City Council Meeting of October 7, 2026

The City of Lakewood held a special City Council budget workshop on October 7, 2026, to review preliminary options for closing an estimated $1.9 million budget gap while preserving council priorities. The city manager discussed potential revenue and savings measures, including about $50,000 from credit-card processing fees, $200,000–$300,000 in possible gaming-related revenue, and a proposed parking-fee system that could net roughly $100,000. Potential reductions included deferring four police-vehicle replacements across the biennium, cutting an $80,000 communications promotion program, and reducing or deferring parks projects and equipment. These were proposals for further budget work, not final approvals; staff said a balanced budget would return for council consideration on November 2. No spending or procurement votes were taken during the meeting.

Capital and service discussions included parks projects and equipment: the parks fleet request was $271,610, about 65% of the identified replacement list, with the remainder deferred. Edgewater Park was discussed as a major project with roughly $7 million in project costs, most associated with construction, supported in part by grants; council members also discussed maintaining planning capacity for future park projects and positioning for the 2028 grant cycle. The police department is evaluating its Flock license-plate-reader camera deployment before considering a further two-year contract, with the number of cameras and contract cost still under review. Other contract and purchasing matters included continuing the South Sound 911 and Tacoma Humane Society partnerships, a proposed shift to contracted prosecution services through the Gunderson law firm, and a planned website implementation with Civics Plus. Staff also described a proposed MultiCare behavioral-health contract adjustment; the transcript indicates an incremental cost of about $1,000 for the remainder of the year. These items were discussed without final award or approval votes.