Washougal unveils proposed $49M budget

The city of Washougal's proposed 2023 budget maintains all existing service levels and provides for modest enhancements to services in response to community and city council priorities, according to Washougal City Manager David Scott. The budget projects $47,383,283 in revenues and $49,332,428 in expenditures. "I am pleased to propose a balanced, baseline operating budget (that will allow us to) continue advancing our capital facilities efforts, planning and delivering key projects," Scott stated in the proposed budget's note to the community. The Council will deliberate on the proposed budget during its next meeting on Monday, Nov. 7. "In 2022, we began to emerge from the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic," Scott stated. "As we look to 2023, we continue our conservative budgeting approach. Consistent with the broader national and regional economic trends, we are experiencing cost pressures in staffing and escalating costs in delivering capital projects. The 2023 budget maintains our conservative management of ongoing expenses while adapting to the realities of these cost pressures. We are cautiously optimistic that economic conditions will continue to improve as we anticipate economic growth in our community over the next several years." The Council identified several areas, including community engagement, public safety, transportation, public infrastructure, parks and open spaces, community livability and economic development, as budget priorities, according to Scott. "In determining its priorities for the 2023 budget, the Council considered and was guided by our strategic plan, our capital facilities plans and community input," he stated. "Within this context, we can maintain our current service levels in all program areas and make modest enhancements to our pavement management program and community engagement efforts. We continue to utilize capital project funds to pursue Council and community priorities by investing in important capital facilities projects, enhanced by the addition of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding." The City will allocate its share of a voter-approved sales tax increase to implement a body-worn camera program "and make other program enhancements" to its police department, according to Scott, who added that the budget assumes the Council will adopt a 1% increase in the City's property tax and emergency medical service levies "to ensure that we can maintain our current service levels and make these modest program enhancements." "A modest use of fund balance in our fire fund will be used to support needed operating equipment replacements," Scott stated. "We are currently engaged with the city of Camas in identifying a plan to address staffing needs and fire apparatus and station replacement. Once finalized, funding for these replacements will be considered in a supplemental budget in 2023." The budget allocates $891,500 of the $4.5 million that the City received from ARPA, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Biden to speed up the United States' recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2021, to help pay for several street repair projects. During a workshop session on Monday, Oct. 10, Scott said that the remaining $3.6 million would be best used to help pay for the two projects that received the most votes in a survey that the City sent to residents earlier this year -- the design and permitting for an underpass at 32nd Street, and a civic recreation complex. The survey included three other options: 32nd Street (Q Street to Addy Street) safety improvements and treatments; Schmid Family Park; and biosolids handling facility/anoxic selector/lagoon decommission. "I just want to thank those in the community that participated," Scott said. "That feedback was really, really helpful, and has essentially shaped the city's direction with those funds. I can't think of a better way to approach this. (These are) two really important projects." On Sept. 26, the Council approved a resolution authorizing Scott to submit an application seeking $50,600,000 from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)'s new Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program, which provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods. If the city is successful in its bid for the $50 million grant, it will use the money to design and construct an underpass at the railroad crossing on 32nd Street, from Main and "B" streets to "F" Place. The City is estimating that the design and permitting portion of the project will cost about $2 million. "And if we were to use $2 million for that, we'd have $1.6 million to do some level of work on the project here on the campus," Scott said. "It would be about a third of that project, roughly, maybe not quite a third of that project. However, we have an RCE application out, and if we're successful with that, we really wouldn't necessarily need to (use the ARPA funding on that project). "Now, we could use the ARPA funding to be our match of almost $5 million; it would really offset that dramatically. But potentially, we would look at other funding sources and use the ARPA for other things. So if we get that grant, and we should know early next year, that might really channel us toward one or the other. If we don't get that grant, we may learn a lesson that says, 'You know what, we need to get it shovel-ready or closer to shovel-ready to be more successful,' and we really might want to use $2 million to get that thing designed and permitted." Earlier this year, City leaders unveiled a plan to construct a downtown civic recreation complex that will feature a variety of oft-requested amenities, including a dog park, outdoor recreation area and a splash pad. During a council workshop session on April 25, Scott said that the city isn't sure how much the project will cost, but is examining a variety of funding options, including grants and Washington State government appropriation, and told the Council that it could choose to use some of the ARPA funding for the project if it so desired. "We could look at some kind of a $1.6 million (first) phase on the chance we might use $2 million for the underpass," Scott said on Monday, Oct. 10. "We'll talk about our state legislative agenda in a meeting soon, but potentially that would be our capital budget request, the civic recreation complex. We have the foundation grant. We have park impact fees. Fort Vancouver Regional Library has a contribution to that project because it includes (library) parking. And if our RCE (grant application) is successful, then we could add a second phase to (the civic complex project). That project is kind of carved up, so depending upon how things work, we can proceed with components of it." The council members agreed with Scott's recommendation. "I think we need to consider both of those projects because we have some opportunity in the near future for grant funding on one of them, anyway," councilwoman Molly Coston said during the Oct. 10 workshop session. "Definitely, I think we need to keep them both on the table." "I think it sounds like a good plan," Councilwoman Michelle Wagner added.

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