👋 A Seat Opens, a Rate Hike Lands - North Bonneville Oct '26 Round-up

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🏛 North Bonneville October 2026 Round-Up

Agencies Covered: North Bonneville City Council (October 13 and 27, plus an October rate study session) and the North Bonneville Planning Commission (October 6).

The Bottom Line: The council's money month started. A draft resolution would raise water and sewer rates 10 percent, the preliminary 2027 budget showed funds still running short, and Councilmember Emily Sabo said she is leaving, so a new member will be picked mid-budget.

The Vibe: Tired but working. The plant is quieter, the contractor bills still draw objections but pass, and the fights moved to rules, contracts and who holds which title.

The October 27 minutes were not posted by month's end, so that night's votes and figures come from the meeting video.

🔎 What Changed

• Sabo is stepping down. She intends November 10 to be her last meeting. She has been Skamania County Treasurer since May and doesn't want to hold two elected offices.
• Ted Salka is Mayor Pro Tem, appointed 3 to 2, replacing Jeff Blakeley.
• The city joined the county's permit software, Cloud Permit, so applications and their status live online.
• Two Jackson Civil Engineering contracts passed, an on-call engineering agreement and one the state requires for a road grant.
• The Planning Commission moved to the third Tuesday of the month.

⚠ What Escalated

• A 10 percent water and sewer rate increase had its first reading. Past years ran 2 to 3 percent.
• The preliminary 2027 budget still has a gap, which a councilmember put at almost $97,000.
• The 2027 county planning contract was tabled while Blakeley questioned what it costs.
• A noticed public hearing on the city's long-range plan and critical areas rules was set for October 27 and didn't happen.

🧭 What's Next

• November 3: budget study session. November 10: second budget hearing and the rate resolution's second reading. November 24: final budget hearing and possible adoption.
• November 6: applications due for Sabo's seat, Council Position 1.
• November 16: study session on the council's rules of procedure.
• November 17: the Planning Commission's first third-Tuesday meeting.

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North Bonneville City Council

👋 Sabo Steps Down

Sabo told the council at the end of the October 13 meeting. She ran for council intending to serve four years. Then she was appointed Skamania County Treasurer in May, and she ran unopposed for the office this fall. Between the two jobs, the fire department, her church and family, "it's becoming more and more clear that I can't" do it all, she said. "I don't really want the responsibility of holding two elected positions. It's just too much liability, especially when I'm learning so much."

She said she was announcing early so the council could find someone in time for the budget, "because I think that's like the most important thing that the council does." November 10 is her intended last meeting, sooner if a replacement is ready. "This is my legacy, this city," she said.

On October 27 the council voted to open recruitment for her seat, Council Position 1; four yes votes are heard on the video and the fifth is cut off. Applications are due at City Hall by November 6. Chief Administrative Officer Taylor Chambers wants to review them November 10 and then hold a special meeting to interview and appoint. If nobody applies, the timeline moves.

Fire Chief Kalista Hamilton said in closing public comment that if no one applies, she would step down as chief and apply herself.

This will be the council's third vacancy cycle of 2026, after two resignations in February and the empty seat filled in July.

🎖 A New Mayor Pro Tem, 3 to 2

On September 22 Salka asked for a vote on the Mayor Pro Tem, the councilmember who stands in for the mayor. On October 13 Councilmember Mary Helms nominated him, and he was appointed 3 to 2, with Blakeley and Sabo voting no.

Blakeley, who held the post, argued the council couldn't appoint anyone. Under its rules, he said, there was no vacancy: he had been appointed, never removed, and the rules have no place for two. He asked to discuss it in executive session, citing Rule 8.4. City Attorney Dan Curtis read the state law, RCW 35A.12.065, which lets a council pick a mayor pro tempore by majority vote "biennially at the first meeting of a new council, or periodically." Curtis said that gives the council "a lot of leeway," though he also told Blakeley, "Your point is well taken that there hasn't been a removal of Mayor Pro Tem." He cautioned that a closed session couldn't be used to reach agreement.

Earlier the same night, Blakeley tried to add an amendment to Rule 8.6, which covers removing a Mayor Pro Tem. Staff said the rules are already headed to a study session and changing them twice would cost legal time. The motion to add it failed.

Right after the vote Blakeley asked Salka whether he has a contract with the city. Salka said he didn't believe so; he is on the city's small works roster, "but we don't do anything." In closing, Blakeley said Salka voted to approve a voucher paying himself at his first council meeting. Salka said that was a repair job, not a contract.

💧 The Rate Increase

Resolution 598 had its first reading on October 27. Chambers said the draft carries a 10 percent increase in water and sewer rates, and the council can change that number. The city's preliminary budget already assumes a rate increase.

