presentation would rise by approximately $63,058 overall.

Salina Grace’s $10,000 increase represents part of that total. Other General Fund increases include approximately $50,558 more for OCCK and $2,500 more for Sky Fire. Funding for Salina Tennis, the Municipal Band, Salina Liberty and the United Way would remain unchanged.

The city is separately considering whether to retain its existing property-tax rate or raise it. Keeping the existing mill rate would allow the city to collect approximately $605,000 more than it would under the lower revenue-neutral rate because the city’s overall property valuation has increased.

Additional homelessness grant request is separate

The proposed $100,000 General Fund allocation is separate from federal homelessness funding administered through the city.

Earlier this year, the city included Salina Grace in its application for a 2026 Emergency Solutions Grant. Under that application, Salina Grace requested $50,000 for emergency-shelter operations and $750 for homeless-information-system expenses.

That federal grant request requires a 100% match from the nonprofit and does not require the city to provide the matching money. The final award amount is determined by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation.

Final decision remains ahead

Commissioners have so far indicated support for including Salina Grace’s full $100,000 request in the working budget, but no final appropriation has been adopted.

Before final approval, commissioners could maintain the request, reduce it, remove it or require additional information about how the money would be spent.

As currently proposed, Salina Grace would receive $100,000 from the City of Salina’s General Fund in 2027, an increase of $10,000 from its current city support.