Renton city budget targets public safety, cleanliness, social services

The City of Renton will host a series of public presentations ahead of a looming deadline to submit its biennium budget.

Mayor Armondo Pavone said the city will retain its conservative spending approach while addressing three key priorities: public safety, Renton’s cleanliness, and social services.

At the Oct. 7 Renton Committee of the Whole meeting, Pavone delivered the budget message, the first piece of the final tweaks to the 2025-2026 biennium budget before the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline for final budget adoption.

The final reading of all budget-related legislation will be on Nov. 18.

In his message, Pavone said as a city, Renton has been conservative in its spending, which allowed Renton to weather challenges over the last 20 years. He added that this budget proposal holds significant investments that meet the community’s needs, create a positive shift, and have a lasting impact for generations.

Pavone said that changes to staffing levels were essential over the last 15 years due to economic restraints, though Renton has rebuilt staffing in some areas. Still, he said the population continues to outpace Renton’s capacity.

“Now, in 2024, as a city of over 108,000, we have an opportunity to invest in staffing, helping to right size so that we can deliver what our community needs,” Pavone said.

Public safety

For public safety, Pavone said Renton’s proposed budget, which adds eight additional officers over the next two years, brings Renton closer to Washington’s average officer-per-resident ratio. The proposed budget also adds one evidence technician to the police force.

Pavone said the Renton Police Department is 47% below the national average and 8% below Washington state’s average of officers per resident. Pavone said Renton will add resources to the police and legal departments to address the increase in criminal activity in the city.

Renton’s adopted 2024 police department budget was $51.3 million, with 171 positions. The proposed 2025 police department budget is $54.2 million, with 176 positions, and the proposed 2026 budget is $56.9 million, with 180 positions.

Cleanliness and social services

Pavone said deferred maintenance and constrained resources have taken a toll on Renton’s cleanliness. So, they’re proposing continued funding for downtown cleanup and addressing encampments to keep public spaces safe and clean. Pavone said the proposal also includes additional funding for restroom cleaning in parks.

For social services, Pavone said they’re investing in preventative measures, particularly for the youth, to improve community health and reduce reliance on crisis intervention. Pavone said they will use funds from House Bill 1590 to support the Renton Student Health Hub, which connects students to behavioral health services to break the cycle that leads to crisis. Pavone said for people already in crisis, the budget will provide continued support for the Fire Department Community Assistance, Referrals and Education Services program and other support services.

Pavone said HB1590 funds will also continue supporting affordable housing. He said the continued support will be like Sunset Gardens, which provides affordable housing and on-site services for vulnerable groups such as seniors, low-income families, and veterans.

“What you’ll see in this budget are strategic investments designed to right-size our services, improve public safety, clean up our city, and positively impact the lives of residents with with an increase on emphasis on social services,” Pavone said. “With this proposed budget, we will be well positioned to deliver on the goals of the council’s business plan in a way that will be felt and visible to our community.”

HB 1590 from 2019-2020 allows one-tenth of 1% of local sales and use tax for affordable housing to be imposed by a councilmanic authority, allowing the council to decide where to spend the tax through a council vote rather than sending a ballot proposition to the voters.

Budget numbers

Below are the 2024 adopted budgets per city department, estimates of the actual amount spent, and proposed 2025 and 2026 budgets per department.

Laura Pettitt, the city’s communications director, said there are a few reasons why the 2024 estimates are higher than the 2024 adopted budgets in several departments. Pettitt said one reason is adjustments or additions to the budget, which can be attributed to new positions, new contracts for services, and adjustments for unanticipated items, among other things. Another reason is the estimated figure includes a “carry forward” of unspent budget dollars. If there are committed contracts where Renton has signed a contract to purchase goods or services, but they have not spent the funds yet by the end of the year, then the budget remaining for the unspent commitments is allowed to be carried forward to the next year for when those costs are paid, she said. To read more about the adopted and proposed budgets for each city department, see this story at rentonreporter.com.

The Public Works Department:

• 2024 adopted: $111.6 million

• 2024 estimated: $123.3 million

• 2025 proposed: $118.8 million

• 2026 proposed: $122.9 million

Parks and Recreation Department:

• 2024 adopted: $22.1 million

• 2024 estimated: $25.2 million

• 2025 proposed: $24.5 million

• 2026 proposed: $25.2 million

Police Department:

• 2024 adopted: $51.3 million

• 2024 estimated: $54.5 million

• 2025 proposed: $54.2 million

• 2026 proposed: $56.9 million

Community and Economic Development Department:

• 2024 adopted: $15.3 million

• 2024 estimated: $18.2 million

• 2025 proposed: $15.6 million

• 2026 proposed: $16.2 million

Executive Services Department:

• 2024 adopted: $15.9 million

• 2024 estimated: $23.8 million

• 2025 proposed: $17.9 million

• 2026 proposed: $18.1 million

City Attorney Department:

• 2024 adopted: $3.3 million

• 2024 estimate: $3.4 million

• 2025 proposed: $3.9 million

• 2026 proposed: $4.1 million

Finance Department:

• 2024 adopted: $6.3 million

• 2024 estimate: $6.9 million

• 2025 proposed: $7.1 million

• 2026 proposed: $7.4 million

Human Resources and Risk Management Department:

• 2024 adopted: $25.9 million

• 2024 estimate: $28.1 million

• 2025 proposed: $29 million

• 2025 proposed: $31.2 million

Municipal Court Department:

• 2024 adopted: $3.6 million

• 2024 proposed: $3.7 million

• 2025 proposed: $3.6 million

• 2026 proposed: $3.8 million