Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Warrenton adopts 2026 budget; water and sewer funds include a 4% rate increase
Summary
The board approved the 2026 budget (bill 64‑25) and related budget adjustments (bill 63‑25). The budget projects $16.6 million in revenues and includes a 4% water and sewer rate increase (effective Feb. 1, 2026) as a revenue assumption; the motions passed unanimously 5–0 with 1 absent.
Warrenton — On Dec. 16 the Board of Aldermen approved the city’s 2026 budget and related adjustments, endorsing a package of operating and capital investments that city staff said preserves service levels while advancing water and wastewater projects.
Finance Officer Megan Welder (speaker 5) presented the budget overview: total projected revenues of $16.6 million and operating expenses of $11.3 million across funds. The water and sewer fund is projected at $5.8 million in revenue and reflects a 4% rate increase; staff said the increase was included in the projection and earlier public‑hearing notices indicated a Feb. 1, 2026 effective date “upon approval of the ordinance by the board.” The capital program includes a wastewater treatment plant expansion and a new well and storage tank.
Welder also summarized October financial results and proposed 2025 adjustments that reallocated funds and freed $8,000 to add an Agape donation. The council voted to approve the 2025 budget adjustments (bill 63‑25) and adopted the 2026 budget ordinance (bill 64‑25); both passed 5–0 with 1 member absent.
Board members asked for and received clarifying details about specific line items: the water and sewer fund included a prior‑year grant receipt that boosted revenues for 2025, building permit revenues were higher than projected because of school construction, and salary and insurance cost pressures drove some department overages.
What changes for customers: The public hearing earlier in the meeting recorded specific examples of how the 4% increase would affect customers (finance staff had said the average in‑town residential sewer bill would rise about $1.75 per month and water about $1.07 per month). City staff noted the formal effective date for any rate ordinance would be Feb. 1, 2026, subject to adoption of any separate rate ordinance or confirmation in final code language.
Next steps: City staff will publish the adopted budget and incorporate the revenue assumptions into cash‑flow projections; any separate ordinance to adopt the specific rate tables will be posted and published per statute.
