North Bend approves 2009 budget
December 8, 2008
By Staff
By Michael Bayless Rowe
After six work-study meetings between North Bend City Council members and city administrators, the 2009 city budget has been approved.
Finance director Elena Montgomery presented highlights from the budget to the council at a Dec. 2 meeting. She explained that a $24,140,180 city budget is somewhat deceptive because it includes $9,581,000 of funding for the city’s Utility Local Improvement District No. 6.
According to Montgomery, the city’s actual budget is $14,549,810. Funding for ULID No. 6 will be paid by assessments to property in the district, and there is no plan to spend from the city’s general fund on utility improvements to the district.
Montgomery noted that the city has stretched its dollars well over the past year and would carry this approach forward into the new year, which could see increased growth and demand for city services now that the moratorium on residential development has been lifted.
“We’ve built and done a lot as a city over the last few years and we’ve done it by leveraging few dollars,” Montgomery told the council.
Many of the capital improvement projects planned for 2009 will be funded from alternative revenue sources, primarily grants from different county and state agencies. The projects include numerous street improvements, a climbing wall at Torguson Park, and a park and ride lot on North Bend Way near the Pour House Bar and Grill. The park and ride lot will be built over the next two years, and could be a boost for tourism in the city because it will provide visitors with a convenient place to park and explore the city’s downtown stores and restaurants.
The council was not shy in praising the city administration for its work on the budget.
“I’m proud of the budget. We have done a lot with limited resources,” said council member Johnathan Rosen. “(The budget) takes care of basic services, but allows us to fully fund services like food banks.”
Council member David Cook noted the city was able to fund many projects, without having to increase the city real estate levy this year.
Montgomery thanked the council members for their input and oversight of the budget process. She said that the hard work at the budget work-study sessions helped to make the city budget better.
In other business, the city council was presented with information about an annexation request by property owners to the east of North Bend’s city limits along Interstate 90. The area to be annexed includes the Mt. Si, Tanner, and Wood River neighborhoods and would take effect Jan. 1, 2010. A preliminary study of the annexation issue indicates that approximately $340,000 in new city revenues would be generated by the annexation. The annexation petition was continued until the council’s next meeting on Jan. 6, 2009.
If the annexation goes forward, it will have to be approved by property owners in the affected area. An annexation such as this one needs to be approved by property owners who represent at least 60 percent of the total value of the affected properties.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at 425-392-6434 ext. 248 or mbaylessrowe@snovalleystar.com.
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