Camas heads into budget season; ‘severe cuts’ possible

Camas city staff will host two public open houses to help community members better understand the City’s biennial budget process as well as revenue constraints that could negatively impact City programs in 2025-26. Debra Brooks, the City’s finance analyst, ran through the 2025-26 general fund budget schedule during the Camas City Council’s workshop on Monday, Sept. 16. “We will hold the first of two open house sessions on Oct. 9, at the library, in the upstairs meeting room,” Brooks told Council members. “This is an educational opportunity for the public, to help them understand the City’s general fund revenue sources, the property tax levy (and other budget issues).” Brooks said City staff hope to help community members understand how the City’s property taxes and the state’s 1% constraints on the property tax levy impact Camas’ general fund, which pays for city services such as police, fire, library, streets and parks and recreation. In August, Mayor Steve Hogan warned that the City’s general fund revenues have not kept pace with its expenditures and said that, without new or more diverse forms of revenues, the City will likely be facing “pretty severe cuts” to its levels of service in 2025 and 2026. Hogan told Council members in August that he is trying to find ways that the City can “increase revenue, decrease expenses and prioritize whatever staff says are the main needs.” “That’s how we’ll put the budget together,” Hogan said. “We do have a long list of services we charge for and we’re looking to extend that further and see if there are other ways to get revenue.” If Council decides it does not want to approve the revenue sources included in the mayor’s proposed 2025-26 budget, Hogan added, he will come back to the Council and ask what services the Council members want to cut. “If we’re not going to have other ways of getting that revenue that closes the gap … there will be a long list of services we provide that will be on the chopping block,” Hogan told Council members during their Aug. 5 workshop. “We’ll present it to you and ask what you want to take out of it.” Council to work through budget issues in October, November A second open house, which Brooks described as “focused on the City’s revenue diversification and potential program losses due to the 2025-26 budget funding gaps,” is set for Nov. 13, at Lacamas Lake Lodge in Camas. The City has not yet provided exact times for either of the open houses. Camas officials and the public will be able to see Camas Mayor Steve Hogan’s proposed 2025-26 budget on Oct. 7, when the mayor will present his budget during the Counci’s workshop and make the budget available online for the public, Brooks said. The Oct. 7 workshop, Brooks said, will provide “the first real picture of the full budget.” Council members are scheduled to hear presentations on four budget-related issues — the City’s property tax levy, fee schedule, operating budget and revenue options — during their workshop on Monday, Oct. 21. On Nov. 4, during another Council workshop, staff members will present officials with a capital budget presentation. The Council is expected to hold a public hearing on the property tax levy and a public hearing for revenue diversification and vote on a resolution for the City’s fee schedule during its regular meeting set for Monday, Nov. 18. On Nov. 21, the mayor’s final budget will be made available to the public online. And the Council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on the budget during its regular meeting on Dec. 2.

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