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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes - 02/03/2026 izCity of Tigard City Council Business Meeting Minutes CITY OF Ti gard February 3, 2026 1. Executive Session At 5:17 p.m. Mayor Hu announced that the Tigard City Council was entering into Executive Session called under ORS 192.660(2) (i)for performance review of public officers or employees. The session ended at 6:15 p.m. and Mayor Hu called a recess until 6:30 p.m. 2. Business Meeting A. Call to order—At 6:30 p.m. Mayor Hu called the Tigard City Council meeting to order. B. Roll Call — Deputy City Recorder Bartholomew called the roll. Present Absent Councilor Shaw ✓ Council President Wolf V Councilor Anderson V Councilor Ghoddusi ✓ Youth Councilor Hellhake V Mayor Hu ✓ Councilor Robbins ✓ Councilor Schlack V C. Pledge of Allegiance—Mayor Hu asked everyone to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Call to Council and Staff for Non-Agenda Items—None 3. Public Comment A. Public Comment—Written: None B. Public Comment— In Person: Caleb Johnson shared concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Tigard. C. Public Comment—Phone-In or Video: Kyle Buntjer expressed concerns with people not cooperating with ICE and increases in taxes. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes— February 3, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 I www.tigard-or.gov I Page 1 of 5 4. City Manager Report Acting City Manager Tritsch shared that the Tigard Public Library building is temporarily closed for HVAC repairs and in-person Express Services will be available at Tigard City Hall as of February 6, Friday through Sunday from 10:00 am —6:00 pm. Phone service is available every day 10:00 am —6:00 pm at 503-684-6537. Patrons are also welcome to visit any of the Washington County library branches. The library building is planned to reopen in May 2026. 5. Update From Washington County Commissioner Snider Commissioner Snider shared a high-level update of the county's budget, including a $5 million General Fund shortfall this year, compared to the prior year shortfall of$20 million. Council President Wolf asked what reduced the funding gap this year. Commissioner Snider clarified that there were multiple one-time events that led to the reduced funding gap. One example is the roll-off of some of the Strategic Investment Program (SIP) agreements with Intel and other organizations over the last couple of years, the assessed value in the county is typically up 4%, but this year it is up closer to 12%. Mayor Hu asked if the $5 million shortfall would be addressed with a combination of cutbacks and new revenue sources. Commissioner Snider said that this year, it will look like $5 million in budget cuts. In future years, the county plans to try to shore up revenues to fill the funding gap. An example revenue is that the county will be discussing increasing the vehicle registration fee. Mayor Hu asked for an update on the levies that the voters recently approved. Commissioner Snider shared that the recently approved Library and Public Safety levies ensure that they will maintain services for the next 5 years. Council President Wolf and Mayor Hu advocated for additional houselessness assistance from the county and other local cities. Commissioner Snider thanked her for bringing this up and shared that elected leaders need to be prepared for the impacts of the federal funding cuts. Youth Councilor Hellhake asked what the county is doing regarding ICE involvement in the area. Commissioner Snider shared that during late 2025,the county commission declared a state of emergency and directed $450,000 of funds from reserves to both food insecurity and what was occurring with the immigrant refugee community. 6. Washington County Housing Department Annual Report Director of Housing Services Rogers and Assistant Director of Housing Authority Chen shared an overview of the FY 2024-2025 Housing Department Annual Report. They highlighted that the work that they do is vision and mission driven: they want everyone to have an affordable home and to create pathways out of homelessness and to stability.They shared housing data Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 I www.tigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 5 and highlighted a few local success stories. They expressed appreciation for Tigard and Homelessness Liaison Cohen. Councilor Robbins asked about the cost of rent and average vacancy for affordable housing. Assistant Director of Housing Authority Chen shared that there is a range of different sized units.The rent for units is based on the 60% area median income,which is required and regulated. Director of Housing Services Rogers shared that they are seeing high demand for affordable housing. In their current housing authority portfolio,the vacancy is around 5%. Councilor Ghoddusi asked where the Good Neighbor Center would fall on the Impact Map that they shared in the PowerPoint. Homelessness Liaison Cohen clarified that there are additional shelters that are not on the Impact Map, some are not supported by supportive housing services and some things are shifting so quickly that they aren't included in the map either. Mayor Hu asked for a more comprehensive map to help those elected and the public to see the whole picture. 7. Clean Water Services(CWS) Updates CWS Chief Utility Relations Officer Gall shared updates about the organization and highlighted the importance of the partnership between CWS and the City of Tigard. He clarified that CWS is not part of the county, it is a separate entity. He shared that CWS plans to complete a billing feasibility study in 2026, with the anticipation of results and decisions in early 2027. CWS also plans to work with Tigard on a new Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), by the summer of 2026, because the current agreement to cooperatively manage the system is from 2005 and is out of date. Councilor Schlack was glad to hear about the $80 million investment planned for Tigard. He asked what the funding sources are and if the sources are stable. CWS Chief Utility Relations Officer Gall shared that CWS's primary funding is from rates and reserves. He highlighted that CWS's budget last year had around $300 million in reserves, and the reserves are needed to save for investment projects because they do not collect property taxes. Councilor Robbins encouraged CWS to consider not increasing rates this year. Mayor Hu asked if there is any upcoming or pending legislation that CWS is concerned about. CWS Chief Utility Relations Officer Gall said that they don't anticipate anything on PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) or any surprises. Mayor Hu shared that he heard CWS having a self-insurance company in Hawaii would save us money, but now it is moving to the mainland and asked for clarification. CWS Chief Utility Relations Officer Gall shared that CWS is still self-insured, and the board recently decided to move the headquarters to Arizona, based on a third party analysis. Mayor Hu asked if Tigard teammates have any concerns with the current billing structure. None were shared by staff during the meeting. CWS Chief Utility Relations Officer Gall shared Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes— February 3, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 I www.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of 5 that CWS plans to talk to all city partners as they look at the alternative of CWS taking on all of their own billing. 8. City Council Ground Rules Discussion and Consideration of Resolution City Attorney Rihala shared that the current 2025-2026 Ground Rules were adopted in 2025 and a full revision is not necessary in 2026. However, staff sought feedback from Council as to any interim changes desired and one item was proposed. The change clarified "when a Council member has a question of staff, the Council member will direct the question to the City Manager or applicable department director, rather than line staff.This does not prevent a Council member from contacting their board and committee liaisons or for other administrative inquiries." This is consistent with past Council discussions but was not previously memorialized in the Ground Rules. Council President Wolf moved to approve Resolution No. 26-05. Councilor Ghoddusi seconded the motion.There was no further discussion. Mayor Hu conducted a vote and the motion passed unanimously. Resolution No. 26-05 -A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL GROUND RULES FOR 2025-2026 Yes No Councilor Shaw — — Council President Wolf ✓ Councilor Anderson ✓ Councilor Ghoddusi ✓ Youth Councilor Hellhake ✓ Mayor Hu ✓ Councilor Robbins ✓ Councilor Schlack ✓ 9. Non-Agenda Items—None 10. Executive Session—None 11. Adjournment Mayor Hu announced the meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 I www.tigard-or.gov I Page 4 of 5 indsay olomew, Deputy City Recorder Attest: Yi-Katig Hu, Ntr or Y Date: f 2-0f$ 1 201_(, Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes— February 3, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 I www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 5