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Tenino council confronts $1 million shortfall, debates sheriff’s contract; adopts resolution to protect police funding
Summary
At a Oct. 22 budget workshop, Tenino leaders reviewed a draft 2025 budget showing roughly $800,000 in unresolved shortfalls, heard Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders present two contract options (about $260,000–$300,000/year), and adopted a resolution barring cuts to police funding below 2024 levels amid strong public opposition to reducing local policing.
Tenino’s City Council spent its Oct. 22 meeting wrestling with a deep budget hole and whether to pursue a county contract for police services.
Mayor Watterson opened a budget workshop showing an early 2025 draft that, before some items are added, projects roughly $1.8 million in revenues but still leaves about $800,000 in unresolved deficits when one‑time grants and loan paybacks are included. The mayor told the council the city had borrowed roughly $1.3 million in recent years to cover cash‑flow and capital timing and that the city had just begun to receive some state reimbursements that would help chip away at that borrowing.
The council then heard a presentation from Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who said he was “neutral” about Tenino’s choice and…
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