Her case was the same one she made at a study session the week before, for which no recording or minutes were posted by month's end: water and sewer spending is outpacing revenue, and both funds are eating their reserves. She argued that the 2 to 3 percent increases of past years are why the funds haven't kept up.

Mayor JB Tennison asked for one change. The Bonneville Hot Springs got a 50 percent reduced base fee when it opened, and he said no end date was ever set. A councilmember recalled a six-month sunset; the reply was that there probably wasn't one, but it would be checked. He wants it to pay the full rate now that it has been open two years. The council agreed to see a version with that change at the second reading.

A councilmember said about a third of residents live on Social Security alone, and that for someone already struggling, 10 percent "might be less food or less heat." They asked for a notice in the next water bills and on the city's homepage. Staff said the website could carry it but not the bills: inserts cost money and the timing is tight. Staff also said rate increases come every year without this much public discussion.

Chief Hamilton said in public comment that she grew up low-income and offered to help anyone who needs to find assistance programs. She said those programs adjust when bills rise and compared the increase to a couple of packs of cigarettes.

Also in the numbers: the water and sewer funds pay business-and-occupation tax into the general fund, about $87,000 in 2026, by a councilmember's count. A councilmember said those transfers should come to the council quarterly as vouchers. Chambers said she would ask the city's CPA.

The second reading is set for November 10.

🧮 The First Look at 2027

Chambers presented the preliminary 2027 budget on October 27, the first reading of the budget hearing. It was a long presentation and drew thanks around the table. "Amazing, Taylor," someone said. The highlights, all from her presentation:

• Cash on hand, October 15: about $511,000 in a money market account, $325,000 in the state's investment pool (earning 3.74 percent), and $395,000 in checking. She suggested moving more into the pool, which earns far more.
• Streets fund: has started every year in the red for several years and gets worse each year. "We do need to figure out a way to stop the bleeding."
• Equipment fund: still nearly spent. A roll-up door wrongly charged to it was moved back to the general fund. It is the fund that ran dry in January.
• Water and sewer: reserves shrinking year by year. The water reserve fund was swept into the water fund with no explanation in the books, and she has asked the CPA why.
• Tourism: strong hotel-motel tax. She wants a somewhat bigger Gorge Days budget.
• Savings ideas: running some lab tests in-house, which she put at about $3,700 saved the first year and $5,700 a year after; a sludge dewatering unit, expected at $50,000 to $60,000, against about $47,000 spent hauling sludge so far in 2026.

A councilmember put the remaining gap at almost $97,000 and said general fund spending grew about 49 percent, or $167,000, in a year, $143,000 of it tied to water and sewer. "We can't adopt a negative budget," the councilmember said. Chambers said she has been cutting her own office's spending and is open to ideas, but that a cut that size is close to a full-time position. "Unfortunately or fortunately for me, it's not my choice. It's yours."

Ordinance 1178, the property tax levy, also had its first reading: $265,568.41, the 1 percent increase state law allows, about $2,642 more than last year.

The calendar, per the city's published notices: a budget study session November 3, a second budget hearing November 10, and the final hearing and possible adoption November 24. The levy goes to the county assessor by November 30.

🧾 The Contractor, Month Three

On October 13 the council approved the next bill from OMT, the company running the water and wastewater plant since August: $23,838.75, for September operations and October oversight, 4 to 1, Blakeley voting no.

Blakeley raised two objections. One was the $6,400 oversight fee billed a month ahead, which he called "a poor way to do business." The other was about the drinking water side. He said the invoices show no hours for water distribution, and the operator OMT listed with the state Department of Health doesn't appear on them.

Chambers answered that she understood the designated operator had been to the plant, that other OMT operators work under his certification, including one on site daily, and that both the Department of Health and the Department of Ecology consider the city in compliance. The state rule Blakeley cited, WAC 246-292-032, requires the operator in responsible charge to "perform and manage" the system's daily operation and maintenance, and to be on site or "able to be contacted immediately," around the clock, and able to start action within two hours.

At the plant itself the news was good. On October 27 the mayor said city crews would start fixing water line breaks themselves instead of calling contractors, and that the plant's biosolids were reclassified to Class B, which opens cheaper disposal options. "I do know it's a lot of money that they're charging," he said of OMT, "but down the road, to me, it's going to pay for itself." Both operator positions are open. The draft budget keeps money for contracted oversight in case the city can only hire a lower-level operator.

An update to our September report: Chambers told the council then that the plant needs an operator certified at level 2 in both water and wastewater. On October 13 she said she had checked with the contractor: level 2 is required only for the sewer side, water treatment needs level 1, and the person hired needs both.

