Estacada council: budget adopted, supplemental appropriation approved, ordinances amended and one council appointment made

Estacada City Council on Monday completed routine and substantive business, approving the fiscal 2025-26 budget, a supplemental appropriation, several ordinance amendments and a council appointment.

Key outcomes at a glance

- Budget adoption: Council adopted Resolution 2025-010, establishing the fiscal year 2025-26 budget and a salary scale that takes effect July 1. The mayor and council voted to approve the resolution by voice vote after a required public hearing. The budget committee had previously approved the package with small adjustments to use some ending fund balance for priority work on sewer infiltration and inflow and for water-loss (unaccounted-for water) efforts.

- State shared revenue: By motion, council adopted Resolution 2025-008 to accept approximately $190,000 in state shared revenue for municipal services.

- Supplemental appropriation: Council approved Resolution 2025-009, a supplemental appropriation to recognize higher-than-expected building and electrical permit revenue (staff estimated an additional $135,000) and to authorize corresponding contractual expenditure increases through the current fiscal year.

- Ordinance and code updates: The council approved Ordinance 2025-005, amending Title 5 (business licenses and regulations). The council also approved the second reading of Ordinance 2025-007 (amending an obstructing-passageways section of Title 9). The council continued Ordinance 2025-006 (amendments to Title 8, health and safety) to the next regularly scheduled meeting to allow for an executive-session briefing with the city attorney and final edits prompted by legal review and municipal-judge consultation.

- Consent agenda: The consent agenda was approved by motion without recorded roll-call detail.

- Appointment to council: The council considered two nominations to fill a vacated council seat. A motion to appoint Rachel Hoyland failed on a roll-call vote. The council then moved and approved the appointment of Melissa Hill; the roll call for Hill's appointment recorded the following votes: Councilor Blevins ' Yes; Councilor Dolezal ' Yes; Councilor McElroy ' Yes; Councilor Metcalfe ' Yes; Councilor Prokop ' No; Councilor Tenbush ' No; Mayor Drinkwine ' Yes. The motion to appoint Hill therefore passed.

Why this matters: The budget adoption and supplemental appropriation authorize spending for ongoing municipal operations and allow the city to move forward with capital priorities such as sewer system repairs and the wastewater plant project. The appointment fills a council vacancy and restores the council's full membership.

Roll-call and voting notes

- Several items (budget adoption, resolutions and many ordinances) were approved by voice vote; the transcript records "Aye"/"motion passes" but not a numeric roll-call for most items.

- Nominated candidates: The council conducted a roll-call vote on the two nominees. The transcript records the roll-call on the failed motion to appoint Rachel Hoyland (result: motion failed) and the later roll-call that approved Melissa Hill (result: motion passes). The transcript names council members at roll call.

Next steps

- Staff will proceed with administrative steps tied to the adopted budget and the supplemental appropriation, including executing the expanded DEQ loan paperwork noted on the consent calendar and managing building-permit workload staffing and contract payments.

- The continued Title 8 health-and-safety ordinance will return to the council after an executive-session legal briefing and any clarifying edits requested by the council and city attorney.

Sources: Estacada City Council meeting transcript and staff presentations in the meeting packet.