🚨 Jail Costs Spike & Speed Limits Drop - Goldendale March '26 Round-Up

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🏛 March 2026 Municipal Round-Up

Agencies Covered: Goldendale City Council

The Bottom Line: Financial friction is taking center stage as the city navigates unbudgeted, skyrocketing medical bills for inmates while simultaneously locking in multi-year union contracts and disbursing local tourism funds.

The Vibe: Pragmatic but cautious. The council is successfully executing standard administrative duties, but there is a clear and growing anxiety regarding uncontrollable liability costs being passed down from the county level.

Executive Summaries:

🔎 What Changed:

• Adopted Ordinance No. 1552, officially reducing the speed limit on North Columbus to 25 mph.
• Authorized the 2026-2028 collective bargaining agreement with Municipal Employees and the 2025-2027 agreement with the Uniformed Officers union.
• Approved the distribution of $100,900.00 in Lodging Tax grants for 2026.

⚠ What Escalated:

• Medical billing under the Klickitat County jail contract is severely straining the city's public safety budget, with single incidents costing up to $10,000 due to county-level liability precautions.

🧭 What’s Next:

• Forward momentum on plans to improve the World War II Park.
• Evaluating the logistics and funding for a dedicated animal control officer and facility.
• A highly anticipated (and delayed) presentation on 5G safety and municipal oversight.

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Goldendale City Council

🚔 Inmate Medical Bills Threaten Budget The city is facing a severe budget threat stemming from its jail contract with the Klickitat County Department of Corrections.

• The city's dedicated jail budget is currently set at $40,000.
• Recent medical bills for city inmates housed at the county facility have spiked violently, with a single recent bill hitting $10,000.
• The police department recently purchased roughly $9,400 in Axon body cameras and tasers, and is processing a new hire via a federal grant.
• The city authorized the mayor to execute the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement with the Uniformed Officers union (Goldendale Police Officers Association).

The Downstream Cost of County Mismanagement

This financial friction exposes a severe case of downstream liability shifting rooted in ongoing facility mismanagement. The Klickitat County jail is currently reeling from a cascade of expensive controversies, including a recent $2 million wrongful death settlement, roughly $192,000 in unpaid hospital bills dating back to 2021, and a horrific 2023 incident where a Goldendale Police officer discovered a county inmate suffering from severe neglect and smelling of "rotting flesh."

Following these costly civil rights lawsuits and medical failures, the county facility, until recently operating under the legacy of Sheriff Bob Songer's administration, has adopted a rigid policy of liability avoidance. Rather than reforming internal care protocols and taking responsibility for inmate health, the jail is appearing to refuse entry to arrestees without comprehensive, pre-booked medical clearances.

The reality of this burden was laid bare during a candid, pre-meeting "hot mic" moment captured on the March 16th recording, where Police Chief Mike Smith expressed deep frustration with the county's shifting goalposts. Noting that the jail uses "any little" issue to refuse booking, the Chief stated the county now demands, "I want an X-ray, I want a CT scan, I want all this stuff done," and that the last bill for such an intense screening was over $10,000. This hyper-defensive posture effectively forces small-town police departments to act as medical transport, passing the unbudgeted costs of the county's insolvency directly onto the City of Goldendale.

For Context: This is Not Standard Procedure. It is vital to understand that demanding expensive, preemptive diagnostics, like CT scans and full-body X-rays, for routine, non-violent arrests is not standard correctional practice. Under normal operations, jails only require a hospital's "fit for confinement" clearance if a suspect has suffered obvious physical trauma, is actively overdosing, or is experiencing an acute medical emergency.

By applying this extreme medical threshold to standard arrestees, the county administration appears to have weaponized a basic safety protocol into a tool for zero-liability avoidance. It may be a deliberate strategy that builds a financial wall around the county facility, forcing local police departments to pay the staggering admission cost. Because the city's jail budget was recently separated into its own line item, these massive cost overruns are now glaringly obvious. By requiring absolute medical clearance before booking, the jail risks quietly draining municipal public safety budgets to cover emergency room diagnostics just to process a standard arrest.

Animal Control Logistics

• The council discussed utilizing available funding to hire a dedicated animal control officer.
• The city is also exploring the acquisition or designation of a building to support animal control operations to address ongoing community complaints.

🚧 Transportation & Traffic

North Columbus Speed Limit Lowered

Following a public hearing with no citizen opposition, the council finalized changes to local traffic rules.

• The council adopted Ordinance No. 1552, lowering the speed limit on North Columbus from 30 mph to 25 mph.
• The new zone stretches from the bridge overpass at the Little Klickitat River to the north city limits.
• In a separate but related traffic strategy, the council opted to install stop signs and a flashing speed sign on 21st Street rather than lowering the speed limit there.

The divergent approaches to North Columbus and 21st Street highlight the tightrope municipalities walk when managing state grant money. The city easily lowered the speed limit on North Columbus to improve pedestrian and residential safety. However, on 21st Street, the council had to use physical traffic calming measures (stop signs and flashing lights) instead of just dropping the speed limit. Dropping the speed limit on 21st Street could have violated the terms of funding the city receives from the state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB), potentially jeopardizing future road maintenance grants.

💰 Economic Development & Administration

• The council approved the funding of Lodging Tax Applications for 2026, totaling $100,900.00.
• The funds will go to nine different local groups for tourism promotion.
• The vote was not unanimous; Council members Loren Meagher and Steve Johnston voted against the approval.
• The city authorized the mayor to execute the 2026-2028 collective bargaining agreement with the Municipal Employees union.

🗣 Public Comment Highlights

• Roger Nichols: Called in to compliment Mayor Dave Jones on his new beard, jokingly asked Council Member Danielle Clevidence if she was available for commercial radio work, and correctly pointed out that the city's website needs to be updated to reflect the newly elected council members.

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🛠 Jargon Buster

• Lodging Tax: Also known as a "hotel/motel tax," this is a consumer tax on lodging for periods of less than 30 consecutive days. State law requires that municipalities use this revenue strictly for activities that promote local tourism and bring visitors into the city.
• TIB (Transportation Improvement Board): An independent state agency in Washington that distributes state gas tax money to cities and counties for transportation projects. TIB grants often come with strict design and speed limit requirements to ensure roads function efficiently as arterial routes.
• COPS Grant: The Community Oriented Policing Services program is a federal initiative managed by the U.S. Department of Justice that provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and train community policing professionals.

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How to Join & Learn More

The Goldendale City Council meets regularly on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6:00 PM.

• Next Meeting: April 6, 2026
• Location: City Hall, or join remotely via Zoom.
• Raw Materials: You can review the full March 2 Council Packet and March 16 Council Packet on the city website.