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The Chehalis City Council unanimously approved the first amendment of the year for the city’s 2025 budget during its regular meeting at Chehalis City Hall on Monday, March 10.
Typically, most municipalities amend their annual budgets two to three times a year.
This first amendment to Chehalis’ 2025 budget increased its beginning fund balance by $7,915,294, its revenues by $4,802,025, its expenditures by $8,632,247 and its ending fund balance by $4,085,072, according to the council’s agenda report.
This changed the 2025 budget’s beginning fund balance from $27,334,785 to $35,250,079, revenues from $29,024,900 to $44,826,925, expenditures from $31,548,384 to $40,180,631 and the ending fund balance from $24,811,301 to $28,896,373.
Chehalis Finance Director Nicholle Stanhope said the reason for the beginning fund increasing so much was because 2024 expenditures that were budgeted for but not actually started, so the funds were never withdrawn.
“Fund 415, water’s capital fund, you can see they’re bringing in revenue of $500,000, and they’re increasing their expenditures $2.3 million,” Stanhope said, explaining one example. “And I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone here that that is the (Market Boulevard) pinch point project.”
In the summer of 2023, concerns were raised the city lacked necessary infrastructure to support water service to proposed annexation areas in the Chehalis urban growth area (UGA).
While a study ultimately showed the infrastructure needs weren’t as bad as some originally believed they might be, the city still decided to move forward with two solutions to ensure there are no issues in the future supplying water to the UGA.
The Market Boulevard pinch point project was one of two solutions developed to address this issue along with the Bishop Road loop project, which was completed.
For the Market Boulevard pinch project, sections of the city’s water main lines from 11th to 21st streets along Market Boulevard, which are currently 8 inches in diameter, will be replaced with main lines double the size.
Along with carryover items from 2024’s budget, Stanhope stated there were also some new items added to the 2025 budget, including grant funding from both the Federal Aviation Administration and Washington state Transportation Improvement Board.
For more information on the City of Chehalis’ budget and to view its budget documents including the 2025 budget and previous adopted budgets, visit the city’s website at https://www.ci.chehalis.wa.us/finance.
