Bend proposes $1.48 billion biennial budget; officials warn reserves will be drawn down

City of Bend staff presented a proposed biennial budget totaling $1,480,000,000 and described a strategy that relies on a mix of modest fee and rate increases, targeted investments and limited use of reserves to balance near-term needs while acknowledging risk from uncertain state and federal revenue forecasts.

The budget presentation framed the plan as conservative on revenue assumptions and explicit about trade-offs: staff said property tax and room tax growth is slowing, some program support relies on federal and state grants that may change, and the city will draw down reserves over the biennium while remaining near its fiscal-policy targets. Samantha Nelson, the city’s chief financial officer, noted the state revenue forecast was due the next day and said the city was building the plan with “the sensitivity of balancing the needs of our community.”

Why this matters: the package funds dozens of capital projects and operating programs—public safety staffing, street maintenance, water…