Pictured: A familiar city scene recently showcases the iconic downtown with trolley.
Budget Committee works long & hard to pass budget with cuts that necessitate city property sales
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
A 2025-26 budget that appeared to disappoint most – if not all – of the budget committee members who toiled over it was approved Wednesday, following a discussion that sometimes became intense. City Councilor Dawn Roden cast the lone dissenting vote.
The budget document will be sent to the Independence City Council for adoption.
Under the budget, the library will be closed one more day a week, though that action won’t take place until the fall, allowing summer programs there to go forward.
The Heritage Museum building is going up for sale, with plans being laid to store displays and artifacts on the third floor of the Independence Civic Center – the museum and the library will consolidate into “community services.”
One city park, possibly more, will be sold, under the new budget. All funding was removed for the 2026 Fourth of July holiday, “Independence Days,” though the city council endorsed forming a public ad hoc committee to explore alternative ways to finance it.
Also under the proposed cost-trimming, the Independence Civic Center, except for the police department, would be closed on Fridays – a potential move that seems to have generated more controversy among the public than with the committee members. Some residents have asked Trammart News for a dollars-and-cents forecast of cost savings – as well as the number of employee work hours – under a four-day work week. “There is a lot of non-detail on that one,” observed one homeowner.
The city budget committee began their meetings in the wake of an announcement of a $776,000 shortfall. And, at one point in the sessions, City Manager West told the committee: the city is "broke.”
At a meeting in late April, West explained that the library’s one-day-a-week closure could help the community adjust to more cuts, should they be necessary down the line. “If we reduce a day, it prepares the community for where they may have to go – it’s less dramatic,” she said. Once the closure goes into effect the library will be open four days per week. The library previously had undergone a one-day reduction in service in the 24-25 budget year – going from six days a week to the current five service days per week.
Budget committee members seemed to struggle with their decision-making, seeking ways to make the cuts less impactful.
But a motion for a small fee to be added to the utility bill failed. At times, both allegedly unconvinced residents and local media were criticized for their role in the circumstances – essentially the defeat of a levy last fall that would have provided funding for parks, the museum and the library. However, some attributed the failure of the levy to inadequate messaging.
Twice during the meetings, Councilor Shannon Corr and Councilor Dawn Roden clashed. They disagreed on how to characterize last year’s budget, which was sent back to the city for possible revision after Mayor Kate Schwarzler, then a city councilor, recommended taking that action. Roden repeatedly cited the shortfall this year as evidence there should be more discussion.
“I think that, as a community, we have to be careful that we do not rubber stamp what is in front of us. That is what we did last year,” Roden said. Corr responded: “I think it is irresponsible to say that we rubber-stamped it. We did not rubber stamp the budget.”
The city’s budget committee this year met five times and included far-ranging discussion. In one amendment, which was recommended by Finance Director Rob Moody, money from the Economic Development Fund was moved to boost the city’s contingency fund and cover the current year’s three-quarter-million-dollar shortfall. The contingency fund, which had been depleted, is largely reserved for emergencies.
Asked by Councilor Marilyn Morton if this constituted an interfund loan, West said it did not.
One recommendation that surfaced won wide agreement: That the city establish a series of budget-review meetings, possibly with a citizen-councilor committee, during the coming year. The aim of that committee would be to help flesh out cost-saving options before the budget document arrives in spring to meet the June deadline.
City manager West said she and Mayor Schwarzler would discuss the possibility of the suggested periodic meetings, which would take place much sooner than usual budget-committee meetings. ▪
The city budget document passed by the budget committee is scheduled to go for final approval to the city council in June. It can be found here: https://www.ci.independence.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Independence-BUDGET-2025-2026_-Proposed_-Final.pdf
Budget Committee works long & hard to pass budget with cuts that necessitate city property sales
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
A 2025-26 budget that appeared to disappoint most – if not all – of the budget committee members who toiled over it was approved Wednesday, following a discussion that sometimes became intense. City Councilor Dawn Roden cast the lone dissenting vote.
