White Salmon council hears 2026 budget presentation and tables final adoption until Dec. 17

White Salmon officials held a second public hearing on the proposed 2026 budget on Dec. 3, receiving a detailed presentation from Director of Finance and Operations Jennifer Niel and tabling formal adoption until the Council’s Dec. 17 meeting.

Niel told the Council the preliminary 2026 budget totals roughly $14.6 million and that mandatory services account for about 86% of those expenditures. She said Council priorities reflected in the plan include housing, wildfire preparedness and youth programming, and that since 2022 the City has committed about $47 million toward housing and related infrastructure, roughly $1.1 million toward wildfire preparedness, and nearly $3 million to youth-focused initiatives.

Niel outlined revenue assumptions behind the proposal: sales tax revenue has stabilized after post‑COVID recovery; a new countywide criminal justice sales tax is projected to generate about $40,000 in its first year (75% of that amount was budgeted conservatively to account for delayed collections); investment earnings were projected using a 3.5% LGIP rate (about $189,000); and lodging tax receipts are down, with short‑term rental permits declining by approximately 15 compared with 2024. Niel warned that rising insurance and personnel costs continue to outpace allowed property tax increases under the statutory 1% limit.

The budget packet also proposes limited staffing changes: an increase from 21 to 22 full‑time employees, one part‑time position, and the addition of three interns to support a youth internship program aimed at building a pipeline for municipal employment.

Mayor Marla Keethler, who opened the hearing, said the format this year shows clearer breakdowns by mandatory, essential and discretionary services. “Childcare should be treated as essential infrastructure supporting economic stability, workforce retention, and child development,” Keethler said during related remarks about regional childcare priorities.

Council members asked for additional year‑over‑year departmental expenditure comparisons to aid future public-facing discussions and for clarity on some fund placements. In response to a question about a significant increase shown in the Water Reserve Fund, Niel said the change reflected temporary placement of infrastructure project costs that staff plan to reassign to capital funds later.

Mayor Keethler entered one written public comment into the record from Chris Stifler, president of the White Salmon Business Association; no in-person or remote testimony was offered. After discussion and direction to incorporate Council feedback and pending labor negotiation outcomes, Keethler tabled formal adoption to the Dec. 17 Council meeting.

The Council did not vote on the ordinance at the Dec. 3 meeting; staff will return with a revised budget ordinance for consideration and a final vote on Dec. 17.