North Bend council debates mid‑biennium review, delays $600,000 recall motion

The North Bend City Council on Nov. 18 heard a mid‑biennium budget review from Finance Director Martin Shaw and spent much of the meeting debating how and when to make budget adjustments tied to the city’s pending transition of police services.

Shaw told the council the mid‑biennial review is required under state law and that staff do not currently recommend a budget modification for police spending until the city has a fully executed interlocal agreement with King County. “We would rather wait until we have the ILA, understand what it is that they’re requiring of the city, and then we’ll bring forward a budget modification concurrent with the council’s approval of the ILA,” Shaw said. He also advised against finalizing the 2026 salary schedule while clerical‑union bargaining remains open.

Councilmember Susan Torgerson countered that the legislative body has authority over the salary schedule and made a motion directing the city attorney to draft an ordinance to reduce 2026 general‑fund appropriations by $600,000 and redirect the spending authority to cover police‑service costs in 2027. Torgerson said the proposal reflected her review of staff documents and outside guidance, and argued council must act now to avoid larger, more disruptive cuts later in the forecast period.

Other council members pressed for more detail. One councilmember said the body should operate “from a position of being informed and accurate” and opposed an immediate rescind‑and‑reallocate approach; several members asked staff to present specific reduction options. Legal counsel Kendra advised that the statutory public‑hearing trigger follows an actual proposed modification by the mayor and that, on staff’s representations tonight, a public hearing is not required if no modification is proposed.

After debate, Councilmember Brandon moved to postpone the recall motion to the Dec. 2 meeting to allow staff analysis; council voted to postpone the motion to Dec. 2, with the chair announcing the motion passed 5‑2. The postponement gives staff time to present a more detailed analysis of potential reductions and how savings discussed by the administration would be memorialized in the budget.

Next steps: staff will prepare a December 2 briefing with options for any proposed budget modification, including how operational savings and reserve adjustments could be applied to police spending once the ILA and any labor agreements are final.