City Council Approves 2019-20 Budget, Approves Process to Fill Council Vacancy

June 4, 2019 — At the June 3, 2019, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, the Council adopted a City budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019. The all-funds budget of $212.5 million was recommended and approved by the Budget Committee for the Council’s consideration on May 28.

Highlighting the $46.4 million operating budget is the addition of more than $1 million for new transit services funded by “Keep Oregon Moving,” House Bill 2017 legislation that provided a new state revenue source for public transit operations. The City’s $48.2 million budget for capital improvements funds a slate of upcoming projects that is scheduled to include the 5th St. to Kinsman Road extension, Garden Acres Rd. improvements and the development of new linear parks in Villebois.

In conjunction with the adoption of the FY 2019-20 Budget, the Council adopted two resolutions that confirm Wilsonville’s eligibility and election to receive state-shared revenues totaling $2.3 million, with $0.72 million for the General Fund and $1.76 million of gas-tax revenues for the Road Operating Fund.

Council also approved a zone map amendment for a six-acre property located south of Boeckman Rd. and east of Boberg Rd. Previously zoned Residential Agricultural Holding (RA-H), the action changes the zoning to Planned Development Industrial (PDI) with conditions to protect residents of nearby Walnut Mobile Home Park.

During Councilor Comments, Councilor Susie Stevens spoke about her decision to resign from City Council at the end of the month. 

“It has been such an honor for the 6-and-a-half years I’ve been here. It really has. It has been and an enriching experience for me and I never would have dreamed when I ran in 2012 how much it would mean to me to be here. The timing is right,” Stevens said.

During Mayor’s Business, Mayor Tim Knapp discussed the framework of a process that the Council is employing to fill the seat being vacated by Stevens on June 30. An application and eligibility requirements are being developed; when completed, they are to be posted online with public notice for a period of 30 days. After the deadline, applications are vetted by Mayor Knapp and Council President Kristin Akervall to yield a short list of final candidates. Finalists are interviewed by Council, who then will choose the preferred candidate for appointment.

During the period of public comment, representatives from the Wilsonville Library community updated Council on the success of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which provides free books each month to children under the age of five. The program recently passed a milestone, mailing its 50,000th book in the Wilsonville area.

City Attorney Barbara Jacobson detailed an upcoming visit by the energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan to participate in a multi-jurisdictional emergency response drill and address local neighborhoods. She also discussed an action that gives the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office latitude to exclude people from entering City parks after egregious or habitual abuse of park rules.

During a work session prior to the meeting, planning staff shared the City’s 2019 Annual Housing Report, which notes that the City is exceeding Metro’s population-growth forecast and that residents with incomes less than $50,000 are disproportionally cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of income on housing. A related presentation detailed the City’s plan to recruit an Equitable Housing Strategic Plan Task Force to guide the City’s work to develop policies and strategies for the benefit of the growing number of community members burdened by the region’s lack of affordable housing.

SMART staff provided a progress report on ongoing plans to develop new service improvements with new revenue anticipated from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund, which could include waiving fares for improved Route 2X service to Tualatin.

Following Council, at a brief meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency Board, the Board approved the agency’s $47.6 million budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Community members can watch a replay of all or a portion of the City Council meeting on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 30, Frontier Ch. 32 or on the City’s YouTube channel: ci.wilsonville.or.us/WilsonvilleTV.

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