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Beaverton council adopts fiscal 2025-26 budget; restores arts program manager by reallocating vacant compliance position
Summary
The City Council adopted the 2025-26 budget (Resolution 4,914) after approving an amendment that restores a vacant arts program manager position by removing funding for an unfilled code compliance officer in Community Development and transferring funds to support the arts role.
Beaverton City Council adopted the fiscal year 2025-26 budget on June 3 after approving an amendment to restore an arts program manager position that had been eliminated in initial budget drafts.
Mayor Lacey Beatty introduced the amendment after budget committee review and public testimony from arts advocates. The amendment funds the arts program manager by removing funding for an unfilled code compliance officer position in Community Development, transferring general fund contingency to the Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) fund, and reallocating the existing 0.25–0.5 FTE previously assigned to arts duties in Community Development.
Arts supporters, including Ryan Hendricks (co-chair, Beaverton Arts Commission) and long-time arts advocate Sharon Dunham, told the council the city needs dedicated arts leadership to protect and maintain public art investments and continue equity-focused cultural programs. Hendricks said arts programming had been personally important and urged that leadership be restored: “The arts is a priority for this body,” he said.
Council members debated timing and trade-offs. City staff and the mayor emphasized that the code compliance vacancy is unfilled and that staff have been piloting a smaller code compliance team; Dan Weinheimer (assistant city manager) said current response times are acceptable and staff will monitor workloads. The mayor and city manager described the arts manager restoration as time-limited until longer-term funding mechanisms for arts (such as a TLT funding approach) can be implemented.
Councilor Hartmeyer Prigg moved adoption of Resolution 4,914 (the budget) as amended; the motion passed 7-0. The adopted operating and capital budget totals approximately $455 million across all funds; the general fund is about $117 million. Staff said the budget closed a roughly $10.7 million general fund shortfall with a mix of revenue adjustments and expenditure reductions. The library and other funds also contained structural adjustments and one-time fund-balance uses.
The council also approved Resolution 4,915 declaring the city’s election to receive state shared revenues (liquor, cigarette, marijuana taxes) for 2025-26.
Council asked staff to return with restoration priorities should new sustainable revenue become available and requested staff follow-ups on mailings and administrative process issues raised earlier in the meeting.
