Committee of the Whole - November 9, 2026

The City of Renton Committee of the Whole met November 9, 2026, for a Clean Economy Strategy (CES) update and continued deliberations on the 2027–2028 biennial budget. Sustainability staff described fleet electrification, public EV charging, energy-efficiency upgrades, waste reduction, and water and climate-resilience projects. Funding discussed included a $74,000 Washington Department of Commerce grant for fleet chargers; a $171,000 WSDOT voucher for an electric debris-mitigation boat, requiring $34,000 in city match; a $157,000 Department of Ecology grant that fully funded electric landscaping equipment; and $60,000 from King County’s Re+ program and $250,000 from the King Conservation District for commercial food-waste work. Staff also reported a negotiated Recology contract with expanded outreach and environmental measures, including an option to deploy electric collection vehicles on routes by 2031, and an energy-savings performance contract to support building efficiency work. Future work includes public charging, fleet decarbonization, and solar feasibility studies.

Finance staff reviewed the proposed 1% property-tax levy increase, estimated at about $5 annually for the average homeowner, and discussed a possible $15–17 million councilmanic bond to support projects including 200 Mill building improvements, Liberty Park, Logan Festival Street, and park restrooms. The bond was for discussion only: no bond authorization or project funding was included in the budget ordinance, and no procurement award or spending motion was identified in the transcript. Staff also described corrections to the preliminary budget materials and said the biennial budget was slated for council consideration the following week.