Salisbury's city council voted to repeal the charter article that gives
police, firefighters and other city employees collective bargaining rights.
Then voters petitioned the decision to a referendum, and it is now scheduled
for the city's general election on November 2, 2027.
The council adopted Charter Amendment Resolution 2026-03 on May 26,
2026, by majority vote after a public hearing. It would repeal Article
XXIII of the city charter, which was added by unanimous charter amendment
in 2022.
On July 6 the city clerk received a referendum petition signed by more
than 20 per cent of the city's qualified voters, and on August 10 the
clerk reported that it met the legal requirements. On September 14 the
council passed Resolution 3480, setting the referendum for the next city
general election.
So the question is neither settled nor still before the council. It is with
the voters, more than a year out.
What happens to the bargaining framework in the meantime is not something
this page can answer. The council has adopted a repeal that has not taken
effect and may never; how the city treats Article XXIII and the existing
labour agreements while the referendum is pending is a live question, and no
source examined here settles it.
Supporters framed repeal as a response to budget pressure and the need for
flexibility on labour costs. Opponents argued it would weaken recruitment,
retention and morale, and remove a formal process for employees to negotiate
wages, conditions and due process.
This is separate from Maryland's Question 1 on the November 2026 ballot,
which concerns collective bargaining for state employees and does not
govern Salisbury's municipal framework.
The budget was adopted. The council passed Ordinance 2999 on June 8,
2026, and the mayor approved it on June 9. It covers the year from July
1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. It was introduced on May 11 and had its public
hearing on May 26.
Adopted rates: $1.0332 per $100 on real property, $3.51 on utility
personal property, and $2.40 on other taxable personal property.
The ordinance keeps the proposed figures struck through beside the final ones,
so what the council changed is visible. Police rose from $20,140,680 to
$21,601,513 — the largest single change, and notable given that the year's
labour argument was about police retention. Fire rose from $15,759,944 to
$15,899,146. Field Operations fell from $8,846,544 to $8,263,239.
The General Fund went from $62,910,110 to $63,926,839, and the operating
funds altogether from $87,824,895 to $88,841,624 — a net increase of
$1,016,729 over what was introduced. The parking, water and sewer, marina
and storm water totals were adopted unchanged.
Water and sewer rates were handled separately, in Ordinance 3000, rather
than in the budget ordinance.
The rest of this page describes the cycle as it stood in April, which is what
the council started from.
Salisbury is entering its FY27 budget cycle with major questions about
recurring operating costs, wage pressure, insurance increases, and how much
longer the city can rely on savings to support ongoing expenses.
As of mid-April 2026, the city has publicly posted the FY27 budget
schedule and the FY27-FY31 Capital Improvement Plan. The full proposed
FY27 operating budget is scheduled for formal submission on April 15,
2026 and public presentation on April 27, 2026.
The budget debate is closely connected to broader city disputes over labor
policy, public safety staffing, capital spending, development, and long-term
fiscal sustainability.
Salisbury’s FY26 budget is an important reference point for understanding
the city’s later debates over labor costs, recurring operating expenses, use
of surplus, and long-term fiscal sustainability.
The city published a full FY26 budget package that included the final
Municipal Budget Book, a detailed mayor’s budget report, analysis materials,
council-level adjustments, and a proposed fee schedule. The formal FY26 budget
process ran from spring 2025 through final adoption in June 2025.
The FY26 numbers show a city budget built across multiple funds and pressure
points. The mayor’s FY26 detail report shows a General Fund total of
$58.6 million, including both current and capital surplus, and a Water &
Sewer Fund total of $25.8 million, also including current surplus. Those
figures make FY26 a useful baseline year for later arguments about whether
Salisbury was relying too heavily on savings to support recurring operations.