West Linn City Council Work Session: Budget Needs and Opportunities - July 7, 2025

The West Linn City Council held a work session on Monday, July 7, 2025, to discuss long-range city budget needs and opportunities. The meeting began at 1:00 p.m. with the approval of the agenda, followed by council reports, proclamations, and a detailed presentation and discussion on staffing, capital projects, and potential revenue measures. No formal decisions were made; the council directed staff to return with additional information on community engagement and polling options.

Proclamations

• Disability Pride Month: Council President Baumgartner read a proclamation recognizing July 2025 as Disability Pride Month, emphasizing inclusion, accessibility, and the celebration of the disability community.
• Parks and Recreation Month: Councilor Bonnington read the proclamation, and Parks staff highlighted July activities including the Old Time Fair, outdoor movies, and the Adult Community Center dog show. Councilor Bright noted positive observations of day camp programming.
• Willamette Summer Market Week: Mayor Bielostowski proclaimed August 3–9, 2025, as National Farmers Market Week, honoring the Wednesday market in Willamette and its role in local food access.

Mayor and Council Reports

• Councilor Bright reported progress on Vision 43 and shared observations from a mixed-use development in Missoula, Montana. He also promoted a community walk-and-talk cleanup event on Saturday.
• Councilor Bonnington mentioned the McLean House historic plaque unveiling and filming the public works facility to explain the need for a new one.
• Councilor Gardner attended the Lamprey Festival and reported on the first Community Advisory Group report form.
• Councilor Groner described a Willamette River cruise, visits to Lake Oswego recreation pools, and the Lamprey Festival.
• Mayor Bielostowski highlighted constituent meetups and cross-departmental collaboration on the Old Time Fair.

Discussion Items: Long-Range City Budget Needs and Opportunities

City Manager John Williams presented four key pieces from the budget committee discussions:

1. Unmet Staffing Needs (approx. $3 million/year): Proposed positions across police, parks, planning, code enforcement, communications, and library. Chief Mahuna prioritized a Community Service Officer (CSO), a traffic officer, then three additional officers, and a captain. He cited that one CSO wrote 285 reports in 2024, and one traffic officer wrote 916 citations/warnings—more than the rest of the department combined. Response times for priority calls increased from 6:32 to 8:48 minutes. He noted West Linn has 29 sworn officers for 27,500 people, the smallest per capita in the metro area.
2. Capital Projects (approx. $3–3.5 million): Mostly deferred maintenance, including playground replacements, facility master plan, Adult Community Center generator, ADA improvements, non-motorized boat launch, and a potential bookmobile/emergency operations center hybrid.
3. General Fund Stabilization: Recommended $1.25 million/year beyond normal savings to address a forecasted shortfall larger than usual.
4. Revenue Options: Example of a five-year local option levy at $0.50 per $1,000 assessed value would generate about $2.3 million/year (average cost less than $400/year per household).

Councilors expressed support for continuing the conversation. Councilor Bonnington framed the discussion as “community enhancement” rather than a failure. Councilor Groner displayed a slide summarizing total needs (~$6.44 million/year) and suggested taking the list to the budget committee and then to the community for prioritization. Councilor Bright proposed using a working group of neighborhood representatives. Councilor Baumgartner noted the need to clarify which positions are new vs. reinstated. The council discussed polling options, including statistically valid surveys and simple online two-question surveys.

City Manager Report

City Manager Williams highlighted new art in the council chamber by Kayla Brant. He outlined upcoming meetings: July 14 (police recognition, surplus property, right-of-way code), July 21 (state of the district from West Linn-Wilsonville School District), and August 4 (city manager evaluation, road program contract, community advisory group work plans). He also promoted the Old Time Fair and the Adult Community Center dog show.

Key Outcomes

• The council approved the meeting agenda unanimously (roll call: all yes).
• No decisions were made on budget items. The council directed staff to bring back more information on community engagement methods, polling costs, and potential additional needs from the community.
• Staff will work with the mayor to schedule a follow-up discussion in August or early September 2025, with more refined options for revenue and prioritization.
• Councilors were asked to submit any additional unmet needs or project ideas to staff for inclusion in the list.