Kent City Council’s Special Meeting on Monday focuses on 2025-2026 Biennial Budget

The Kent City Council convened for a Special Meeting on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024 to discuss the proposed 2025-2026 Biennial Budget.

Mayor Dana Ralph presented the budget, highlighting its conservative approach during a period of constrained finances. Ralph said the city’s reserves are above the required minimum, and some of that surplus will be needed to balance the budget in the coming two years. Key areas of focus included public safety, encampment cleanup, and increased funding for popular city programs.

Public Safety

Mayor Ralph mentioned that, while the Kent Police are fully staffed to their available budget, the department is still woefully short compared to much of the country. Washington State remains the absolute lowest in the country for rate of officers per capita, and Ralph said Kent has a significant need for more officers. 

Currently, the majority of officers have fewer than 3 years experience, and there is a very low sergeant to officer ratio. The new budget aims to correct that imbalance a bit, providing money for three new sergeant positions. There will also be money to replace three police drones per year. The budget includes $30,000 for officer wellness, which has been shown to aid in officer retention and reduce on-the-job injuries.

Parks Funding Changes

Mayor Ralph shared that 65% of current Parks staff time is spent on encampment cleanup and response. This unfortunately takes staff away from spending time on other popular Parks programs. Ralph said the city hosts 10 to 15 homeless camps each year, and demand is only increasing. The new budget includes an additional $75,000 for contracted cleanup of camps, plus disposal fees.

Ralph described how increased theft, vandalism, and property violence in parks has raised the cost of maintenance. $5,000 of additional funds in the new budget are allotted to deal with this nuisance.

Kent’s Spotlight Series has been so successful that the new budget allots increased funding for the program, taking that money from less popular programs. 

Mayor Ralph said that there is a tremendous demand for city services, with an extremely limited budget. She believes however that the proposed biennial budget accomplishes all of the obligations it has to the community. This budget will continue to be discussed over the next series of meetings. 

The full contents of the proposed budget can be found here.