📐 Planning, Engineering and Two Tabled Questions

Cloud Permit. The council voted to join Skamania County's Cloud Permit account, the county's online permitting system. Staff said it puts every application in one place, lets the city see where a stuck project sits, and replaces a filing system that has been "pieces of paper." The cost is a $4,000 product fee for 2027 plus a professional services fee. Blakeley voted no, calling it a lot of money. Sabo, a county employee, asked the city attorney whether she should vote, and he said she had good grounds to abstain. The minutes record the vote as 3 to 1, with Sabo abstaining. On the meeting video, the roll call reads her as voting yes.

The county planning contract, tabled. The 2027 Planning Services Agreement with Skamania County was tabled two meetings, 5 to 0, so staff can add the Cloud Permit fees. Blakeley said the county's flat proposal is $53,586 a year, while former city planner Richard Hall cost $25,305.14 for the first nine months of 2026. Staff said the switch was made because of how much the city also paid Jackson Civil Engineering for planning work this year. Blakeley asked for a side-by-side comparison.

Jackson Civil Engineering. Two contracts passed 4 to 1. One is an on-call engineering agreement, which staff said followed a request for qualifications and keeps the same rates. The other is a standard consultant agreement the state Transportation Improvement Board requires before it reimburses the city's street grant. Blakeley voted no on both. He said website problems kept him from reading the packet, and his motions to table them died without a second.

A hearing that didn't happen. A city notice dated October 14 and signed by county planner Josh Neblock set a public hearing before the council on October 27 on the city's periodic plan and critical areas ordinance updates. It wasn't on the October 27 agenda and didn't come up. State law sets a deadline of December 31, 2026 for Skamania County and its cities to finish this periodic update. The critical areas work is the same ordinance the council was hearing in June.

🤝 The EDC, a Lobbyist and the Lift Station

David Hodges of CFM Advocates introduced himself on October 27. CFM is the lobbying firm the Skamania County Economic Development Council hires, paid in part through member dues, including North Bonneville's, and besides Congress it lobbies in Olympia and Salem. Hodges works on congressionally directed spending, the earmarks members of Congress put into spending bills. The next round of requests opens around February or March 2027 with a short window, he said, and $1 million is the "sweet spot." A lift station, which EDC Director Kevin Waters called the biggest thing the EDC is pushing for the city, is "ripe for federal funding," Hodges said.

The council then approved the 2027 Skamania County EDC contract, 5 to 0, after first amending it 5 to 0. Blakeley pointed out that the contract still incorporated sections 4 through 14 only by reference to "the original agreement," an objection he raised in August, and the city attorney agreed the original should be attached. The amendment adds them, and Waters said he would supply the text the next day.

Earlier in the month Chambers reported a win from the EDC side. At a September 30 meeting of a county EDC advisory board, the city's water and sewer project moved from 15th to 5th on the county's priority list. She said the city hadn't attended one of those meetings in more than three years.

🗳 City Hall Hours and the Rules

On October 13 Blakeley asked why City Hall was closed on October 12, which is neither a state nor a city holiday, and why it now closes at 4:30. He cited RCW 35A.21.070, which says a code city's offices stay open on the days and hours the council sets by ordinance, and an ordinance he said sets 8 to 5. Staff answered that the staff day ends at 5, the drawer has to be closed out before then, and the city can't ask for overtime every day; October 12 was a federal holiday given to staff. Blakeley said changes like that belong to the council.

Helms said Blakeley had blind-copied an email to the whole council, which she said exposes the city to liability. Blakeley said there's no rule against it yet and he followed guidance from the state's municipal research center. Curtis said council comments are a round-robin, not a place to work toward agreement on items not on the agenda. Blakeley said he didn't accept the advice but would stop.

One follow-up is on the calendar: the council's rules of procedure go to a study session November 16. And Curtis floated making study sessions regular, set by ordinance, early next year, so long discussions stop arriving as walk-on items.

🚒 Fire, Sheriff and Around Town

• Turkey Bingo is on, November 21. Donations can be dropped at City Hall.
• Engine 8-2. Chief Hamilton asked the council to put the engine on the surplus list. The department is working on a replacement engine and wouldn't have room for both.
• A $214,000 grant for the fire department is pending, and the draft budget holds the $10,700 match.
• Odors from a business in town. The chief said she is working on complaints. Air quality complaints in Skamania County go to the Southwest Clean Air Agency.
• Sheriff Summer Scheyer returned after missing three meetings. She reported a bobcat taking small livestock on the north side of Greenleaf Slough (call the sheriff's office or Fish and Wildlife). She said she is talking with the city about deputies enforcing city code, such as parking. On October 27 she asked anyone threatened by a man on foot in town to call 911.
• Burn pile. The mayor plans a resident chipper day in place of burning.
• Records requests. Chambers has ten open, one the largest she has seen in six years of municipal work, and asked for patience.
• Gorge Days. Resident Don Stevens asked whether the Chamber of Commerce could help run Gorge Days again. Someone at the table recalled the Chamber cost about $12,000, against the city's $5,000 organizer stipend.

