Benton City seeks grant for new city hall and readies fall referendum on government form

Benton City — Council members discussed two linked items: pursuing a grant to fund a new city hall and advancing a referendum this fall to change the city's form of government to a council-manager model.

Chair told the council the city is working with state legislative offices to apply for grant funding for a new city hall; staff estimated the grant request would be approximately $4.5 million and that an intermediate design exists as a basis for the application. Council staff characterized the request as competitive but said legislative staff were optimistic the city could receive some funding.

Separately, the city attorney is drafting a referendum to place before voters this fall to change Benton City's form of government to a council-manager model in which the council hires a city manager and appoints one council member to serve as mayor for a two-year term. The chair described associated follow-up steps, including possibly expanding the council and writing ballot language.

Council agreed to seek volunteers to help evaluate engineering proposals for project planning and to continue coordinating grant and referendum work. No final vote on the referendum text occurred at the meeting; staff will return with formal ballot language and timelines for public information and legal review.