The budget document will be sent to the Independence City Council for adoption.
Under the budget, the library will be closed one more day a week, though that action won’t take place until the fall, allowing summer programs there to go forward.
The Heritage Museum building is going up for sale, with plans being laid to store displays and artifacts on the third floor of the Independence Civic Center – the museum and the library will consolidate into “community services.”
One city park, possibly more, will be sold, under the new budget. All funding was removed for the 2026 Fourth of July holiday, “Independence Days,” though the city council endorsed forming a public ad hoc committee to explore alternative ways to finance it.
Also under the proposed cost-trimming, the Independence Civic Center, except for the police department, would be closed on Fridays – a potential move that seems to have generated more controversy among the public than with the committee members. Some residents have asked Trammart News for a dollars-and-cents forecast of cost savings – as well as the number of employee work hours – under a four-day work week. “There is a lot of non-detail on that one,” observed one homeowner.
The city budget committee began their meetings in the wake of an announcement of a $776,000 shortfall. And, at one point in the sessions, City Manager West told the committee: the city is "broke.”
At a meeting in late April, West explained that the library’s one-day-a-week closure could help the community adjust to more cuts, should they be necessary down the line. “If we reduce a day, it prepares the community for where they may have to go – it’s less dramatic,” she said. Once the closure goes into effect the library will be open four days per week. The library previously had undergone a one-day reduction in service in the 24-25 budget year – going from six days a week to the current five service days per week.
Budget committee members seemed to struggle with their decision-making, seeking ways to make the cuts less impactful.
But a motion for a small fee to be added to the utility bill failed. At times, both allegedly unconvinced residents and local media were criticized for their role in the circumstances – essentially the defeat of a levy last fall that would have provided funding for parks, the museum and the library. However, some attributed the failure of the levy to inadequate messaging.
Twice during the meetings, Councilor Shannon Corr and Councilor Dawn Roden clashed. They disagreed on how to characterize last year’s budget, which was sent back to the city for possible revision after Mayor Kate Schwarzler, then a city councilor, recommended taking that action. Roden repeatedly cited the shortfall this year as evidence there should be more discussion.
“I think that, as a community, we have to be careful that we do not rubber stamp what is in front of us. That is what we did last year,” Roden said. Corr responded: “I think it is irresponsible to say that we rubber-stamped it. We did not rubber stamp the budget.”
The city’s budget committee this year met five times and included far-ranging discussion. In one amendment, which was recommended by Finance Director Rob Moody, money from the Economic Development Fund was moved to boost the city’s contingency fund and cover the current year’s three-quarter-million-dollar shortfall. The contingency fund, which had been depleted, is largely reserved for emergencies.
Asked by Councilor Marilyn Morton if this constituted an interfund loan, West said it did not.
One recommendation that surfaced won wide agreement: That the city establish a series of budget-review meetings, possibly with a citizen-councilor committee, during the coming year. The aim of that committee would be to help flesh out cost-saving options before the budget document arrives in spring to meet the June deadline.
City manager West said she and Mayor Schwarzler would discuss the possibility of the suggested periodic meetings, which would take place much sooner than usual budget-committee meetings. ▪
The city budget document passed by the budget committee is scheduled to go for final approval to the city council in June. It can be found here: https://www.ci.independence.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Independence-BUDGET-2025-2026_-Proposed_-Final.pdf
Pictured: The council meeting where residents spoke about annexation (photo credit: City YouTube); inset: Corvallis Road resident Rick Hopkins.
Corvallis Road residents accept annexation for roadway but express worry about the future
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
Noting that City Planner Fred Evander failed to follow through on a promised letter guaranteeing homeowners a grace period against annexation of their properties along Corvallis Road, several residents who opposed the plan now seem resigned that it’s going forward.
The city council voted Tuesday night, with Councilor Dawn Roden dissenting, to annex the roadway.
