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Milwaukie council approves budget supplemental, repurposes ARPA funds for staff pay and public-safety items
Summary
The Milwaukie City Council approved a budget supplemental to cover a recently negotiated cost‑of‑living increase and to reallocate unused ARPA dollars for staffing, vehicles and housing assistance; the measure passed unanimously after a staff presentation and public‑hearing portion with no public comment.
Milwaukie — The Milwaukie City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a budget supplemental for the 2025–26 biennium after a staff report and a public‑hearing segment with no public testimony.
Finance Director Michael Osborne told the council the supplemental moves $500,000 from the general fund contingency into department personnel-service lines to capture cost‑of‑living adjustments tied to a recently settled union agreement and to cover some benefit increases. He said the Aspen (union) agreement reached in December 2024 calls for a 6% pay increase in year 1, a 2% increase in year 2 and a 2% midyear increase in year 2, and that some final health‑care and PERS costs remain unknown and may require future tweaks.
The staff presentation also described how roughly $603,000 in previously budgeted ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds — partly because two public works projects came in under budget — were repurposed. Osborne said the reallocations include 18 months (01/01/2025–06/30/2026) of half of an emergency‑management coordinator position paid from ARPA; funding to purchase seven additional police vehicles; a second round of housing and utility assistance totaling $75,000 (previously issued through Northwest Housing Authority); and $50,000 to cover an after‑action review of the city’s emergency responses to wildfire, ice storm and COVID incidents. He said $327,000 is being moved from the Water Fund and $277,000 from the Wastewater Fund back to the general fund to reflect the change in intended use.
There was no public comment; the council closed the hearing and then voted. The motion to approve the resolution was made and seconded on the record and passed without any recorded opposing votes.
The council’s action updates internal line items within already‑appropriated funds rather than increasing the overall adopted budget. Staff said further adjustments could be necessary later in the year if final health‑care and PERS estimates increase personnel costs.
Michael Osborne offered to answer questions during and after the presentation; none were raised. The council’s action authorizes staff to implement the transfers described in the supplemental resolution.
