TD Council to weigh its proposed $111. 4 million budget on June 9
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The Dalles, Ore., May 4, 025 — The Dalles City Council will consider the adoption of a $111.4 million budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year at its regular meeting set for June 9.
The largest share of the budget—about $21 million—will fund general operations, including police, city administration, planning, legal, technology, and public facilities. The police department is set to receive $7.3 million, making it the single largest departmental allocation within the General Fund.
The Dalles Police Department is set to receive $7.3 million, making it the single largest departmental allocation within the General Fund.
Other major allocations include $13 million for Special Grants, $8.7 million for water operations, and $8.4 million for wastewater services. The city also set aside more than $7.8 million for sewer plant construction and $6.3 million for its Special Enterprise Zone Fund.
Street Fund will receive $4.9 million for public works and road maintenance.
Public infrastructure and development remain a key focus. The Capital Projects Fund is budgeted at nearly $5.5 million, while the Street Fund will receive $4.9 million for public works and road maintenance. The Transportation System Reserve and Sewer Capital Reserve are set at $5.2 million each.
Tourism and library services will be supported with $1.46 million and $2.74 million respectively. The airport, a joint project with Klickitat County, is budgeted at just under $4.9 million, with a separate $290,000 allocated for airport debt service.
The budget maintains the city's existing tax rate of $3.0155 per $1,000 of assessed property value and includes unappropriated ending fund balances for the General, Library, and Airport funds.
The City Council is being asked to authorize City Manager Matthew Klebes to carry out all adopted budget measures and certify the budget to Wasco County and the State of Oregon.
Budget Committee Discussion May 5, 2025
The Dalles Budget Committee opened deliberations for the city’s proposed 2025-26 budget on May 5 with a focus on allocations from the general fund, sparking the most discussion around the city council’s contractual services line item—particularly how the city funds local nonprofits and tourism-related initiatives.
The city council’s budget includes nearly $520,000 in general fund allocations to local organizations, including the Main Street program, Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation, Link Public Transit, and the Columbia Gorge Humane Society, among others. But the way those dollars were selected—particularly how they align with tourism goals and council priorities—was the subject of debate among committee members.
City Manager Matthew Klebes noted that this year’s budget reflects a shift in accounting structure: for the first time, transient lodging tax revenues were routed through a newly created tourism promotion fund, with about 44.6% of those funds later transferred to the general fund.
“These are general fund dollars,” Klebes clarified. “They are not transient lodging tax dollars anymore once transferred.”
The transient lodging tax in The Dalles was established in 1977, which precedes state statutes that mandate a 70/30 - tourism/general fund split.
This gives The Dalles greater flexibility in spending transient lodging taxes, meaning:
They can allocate funds more freely across city services
They can support local park districts, even if those projects are not tourism-related
They are not legally required to spend a specific portion on tourism marketing or infrastructure
Greater Accountability
The budget allocation process prompted calls for a clearer grant making structure. Some committee members supported the city’s efforts to require deliverables and end-of-year reporting from groups receiving funding, including Main Street and the Beautification Committee. Others raised concerns about the nearly doubled discretionary budget compared to previous years and asked for more transparent definitions around “miscellaneous” reserves.
Also debated was a $143,000 allocation to Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation, reduced from an original request of $335,000. The reduction of $192,000 was justified by Klebes as Wasco County reclaimed the responsibility of maintaining and watering Kramer Field.
Beyond the council’s budget, the meeting covered key highlights of the broader $67 million spending plan, including investments in the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan, ongoing updates to water infrastructure funded in part through Google's Strategic Investment Program (SIP), and a restructured IT department to centralize costs.
