City of Battle Ground previews $86.4 million 2026 budget with major personnel, benefits and capital asks

City staff presented the preliminary 2026 budget during a council study session on Oct. 6, showing estimated total revenues of about $80.5 million, planned uses of roughly $86.4 million and an anticipated draw of approximately $6 million from existing fund balances.

“This is our second study session related to the 2026 budget,” said Megan (staff member), who led the presentation. “Any questions you have, anything you want to delve into further, this is the time to ask.”

The presentation front-loaded personnel costs — the single largest expense category — and explained items built into the draft figures. The budget assumes a 4.5% contract cost-of-living adjustment for police officers and a 3% increase for noncommissioned public-safety staff; Teamsters bargaining remains in progress, and nonrepresented employees are historically budgeted to follow Teamsters once that settlement is set. Staff also flagged health-insurance rate increases from providers: Regence at 8.7%; Kaiser showing a 9.4% increase for one high-deductible plan and 10.1% for a richer plan; dental increases of about 4% (Delta) and 7.6% (Willamette). The presentation noted the city budgets at top-step salary levels to cover turnover or cash-outs, even if actual expenditure is less.

On FTE requests, staff asked council to consider two police officer positions tied to a proposed public-safety sales tax, an assistant court administrator to support increased case-processing requirements under new state Supreme Court guidance, and a project manager in the engineering division to handle construction-phase workload. Megan (staff member) said the assistant court administrator request responds to changes that reduce the number of cases public defenders can carry and increase administrative workload for case-waiting and policy tracking.

Capital projects were summarized at a high level. Staff described roughly $15.3 million in transportation, facility and parks capital projects — most funded by state and federal grants with local impact-fee matches — and noted that many transportation projects are carryovers due to permitting and grant timelines. Staff highlighted the Remi Park appropriation of $1.5 million in state funds and said council will be able to select project components during the 2026 design phase; that selection could require a budget amendment in early 2026.

Council members pressed staff on construction procurement strategy and on whether a city construction manager could capture savings by breaking large projects into smaller contracts. Staff cautioned that state bidding rules prohibit splitting bids to evade procurement processes but confirmed that for locally funded work the city can contract by component so long as it meets the applicable procurement thresholds. The presentation also noted an RCW-based option to use a general manager approach on very large projects (discussed further in a separate agenda item).

Staff presented the street fund and pavement-preservation plan, with contracted pavement preservation shown at about $800,000 and the long-term annual preservation target estimated at roughly $1.1–$1.2 million to maintain current condition. The water, sewer and storm funds were described as carrying multiple multi-year carryover projects and shared planned capital equipment purchases, such as a backhoe split across divisions.

This was an informational study-session presentation; no final budget adoption occurred. Staff said the city will return with more details at the next study session and at the retreat, and that staff will update line-item detail as collective-bargaining outcomes (Teamsters) and other negotiations are finalized.

In coming weeks, city staff will prepare more detailed cost breakdowns for council review and will present budget amendments or final appropriation recommendations before adoption.