Anacortes council adopts 2026 operating budget and companion capital facilities plan

The Anacortes City Council approved the 2026 operating budget and its companion capital facilities plan at its Nov. 24 meeting, voting unanimously to pass the ordinances after staff presentations and public comment.

Councilmember Fantini moved to approve the operating budget and Councilmember Young seconded; the motion carried by recorded voice vote. Councilmember Walters urged caution, saying the city faces “a period of declining revenue” driven largely by property-tax limits and underscored the need to conserve expenses and pursue new revenue sources. Finance staff and councilmembers agreed to pursue projects intended to increase unrestricted revenues over time.

Why it matters: The operating budget sets city spending and service levels for 2026; the capital facilities plan (CFP) lists multi-year capital projects and must be adopted with the operating budget. Staff said public hearings and notice requirements were met and that most 2026 capital projects are funded by restricted sources such as REET or other dedicated funds, limiting the city’s flexibility to reassign funds to staffing or general operations.

Supporting details: During discussion, councilmembers noted constrained general revenue and the role of projects that can spur economic activity (for example, a proposed events center) in generating future unrestricted funds. Councilmember Walters recommended prioritizing capital projects that could boost sales-tax revenues; staff said most projects are funded by restricted revenue and that the piling-removal project at the waterfront is one of the few capital projects relying on general revenue.

Police staffing context: Council also reviewed a capital-facilities-level-of-service table that cites a recommended police staffing target of 1.83 officers per 1,000 residents, based on information the police chief provided. Planning staff said a projected population of roughly 23,000 would require a minimum of eight additional officers to meet that target; council debated the metric’s usefulness and concurrency implications.

Public comment and next steps: A resident, Teresa Baker, spoke during the capital facilities comment period about the use of opioid/drug-settlement funds; staff said a clarifying resolution on opioid funding will be presented next week. Staff said the comprehensive-plan changes and development-regulation edits discussed at the meeting will be published for public review Wednesday, with the public-comment period closing Dec. 11 and council consideration targeted for Dec. 15.

The council adjourned after approving both ordinances.