Tumwater budget proposes 33 new positions in 2-year budget. Is there money for them?
The Tumwater City Council approved its 2025-2026 biennial budget during its Dec. 3 meeting, which included adding 33 positions.
The approved budget was a total of $432 million, made up of several different funds.
General Government resources make up $132.7 million of the proposed two-year budget. That includes General Fund revenues of $120.4 million, as well as revenues from the Public Safety, Permit, Emergency and Facilities reserves, and other city programs.
City Administrator Lisa Parks said over the course of this budget journey, staff identified four primary budget priorities, the top being increasing non-represented employees’ salaries, and adding staff.
“They (salaries) have lagged behind in terms of the market,” she said. “We did a salary survey and identified the need to address those market-rate salary adjustments, and we do have a need for additional staffing.”
Employees would receive a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment to their pay. The city would have 275 full-time employees if its hiring plans go through.
Parks said the city is expected to end 2026 with an ending fund balance of nearly $18 million, which has increased over previous years. She said that allows the city to maintain its identified and established reserve accounts, primarily cash flow reserve, which helps cover operating expenses.
She said the city will be requesting to spend $5.5 million of that projected ending fund balance over the 2025-2026 budget cycle. Council member Leatta Dahlhoff said she was concerned about the possibility of using those funds to pay for new employees’ salaries.
“The concern I have is using ending fund balance for salaries, because one of my top priorities is sustainability,” she said. “So that’s the concern that I have, is using ending fund balance for salaries. I just want to clarify, I support all of it. That’s a concern I have, and I’m just not comfortable with that.”
The positions
Parks said there are 33 new positions being proposed, and approximately 27 of those have a revenue source to fund them separate from the general fund.
There are two new positions proposed for the Community Development Department. One of them is a reclassification of an already established position, and the other is funded by land use permit fees.
There are nine new Fire Department positions being proposed, and seven will be covered by Medic One funds.
Three new positions at the Tumwater Police Department will be funded through the Public Safety tax measure. Parks said the positions are related to the department’s implementation of body-worn cameras.
She said the Parks Facilities and Maintenance Department will gain two positions, paid for through the General Fund. The city’s Sustainability Department will also gain two, one being a reclassification and the other a new urban forester.
Parks said half of the forester’s salary will be paid for by a grant, and the other half will be covered through utility funds.
She said the city’s current traffic signal employee is ready to retire, so his open position is included in the proposed employee increase. She said there are 12 positions that will be added to water, sewer and stormwater, all paid for through their respective utility funds.
“So in essence, the majority of these 33 new positions are paid for by funds that are identified as new funds to support hiring those positions,” Parks said. “So that leaves somewhere between five and six of those positions of the 33 that are actually coming out of the General Fund, and a portion which is being supported in part by the $5.5 million of ending fund balance.”
Breakdown of the total 2025-2026 budget
The city’s budget document breaks down the money into six funding categories.
The General Government Funds section totals $132 million. It includes the General Fund, the Public Safety, Permit, Emergency and Facilities reserves, recreation special programs, the Parks board, E-Link & Fiberoptics, the Historical Commission and U.S. Flag Recognition.
The Special Revenue Funds section totals $31 million. It includes the Public Safety Sales Tax, the Affordable Housing Sales Tax Fund, the Domestic Violence Prevention Fund, the Drug & Other Seizure Fund, the Lodging Tax Fund, Development Fees Fund, Barnes Lake Management District Fund, and the Transportation Benefit District.
The Debt Service Fund totals $532,785.
Capital Projects funds total $75 million. It includes the General Government CFP fund and the Transportation CFP fund.
Proprietary funds include water, sewer and storm utilities, and the golf course fund. The utility funds total $168 million, and the golf course fund is $5.6 million.
Internal Service funds include the equipment rental and reserve funds for the city’s fleet and IT services. Funds total $18 million.
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