How to get a budget passed

Under Oregon law, governing bodies are required to have their 2025-26 fiscal year budgets adopted by July 1. As such, most cities, counties and school districts begin their budget processes every spring. The City of Rainier is no different. That process unofficially starts in March, with the city council’s annual goal setting session. Councilors, citizens and members of the City’s various committees gather in a public meeting to set their priorities for the following year. City staff then takes those priorities and starts to incorporate them into a budget proposal. Department heads also offer up their input, based on their needs and priority projects.

The City’s first budget committee meeting is typically held in May. That committee consists of the Mayor, the seven city council members and eight residents appointed by council. Staff presents the proposed budget and goes over it one fund at a time. Rainier’s budget consists of 11 funds: General Fund, Debt Service, Sewer Fund, Water Fund, Timber Fund, Special Projects Fund, Library Trust Fund, Street Fund, Sewer Capital, Water Capital and Transportation Capital. Committee members provide their input at that public meeting, and testimony from residents is also taken. The committee then has the option to either approve the budget as it was presented or determine the time and date of its next meeting.

Once the budget committee approves the budget, a hearing is scheduled for the next meeting of the City Council and a budget resolution is drafted by staff. The budget goes from being proposed to approved to adopted throughout the whole process.

The budget process can certainly be arduous, but it’s one of the most important things that staff does every year. Ideally, the adopted budget should reflect the priorities of the organization and the citizens it serves, based on the input offered during the goal setting session months prior and the public testimony given during the council and budget committee meetings.

Every public agency has limited resources, and it’s important that they be prioritized according to the desires of the taxpayers who participate and make their voices heard. It’s up to those agencies, their staff members, and their elected officials to be responsive to those desires and ensure that the adopted budget aligns with them accordingly.