Bend Budget Committee and City Council Meeting - June 3, 2026
Bend Budget Committee and City Council Meeting - June 3, 2026
On June 3, 2026, the Bend Urban Development Agency and Budget Committee met jointly, followed by the Bend City Council meeting. The combined session lasted approximately four hours, covering fiscal approvals, infrastructure projects, a public hearing on the climate pollution fee, and community proclamations. Key outcomes included approval of property tax levies for four tax increment finance (TIF) areas, unanimous approval of four public works contracts, and first reading of the climate pollution fee ordinance (passed 5–1). The council also denied an appeal of a noise variance permit for the upcoming Pride festival.
Consent Calendar
- Budget Committee: Approved property tax levies for the Britta Ridge, Emblem, Century, and Veridian TIF areas for fiscal years 2026–2027. The motion carried with one opposed.
- City Council: Approved consent agenda items (not detailed in transcript) without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- ALPR Surveillance (Visitors’ Section): Seven speakers urged the council to pause installation of fixed license plate readers, adopt a citywide surveillance ordinance, and strengthen Policy 428. Concerns included data sharing with federal agencies, vendor access to encrypted keys, and lack of public oversight. Speaker Jonathan Westmore filed a petition for policy review.
- Climate Pollution Fee (Public Hearing): Over 20 speakers testified. Supporters (e.g., Sophia Borgison, Evan Ferguson, Jade O’Hara Vlachos) cited public health benefits (reduced asthma from gas stoves), climate urgency, and the need for local action. Opponents (e.g., Brad Archuletta, David Berger, Garrett Mosier) argued the fee would increase housing costs, burden the electrical grid, and lacked analysis of unintended consequences. Several business and housing organizations requested delays and exemptions for middle housing.
Discussion Items
- Mid-Biennium Budget Update (Budget Committee): Dan Quick reported general fund revenues on track, with property taxes 0.7% above budget (5.2% vs. 4.5% assessed value increase), room taxes 3% above budget, and development fees (building, planning) exceeding projections. Personnel savings of 5–6% ($8–9 million) offset higher-than-budgeted cost-of-living adjustments (3.3% vs. 2%).
- Fee Schedule and Staffing Preview: Quick outlined proposed fee increases (building 2%, planning 5%, water 4.9%, sewer 1.8%, stormwater 8%) and 9.5 new positions (including firefighter-paramedics, wellness coordinator, urban renewal manager). Business license fee restructuring was paused; a 10% across-the-board increase was substituted.
- Infrastructure Projects (Items 5–8): Four projects approved unanimously:
- Digester 4 and Hauled Waste: $115 million CMGC delivery for new digester and regional waste facility (completion by 2030).
- Reed Market Bridge: $46 million project ($32.3 million federal grant) for bridge over BNSF tracks and pedestrian tunnel.
- Midtown Multimodal Connections: $15.8 million GMP for Franklin Avenue improvements (sidewalks, bike paths, stormwater, water line).
- Olney/Revier Intersections (Four-Pack): $2.48 million PDB agreement for four intersections (roundabouts/signals) as part of GO Bond projects. Council requested further analysis of roundabout vs. signalized options, particularly regarding accessibility and safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Climate Pollution Fee (First Reading): Cassie Lacey presented the ordinance establishing a fee on new residential gas appliances (excluding manufactured homes and commercial structures). Fee formula uses social cost of carbon, net lifetime emissions, and home-size tiers (0–1,600 sq ft: 65% factor; 1,600–3,000: 100%; >3,000: 150%). Initial fee set at 20% of calculated value (e.g., ~$2,000 for average home with all gas appliances). Revenue to be used for climate mitigation and electrification incentives. Fee effective April 1, 2027, with annual council review. Council deliberation split: Councilors Franzoza, Mendez, Riley, Platt, and Mayor Kebler supported; Councilor Perkins opposed, citing grid reliability concerns, housing affordability impacts, and premature implementation.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Committee: Completed state shared revenue hearing and approved TIF property tax levies. No further committee meetings scheduled; council will act on budget adjustments June 17.
