Sumner council adopts mid‑biennial budget amendment, 2026 pay schedule and OpenGov asset‑management purchase

The City of Sumner City Council on Dec. 1 unanimously adopted a mid‑biennial amendment to the 2025–26 budget, approved a 2026 compensation schedule for city employees and authorized procurement of OpenGov enterprise asset‑management software.

Cassandra Raymond, Sumner’s chief financial officer, told the council the amendment recognizes roughly $220,000 in additional revenues and about $1,200,000 in additional expenditures, a net change of about 2.6% to the general fund. She identified a $275,000 one‑time capital allocation to rehabilitate first‑floor restrooms after a sewer pipeline failure and about $115,000 for skate‑park demolition, and said some staffing changes (including bringing senior‑center management in‑house, about 2.25 FTE) are built into the amendment.

“Through this process … we bring our mid‑biennial to a city council study session and we had a public hearing on Nov. 24,” Raymond said. “These regular budget amendments provide council, our community and our staff with a timely and transparent view of our budget needs.”

The council approved Ordinance No. 2945 (the mid‑biennial amendment) by roll call; the clerk recorded yes votes from Elfers, Hockstetter, Wilsey, Reineke, Bowman, Potetto and Cole.

Separately, the council adopted Ordinance No. 2951, the 2026 compensation schedule, after a presentation from Deputy City Administrator Jeff Stephens explaining that proposed changes fall within previously approved budget allocations and incorporate previously negotiated contractual increases for unionized employees. Stephens said recent Teamsters negotiations were lengthy and are being processed with retroactive payments where applicable.

The council also authorized procurement of OpenGov (Cartograph) enterprise asset management software, a two‑year implementation with the first‑year cost (implementation + training) reported as $130,002.29, Year 2 $73,684 and an estimated Year 3 annual cost of $77,369. Deputy Public Works Director Ryan Johnstone explained the city’s prior system (Asset Essentials) has reached end of service and staff selected OpenGov through the Sourcewell cooperative.

All three actions — the mid‑biennial budget amendment, compensation ordinance and OpenGov procurement — passed on unanimous votes following council discussion and public comment. Earlier in the meeting the council approved a consent agenda that included checks and electronic payments totaling $13,613,888.27 and a resolution rejecting bids for the wastewater treatment plant biosolids modernization project (CIP 21‑17).

The council’s next regular meeting and the second reading of a franchise ordinance for Forged Fiber 37 LLC (an AT&T subsidiary) are scheduled for Jan. 5, 2026.