Snoqualmie council approves mid‑biennium budget amendment, freezes planning‑tech position until July 2026

The Snoqualmie City Council approved a mid‑biennium amendment on Nov. 24 that adjusts the 2025–26 budget to reflect the North Bend Police Services contract dissolution, outcomes of a utility rate study and a set of capital‑project and insurance changes.

Finance Director Drew Boutte told the council the amendment reflects a roughly $16,000,000 decrease in the city’s total appropriation and includes a proposed net reduction of 17 positions, from about 120.3 full‑time equivalent positions to 103.3. “What we’re requesting here is a 17, position decrease in our budget from about a 120.3 to a 103.3, positions in total for the remainder of 2025 and 2026,” Boutte said.

Why it matters: Boutte and other staff framed the package as a response to structural changes in revenues and costs — including the loss of shared policing costs — and to updated inflation forecasts. Boutte said the amendments reduce the adopted budget’s total appropriation and change transfers between funds; operating expenditures in the amended budget are about 6.6% lower than previously projected.

Key provisions and impacts: The amendment packages a number of items, including appropriation to cover liability and property insurance, workers’ compensation, outside legal counsel, increased public defender expenses tied to a recent Supreme Court order, AED replacements, splash‑pad operations, and utility fund transfers aligned to a utility rate study. Boutte also highlighted capital projects affected by the amendment, including the Eagle Lake Reservoir loan, water reclamation facility Phase 3 and a business park lift station connected to a hospital expansion.

Council action and staffing decision: Council debated staffing impacts and whether to preserve a community development role. Mayor Pro Tem Holloway moved to restore a planning‑technician position but freeze it until July 1, 2026; the motion to retain the position and freeze hiring was approved by the council in an amendment vote (recorded as 5–2 on the amendment). The larger budget amendment as amended passed unanimously.

Public safety sales tax and fee study context: Boutte and staff also briefed council on the public safety enhancement sales tax and an associated state grant program established in House Bill 2015. Boutte described the grant and a local 0.1% councilmanic sales‑and‑use tax option that would fund criminal‑justice‑related purposes if the city meets a set of conditions and CJTC (Criminal Justice Training Commission) reviews. He said the city estimates early revenues of roughly $97,000 if a mid‑2026 start is assumed, with a full first year estimate around $301,000; councilors stressed the grant and the tax are distinct steps and that CJTC approval and policy changes would be required before any tax is adopted.

Next steps: The ordinance amending the 2025–26 biennial budget was adopted as amended. Staff will return with the frozen planning‑technician implementation details and continue to develop options from the comprehensive fee study scheduled for council review early next year.

Methodology and attribution: This article quotes and summarizes remarks made on the record by Finance Director Drew Boutte and other council members during the Nov. 24 council roundtable; all direct quotes are attributed to speakers who spoke at the meeting.