- City Council:
- Approved all four infrastructure contracts (Items 5–8) unanimously.
- Passed first reading of Climate Pollution Fee ordinance (5–1). Second reading and final adoption scheduled for June 17, 2026.
- Approved second reading of ordinance amending advisory boards committees (unanimous).
- Denied appeal of noise variance for Pride festival (unanimous), upholding city manager’s permit allowing 80 dB from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 6.
- Directed staff to work tree code and industrial land readiness discussion into a September work session.
- Agreed to include roundabout policy review within the existing standards and specifications work plan, with timeline to be provided at next meeting.
- Approved advisory body appointments as recommended by the mayor.
Meeting Transcript
This meeting to order this is official meeting of the Bend Urban Development Agency. The Bendy and the Benn Budget Committee. That's what I was wondering. I had that right. Yes. Okay, the Benn Budget Committee. My name is Jared Slaminski. I'm the vice chair of the committee. Um, and I will be chairing the meeting here, obviously today. Let's start with the roll call and introduction, and I'll start with you, Mr. Peters on my right. Chuck Peters, budget committee. Gina Franzosa, City Councillor. Trevor Camp, Trevor Campbell, budget committee. Mario Mendez, uh, city councilor. Pachazad, budget committee. Melanie Kiebler, Mayor of Ben, she, her. Megan Perkins, I'm the Mayor Potem, she her. Megan Nora, City Councillor, she, her. And Steve Platt, City Council, he liked that one for the question. We'll just try Ben City Council or he him. All right. I'd like to move to the first item on our agenda today. This is a public hearing on the proposed uses of state shared revenues for fiscal year 2020 and 2027. I'd like to turn it over to Dan Quick for a brief overview of this topic at this time. Perfect. Thank you. So Dan Quick, budget and financial planning manager for the City of Bend. As uh Vice Chair Slaminsky mentioned, we have a couple of items to go through tonight, uh, first of which being the state shared revenue. Uh just want to mention really quick the the full agenda here, just so we uh we don't have a whole lot of time tonight, so we're gonna try to keep on schedule. Uh we do have two actions that the budget committee will be asked to take tonight. Uh the first one being the state shared revenue, the second one being approval of uh tax levies for the uh some Borough, uh some tax increment finance areas. We'll then have some informational items where we'll give a mid-biennium uh budget update and then we'll give a preview of some of the budget items that will be going to council on June 17th. Uh those are all subject to change. Uh more details will be coming uh with the council packet, uh, but we'll just we're just trying to give some high-level insights into what we'll be discussing uh on June 17th with City Council. Um, and due to our time restraints, uh, we'll ask the questions uh on those informational items, wait until the end. Um if any questions remain after the fact, uh folks are encouraged to reach out to to myself or to Eric King or Samantha Nelson, and we'll we'll get you answers to your questions. Uh so to jump into the the public hearing uh that has been opened. Um this is a requirement from the state that every year the city of Bend uh certifies that we uh plan to use state shared revenues in a certain way. Um, and so the state shared revenues that we have or that we receive uh include liquor taxes, marijuana taxes, and cigarette taxes. Um we receive those on a pro rata share based on our our population. Uh we're currently projecting to receive 3.3 million uh in the next fiscal year, and then uh we also receive state highway apportionment. This is gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. We're anticipating to receive about 8.6 million. Uh these fees or these revenues come into the city. Uh the general fund portion is used to pay for police services, long-range planning, street preservation, um, growth management, uh, some of these other things. And then the streets and operations, or sorry, the state highway apportionment is used specifically for streets operations and streets preservation. And so essentially what we're asked to do as a budget committee is open a public hearing, see if there's any public comment. Um, and then we will be doing the same thing with the city council on June 17th, uh and we'll just certify to the state that that this has happened. If there are any questions, hearing no questions, I would like to open this uh open hearing on this topic at this time.
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