The Bellevue City Council on Monday approved a budget of $5,421,816 for fiscal year 2023, nearly 2% higher than last year, amid uncertainties regarding inflation and the cost of hiring new staff to fill vacancies in city departments.
The new budget includes a 5% cost of living increase for city employees and raises for city council members from $50 to $250 per month and for the mayor from $200 to $1,000 per month. The budget includes $528,993 in carryover funds from last year, including significant funding from COVID-19 relief funds that are yet to be spent.
City Clerk/Treasurer Marian Edwards requested a commitment of support from the City Council in the event that unexpected cost increases challenge the city’s ability to meet financial obligations, such as infrastructure loan payments.
“There could be times that I run into cash flow issues,” Edwards said.
Mayor Kathryn Goldman assured Edwards and agreed to meetings with city departments as needs arise.
“To succeed we will all need to move forward as a group,” Goldman said.
Goldman said the budget reflects uncertainties as the city faces hiring a new community development director and filling a newly created position of code enforcement officer. The code enforcement officer will be charged with an assortment of duties, from keeping properties clear of junk to rounding up stray dogs.
City Council Chair Doug Brown said the code enforcement position will be “foundational” for the city and that next year should be the “year of execution” for addressing the “giant cost” of repairing city streets, a challenge that he said could require selling city assets and going for a voter supported tax levy bond increase in the spring.
“We could probably hire a full-time staff person to go after grants for streets, water and sewer infrastructure expenses,” Brown said.
Bellevue Marshal Mynde Heil said she envisions equipping the code enforcement officer with a commercial driver’s license so they could double up on duties in winter by driving a snowplow.
City Councilman Sean Mahoney said it would be important to hire quality employees.
“Hiring knuckleheads is not good for the city,” Mahoney said.
City Councilman Chris Johnson, who is involved with helping to oversee water and wastewater issues, said he was disappointed that the budget did not include criteria for incremental pay-rate increases for staff.
Johnson cast the lone vote on the council against passing the budget. 
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