Overview
The City of Dothan's biennium budget for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 totals $291,583,936 in fiscal year 2027 and $286,885,274 in fiscal year 2028, with revenues and expenditures balanced in each year after interfund transfers. In FY2027 the General Fund budgets $126,959,140 of revenues and $144,634,286 of expenditures, closing the gap with $17,675,146 of net transfers in — chiefly $29,217,374 from the Utility Fund, partly offset by transfers out to debt service, the Public Building Authority, and the Solid Waste Fund. The Utility Fund is the city's largest fund on both sides of the ledger. Outstanding debt at the start of FY2027 is $150,644,560 (principal only), falling to $140,054,044 by the end of FY2027 and $130,458,298 by the end of FY2028 on the book's no-new-debt schedule.
Source: City of Dothan Biennium Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Years 2027 and 2028, Budget Summary by Fund and Debt Service sections.
At a glance
Source: City of Dothan FY2027–2028 budget book, Budget Summary by Fund and Debt Service sections.
Funds — FY2027
Each fund's revenues plus its net transfers equal its expenditures, and the transfers net to $0 across funds. The printed fund-revenue totals include items such as sales tax ($95,280,000, General Fund), electric sales ($91,800,000, Utility Fund), accumulated depreciation, and an $8,853,796 utilization of General Fund balance — they are budget-book totals, not cash receipts alone.
| Fund | Revenues | Expenditures | Net transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | $126,959,140 | $144,634,286 | $17,675,146 |
| Utility | $156,456,796 | $123,714,981 | −$32,741,815 |
| Solid Waste | $7,713,000 | $13,182,886 | $5,469,886 |
| School | $455,000 | $3,979,441 | $3,524,441 |
| Public Building Authority | $0 | $4,982,967 | $4,982,967 |
| Debt Service | $0 | $1,089,375 | $1,089,375 |
| Total | $291,583,936 | $291,583,936 | $0 |
General Fund FY2027 revenues re-add exactly: taxes $107,380,000 + licenses and permits $5,612,000 + intergovernmental $3,867,200 + general government revenue $5,952,700 + fines and forfeitures $1,315,000 + miscellaneous $2,832,240 = $126,959,140. Disclosure — current revenues vs. total: the budget presentation's “current revenues” line of $77,935,140 (General $31,679,140 + Utility $39,988,000 + Solid Waste $6,113,000 + School $155,000) is a subtotal only; it excludes sales tax, electric sales, and other lines that bring the all-funds total to $291,583,936. Do not quote $77,935,140 as the budget total.
Source: City of Dothan FY2027–2028 budget book, Budgeted Summary of Revenues and Expenditures/Expenses by Fund and General Fund detail.
Spending by category — FY2027 and FY2028
Both years re-add exactly across the five categories below. FY2027 capital of $25,502,655 breaks down as General Fund $17,815,754 + Utility $5,490,000 + Solid Waste $2,196,901; FY2028 capital of $21,731,206 is General Fund $14,731,206 + Utility $4,500,000 + Solid Waste $2,500,000.
| Category | FY2027 | FY2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries & benefits | $116,413,275 | $121,415,060 |
| Operating | $120,612,321 | $120,795,274 |
| Outside agency support | $13,983,301 | $9,133,301 |
| Capital improvements | $25,502,655 | $21,731,206 |
| Debt service | $15,072,384 | $13,810,433 |
| Total | $291,583,936 | $286,885,274 |
Largest FY2027 General Fund departments: Police $36,141,142, Fire $21,734,740, and Leisure Services $18,734,100. Disclosure — department detail: these are selected departments only, not a re-add of the $144,634,286 General Fund expenditure total; the book's General Fund detail also carries items such as insurance ($3,127,951) and fleet/general-services lines.
Source: City of Dothan FY2027–2028 budget book, Budget Summary and General Fund detail.
Debt & capital
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Outstanding debt, start of FY2027 (principal only) | $150,644,560 |
| Outstanding debt, end of FY2027 | $140,054,044 |
| Outstanding debt, end of FY2028 | $130,458,298 |
| FY2027 debt-service payments (principal & interest) | $14,899,530 |
| Constitutional debt limit available, Sep 30, 2025 | $246,500,000 |
The book states the City Hall Campus debt issued by the Public Building Authority ($65.9 million, 43.74%) and sewer and water debt ($74.35 million, 49.36%) are not applicable to the constitutional limit, and that $10.4 million (6.9%) for the Wiregrass Public Safety Center is included in the outstanding total. FY2027 capital highlights in the book include resurfacing and vehicles; the six-year capital plan also lists a $150,000,000 multi-purpose arena/Wiregrass Arts Center item in FY2029 and a $17,000,000 parking deck in FY2029 — those are out-year plan items, not FY2027–2028 appropriations, and are not included in the totals above.
Source: City of Dothan FY2027–2028 budget book, Debt Service and Capital Improvement Plan sections.
Sources & notes
- Source used: City of Dothan, Alabama, Biennium Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Years 2027 and 2028 (official dothan.org budget book) Read the source document.
- Adoption — month precision only: the budget book's own calendar lists “September 1 — Budget Adoption” and the adopting resolution appears on the September 8, 2026 commission agenda. Those two dates do not agree on a day, so this page states adoption in September 2026 and no exact day is claimed. Figures are labeled adopted on that basis; the book's August 3, 2026 city manager message presents the same figures as proposed, which is why the adoption ambiguity is disclosed here rather than resolved by assertion.
- Sum checks: FY2027 categories $116,413,275 + $120,612,321 + $13,983,301 + $25,502,655 + $15,072,384 = $291,583,936; FY2028 categories $121,415,060 + $120,795,274 + $9,133,301 + $21,731,206 + $13,810,433 = $286,885,274; General Fund FY2027 $126,959,140 + $17,675,146 = $144,634,286; fund transfers net to $0.
- Identity: this is the City of Dothan, Alabama, seat of Houston County. Houston County is a separate government and is not consolidated here. A Panama City, Florida budget item found in searching was rejected as wrong-state.
- No hero photo: no freely-licensed photo with a license name confirmed on its source page was verified for Dothan within the attempt cap, so this page ships without a photo rather than with a generic substitute.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified jurisdiction palette was established — the official site's theme data was not retrievable and its platform styling is not a jurisdiction palette — so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a jurisdiction color.