Snoqualmie committee approves $75,000 increase to Madrona legal contract and sends it to council

Council Member Johnson presided over the Finance & Administration Committee on Feb. 23, 2026, where the committee agreed to move a resolution increasing Madrona's contract cap onto the council consent agenda.

The City Attorney introduced AB 26-003 as "a resolution to approve a contract amendment with Madrona law," saying the firm has provided legal services since 2023 and the amendment would raise the not-to-exceed compensation cap by $75,000 to $665,000. The attorney said the additional funds are intended to cover specialty legal advice and capacity needs.

Mayor Mayhew and the City Attorney confirmed the amendment is "within the appropriation" and that the change "is not an increase to the budget," meaning the committee's action modifies the contract ceiling rather than the city's overall adopted budget.

Committee members signaled consent after brief discussion and the item was placed on the consent agenda to forward to full council. No formal roll-call vote or mover/second was recorded in the committee transcript.

The administration told the committee it plans to bring the remainder of anticipated contract authorization requests at the next meeting rather than incrementally over many meetings. The city will present the packaged requests at a future F&A meeting for additional review.