⚡ The Transmission Line, From the City's EFSEC Seat

Harold Cook, the Planning Commission vice chair and North Bonneville's representative on the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, briefed the council on the Cascade Renewable Transmission project on October 27. The summer comment period drew 772 responses: 43 individual letters and 729 from letter-writing campaigns. The city's contract planner sent the state the city's answer on land-use consistency.

The state council voted on October 21 to hold new land-use consistency hearings, one in each county. Cook said that was partly because of problems with how last year's Skamania County hearings were noticed. Columbia Gorge News reported that two groups objected to the vote, and EFSEC then called a November 2 special meeting to re-vote on the plan. Cook said there would be no new written comment period. He said he will post the hearing dates on local Facebook pages once they are set.

📋 The Record Itself

The September minutes, approved 4 to 1 on October 13 with Helms voting no, settle some things and leave a gap, and October's minutes raise a question of their own.

• The independent review failed 1 to 4. The minutes name the no votes: Helms, Councilmember Norm Woods, Sabo and Salka. The meeting video had caught only part of that roll call.
• No adoption vote for Resolution 597. The minutes record both amendment votes on the emergency resolution but no vote adopting the resolution itself. On the meeting video it passed.
• A name for a speaker. The September 22 closing public commenter who praised public works and warned about the load on the CAO was Chief Hamilton, per the minutes.
• A label slip. The September 22 minutes call the second-half vouchers "first half," and the first page is headed "Meeting Agenda."
• Two versions of one vote. The October 13 minutes record Sabo as abstaining on Cloud Permit. The meeting video's roll call reads her as a yes. Either way, the measure passed.

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North Bonneville Planning Commission

📅 Third Tuesdays Now

The Commission met October 6 for about 15 minutes, its first meeting staffed by Skamania County. A county planner stood in for Neblock. Commissioners Harold Cook and Katie Young were excused.

The Commission voted 4 to 0 to move its regular meeting from the first Tuesday to the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m., revising its by-laws. Chambers had polled commissioners, and the third Tuesday won; the county's own Planning Commission meets the first Tuesday. Its November meeting falls on the 17th.

The county also handed out a 2027 work plan worksheet. Each commissioner is asked to name one or two parts of the city code that cause the most trouble: rules residents complain about, sections that are hard to read, definitions that don't work. Code enforcement is separate, the planner said, and belongs to whoever enforces the code.

The approved September 1 minutes, now public, record the McMaster livestock permit on East Cascade Drive passing 5 to 0, and Neblock introduced at that meeting as the incoming planner.

🛠 Jargon Buster

• Mayor Pro Tem: a councilmember chosen by the council to run meetings and act for the mayor when the mayor is away.
• First reading: the first time an ordinance or resolution comes before the council. Nothing is adopted; the vote comes at a later reading.
• LGIP: the Local Government Investment Pool, a state-run fund where cities park cash and earn interest.
• B&O tax: business and occupation tax. Here, the city's own utility funds pay it into the general fund.
• Designated operator in responsible charge: the certified operator the state holds responsible for a public water system's daily operation.
• Class B biosolids: treated sewage sludge that meets state standards for limited use, such as spreading on some farm fields.
• Periodic update: the review every Washington county and city planning under the Growth Management Act must make of its comprehensive plan and development rules on a state schedule.
• Earmark (congressionally directed spending): money a member of Congress writes into a spending bill for a specific local project.

📅 How to Join & Learn More

• North Bonneville City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, 214 CBD Mall Drive, and on Teams. In November that's the 10th and the 24th, with special meetings on the 3rd (budget) and Monday the 16th (rules). Use the Teams link printed on the agenda. Agendas, recordings and minutes are at northbonneville.net.
• Council Position 1: applications are due at City Hall by November 6.
• North Bonneville Planning Commission now meets the third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall; in November, the 17th. Materials are at northbonneville.net/planning/meetings.
• Public comment is taken at the start and end of every regular council meeting, in person or on Teams. Study sessions take no public comment.
• Turkey Bingo: November 21. Donations at City Hall for the North Bonneville Fire Department.