Kennewick staff present 2728 budget assumptions and proposed measures to close $6.5 million gap

City finance staff walked the council through assumptions underpinning the proposed 2728 biennial budget, noting a preliminary projection of about $158 million in total resources for the biennium and a narrowed budget gap of roughly $6.5 million after earlier adjustments. Finance Director Jessica Platt said the city projected a 4% revenue increase for the biennium compared with 2526 estimated actuals and emphasized the city still maintained healthy reserve balances.

Platt and the city manager described balancing options: using $675,000 of banked property-tax capacity, diverting $4 million of optional sales tax from CIP to the general fund for the biennium, reducing the general-fund transfer to the medical services fund by $1.3 million, applying one-time reserves for certain projects, and instituting position freezes and contract restructures. Council asked for more detail on fiscal impacts and on the timeline for property-tax and CIP workshops; staff said those workshops are forthcoming and that the Oct. 6 meeting would include related items where appropriate.