Saint Helens budget committee weighs fees, cuts and a separate police fund as library faces steep reductions

The Saint Helens Budget Committee met May 7 to review the proposed fiscal year 2026–27 budget and to hear a detailed budget message from Finance Director Gloria Butch, who warned the city faces a structural shortfall and is relying on voter approval of a $24-per-month general services fee to avoid deeper cuts.

Butch told the committee the general fund ending balance is projected to fall below one month of payroll without new recurring revenue and detailed three budget scenarios. She said staff prepared an alternate proposal that would separate the police department into a stand-alone police services fund financed by a dedicated police services fee that would be placed before voters if needed; staff estimated a proposed police fee of $49.50 and said the new fund would likely still show a deficit in its first year.

The budget message also recommended utility rate adjustments based on the 2025 rate study — a 6.35% projected water rate increase (about $3.92 per household), a 4.64% sewer increase (about $2.98), and a 4.79% stormwater adjustment (about $0.82). Capital priorities cited included Columbia View Park and riverfront infrastructure work, a planned 5,000,000-gallon water reservoir (design costs of $2.5 million funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant; construction estimated at $20 million), and a $1,750,000 planned transfer from community development reserves to advance an industrial site purchase and contingency.

Why it matters

Committee members and the public framed the meeting around a central trade-off: how to close an estimated gap if ballot measures fail without gutting high-use community services such as the St. Helens Public Library and after-school recreation programs. Several committee members urged staff to prepare a “pencil and eraser” exercise for next week’s meeting…