City presents 2026 budget preview; council and staff weigh police radio replacement options

Megan, a city finance staff member, presented a preliminary budget overview as part of a work session Oct. 20, outlining changes proposed for the 2026 fiscal year. She said the general fund is projected to decrease roughly 7.2 percent from last year mostly because several capital projects funded in 2025 are not carried forward in full into 2026. The presentation identified specific cost increases including an additional $160,000 to cover rising public defender expenses and a roughly 26% increase in CRESSA insurance assessments. Megan noted, “we had to increase those costs or price per case that we pay” to keep public defender pay “at market.”

The presentation also highlighted modest insurance rate changes: a 3% decrease in the WCIA liability assessment and a 1% increase in property coverage. Capital items carried into 2026 include a downtown storefront improvement grant ($50,000) and a $269,000 pass-through for Vancouver Housing Authority infrastructure improvements slated to start in January 2026. Staff previewed a proposed fee schedule that would raise most regular fees by 2.7 percent and listed proposed utility rate increases of 4 percent for water, 7 percent for sewer and 3.5 percent for storm.

Council members asked detailed questions about personnel and benefit allocations, including an 11.4 percent increase in the human-resources budget that Megan said reflects allocation changes and planned costs for preemployment screenings and labor-attorney services. Staff said a roughly $80,000 line for professional services related to officer background checks and labor law support is included in the HR budget.

A substantial portion of the discussion focused on police radios, which staff said will reach manufacturer end-of-life beginning in December, with “upwards of close to 80% of our radios” at end of life. Council and staff discussed multiple funding approaches: waiting for a state or federal grant, reassigning funds from reserves, or using the city’s replacement (R&R) fund and staggering replacements over several years. Megan explained that federal grants introduce additional compliance steps (including Buy America-like vendor attestations) that can slow procurement: “getting the radios through a federal grant is more difficult than just buying them.” Chief Flynn told the council that while most radios still operate, reliability concerns exist and staggered replacement could reduce a near-term capital spike. Staff committed to returning to council with the full replacement cost and options for a staggered procurement schedule.

Other operating and capital items discussed included elevator modernization for city hall and the police station, facility repairs, continued vehicle and technology replacement (including a Nutanix server), and the event center maintenance carryover. Megan said the city is on track overall in the current year: sales-tax receipts were up about 9 percent year to date and third-quarter revenues and permit/impact-fee collections were trending above 2024 in several categories. She reminded the council that much of the city’s cash balance is restricted by fund purpose and cannot be repurposed outside its legal limits.

The council did not take a formal vote on the budget at this meeting; staff outlined the formal local budget calendar with hearings scheduled Nov. 3 and Nov. 17 and a final adoption hearing Dec. 1.

Ending: Staff will return with line-item cost estimates and financing options for radio replacement and a draft park fee schedule before Nov. 3; formal budget hearings and ordinance actions remain on the Nov.–Dec. schedule.