September 15, 2026, Finance Committee Meeting

The City of Port Orchard Finance Committee met on September 15, 2026, to review the proposed biennial budget and a Municipal Court case-management system. Court representatives requested support to pursue the Journal system rather than the state-mandated Enterprise Justice platform, citing reported performance and record-accuracy problems with the latter. The court said its current system will be shut off in December 2027 and implementation would take 8–9 months. The estimated implementation cost was about $270,000 under the current participation assumptions, with potential reductions if additional local courts join; ongoing licensing was described as approximately $35,000 annually, and the budget presentation identified about $310,000 for the system over the biennium. The committee expressed support for moving forward with contracting and including the cost in the budget; the transcript does not record a formal committee vote. Council consideration and contract development were expected to follow.

The budget review described revenue shortfalls and planned use of fund balance, along with reductions to vacant positions and delayed vehicle replacements. Notable items included $1 million for street preservation over the biennium, $145,000 for marine-patrol boat repairs, and approximately $185,000 per year for fire inspection services under an interlocal agreement. Staff proposed increasing fire inspection rates from $75 to $93 per hour and adding review fees, estimating roughly $70,000 in additional annual revenue; the proposal was to be brought to the full council for discussion. Capital budget details were scheduled for a later meeting. No other contract award or bid approval was recorded.