FY26 Performance Report shows Grand Rapids building a stronger, more connected City

- September 22, 2026

Improvements span public safety, parks, mobility, economic opportunity and resident engagement

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – City Manager Mark Washington and City staff today presented the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Performance Report to the City Commission’s Committee of the Whole. The report reviews achievements from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and shows progress across all six Strategic Plan priorities: Governmental Excellence, Economic Prosperity and Affordability, Engaged and Connected Community, Health and Environment, Mobility, and Safe Community.

The FY26 report highlights major investments, expanded community engagement, service improvements and continued work to strengthen long-term sustainability. It also serves as a foundation for future planning, including FY2027 implementation efforts and ongoing Strategic Plan priorities.

FY26 highlights across the Strategic Plan priorities include:

Safe Community

  • Strengthened police, fire and emergency‑response staffing and opened or advanced construction on three major Fire Department facilities.
  • Achieved 3% reduction in property crimes, 2.7% reduction in motor vehicle thefts and no significant increase in homicide rate.
  • Expanded mental health and alternative-response partnerships, including the Medical Priority and Wellness Response program and GRPD/Network180 co-response team with 2,750 calls.
  • Continued violence‑prevention work through Cure Violence Grand Rapids and youth‑development programs.
  • Community-based violence prevention efforts recorded 3,068 engagements that led to violence interruptions and disruptions.
  • Outreach programs connected with 1,013 domestic violence victims, with 230 accepting services.
  • Diverted 1,161 people from the criminal justice system.

Mobility

  • Completed 141 street projects covering 40 miles and upgraded 539 ADA curb ramps to improve accessibility.
  • Inspected or repaired 92 miles of sidewalk, and 100% of City bridges were in good repair.
  • Expanded DART EV Carshare and continued investments in multimodal transportation options.
  • Launched city’s first parking reservation system. 

Economic Prosperity & Affordability

  • Issued 12,516 construction permits, including for 1,621 new dwelling units – exceeding our annual goal of 1,100 and the most in any of the past five years; performed 19,271 construction project inspections.
  • Supported affordable and workforce housing development, including Land Bank property sales and investments that could produce more than 300 future housing units.
  • Advanced business support partnerships with 539 small business visits; collaborated with the Capital Access Fund of West Michigan, all Corridor Improvement Authorities and the SmartZone.
  • Supported opening of the new Acrisure Amphitheater.
  • Invested $10 million in the Affordable Housing Fund.
  • Continued major infrastructure projects such as Grand River revitalization and improvements to Butterworth Street and the Gillett Bridge.
  • Placed 234 youth in summer employment jobs and provided 600 students college navigation services.

Engaged & Connected Community

  • Expanded engagement tools, including the Community Engagement Framework and the EngageGR online portal.
  • Increased resident participation through Know Your Rights events, Clean Slate Expungement Fair and neighborhood‑based leadership programs.
  • Improved customer access through the Customer Service Department (311, mobile app, or info@grcity.us), website updates, language‑access tools and expanded digital communications.
  • Conducted over 18 community celebrations/activations with 200,000 attendees and supported Art Prize 2025 with 900,000 visitors and $82 million economic impact.

Health & Environment

  • Replaced 1,436 lead service lines and continued water system upgrades.
  • Diverted 20% of residential waste through recycling.
  • Improved parks and recreation assets, including major upgrades at MLK Park, Roosevelt Park and trail connectivity projects citywide with 6% increase in park programing participation.
  • Completed 5,981 priority tree prunes and ground 407 stumps.
  • Invested $1.7M to upgrade the Lake Michigan Filtration plant and maintained 100% compliance with all federal and state water standards.
  • Improved air quality through monitoring program and lowered municipal emissions through solar, hybrid and electric‑fleet investments.

Governmental Excellence

  • Added staffing and strengthened workforce development programs, including the Water Career Program and GRow1000; employee turnover was below 8%.
  • Advanced digital modernization through Oracle Fusion Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), technology upgrades and responsible AI governance.
  • Maintained our Aa2/AA bond ratings, reflecting continued attention to the City’s long-term financial health.
  • Opened the new $98.2M Public Works facility at 1500 Scribner Avenue, supporting 17 City services (i.e. street maintenance, parks, refuse) and 200 employees.

City Manager Mark Washington said the FY26 results reflect sustained progress and community-focused investment.

“This report shows how we continue building a stronger, safer, prosperous and more connected Grand Rapids,” he said. “We’re committed to delivering services that meet residents’ needs today while planning responsibly for tomorrow. I’m proud of what our teams accomplished and grateful for the community partnerships that make this work possible.”

The full FY26 Performance Report is available at grandrapidsmi.gov.

 

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