After the vote, resident Rick Hopkins (photo), a 34-year resident, described himself as “saddened” that the tentative agreement from Evander didn’t materialize. In his testimony, Hopkins, who lives along Corvallis Road in Polk County and outside the city limits, said: “I would like to have seen you do something that would have some teeth in the future.”
However, in a brief interview after he gave public testimony, he said he’s “optimistic” that now it appears all the city really wants in the next several years is a “rights-of-way” annexation for the road.
Hopkins lives inside the urban growth boundary. Like some of his neighbors, he is worried that full property annexation into city limits will mean a hike in taxes to about $3,000 a year, plus a new set of city utility bills.
Michelle Lewis, who lives on the other side of the road, said she was concerned about the same thing.
During the previous city council meeting, Evander had agreed to issue a letter exempting current property owners from the possibility of annexation in the near future. However, there’s no risk that will happen – the procedural steps would slow the process and give homeowners plenty of time to learn about a move to do so, he explained.
Evander also corrected himself on another point; He had referred to the roadway as a minor arterial in the city Transportation System Development Plan, but it is destined to be a major arterial.
Lewis had sent correspondence to the city requesting that annexation be delayed for property owners for 10 years. Evander, Lewis and Hopkins all referred to ORS 222.750.5, which – under certain circumstances – can be used to delay annexation.
In his testimony, Eric Hill, a fifth-generation landowner in Independence whose origins date back to the town’s founders, said his notice about the annexation hearing stated that Corvallis Road was being considered for annexation in order to eventually meet higher street standards – but newer information showed it was for putting in a water mainline.
Public Works Director Gerald Fisher explained that both are reasons for the action. The water line is for the planned water-treatment plant, he explained. Without city ownership, “you have to jump through a whole bunch of paperwork hoops” to get federal grant funding, he said.
If that explanation had been provided from the outset, “it would have been easier to get behind it,” Hill said. ▪
Corvallis Road residents accept annexation for roadway but express worry about the future
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
Noting that City Planner Fred Evander failed to follow through on a promised letter guaranteeing homeowners a grace period against annexation of their properties along Corvallis Road, several residents who opposed the plan now seem resigned that it’s going forward.
The city council voted Tuesday night, with Councilor Dawn Roden dissenting, to annex the roadway.
After the vote, resident Rick Hopkins (photo), a 34-year resident, described himself as “saddened” that the tentative agreement from Evander didn’t materialize. In his testimony, Hopkins, who lives along Corvallis Road in Polk County and outside the city limits, said: “I would like to have seen you do something that would have some teeth in the future.”
However, in a brief interview after he gave public testimony, he said he’s “optimistic” that now it appears all the city really wants in the next several years is a “rights-of-way” annexation for the road.
Hopkins lives inside the urban growth boundary. Like some of his neighbors, he is worried that full property annexation into city limits will mean a hike in taxes to about $3,000 a year, plus a new set of city utility bills.
Michelle Lewis, who lives on the other side of the road, said she was concerned about the same thing.
During the previous city council meeting, Evander had agreed to issue a letter exempting current property owners from the possibility of annexation in the near future. However, there’s no risk that will happen – the procedural steps would slow the process and give homeowners plenty of time to learn about a move to do so, he explained.
Evander also corrected himself on another point; He had referred to the roadway as a minor arterial in the city Transportation System Development Plan, but it is destined to be a major arterial.
Lewis had sent correspondence to the city requesting that annexation be delayed for property owners for 10 years. Evander, Lewis and Hopkins all referred to ORS 222.750.5, which – under certain circumstances – can be used to delay annexation.
In his testimony, Eric Hill, a fifth-generation landowner in Independence whose origins date back to the town’s founders, said his notice about the annexation hearing stated that Corvallis Road was being considered for annexation in order to eventually meet higher street standards – but newer information showed it was for putting in a water mainline.
Public Works Director Gerald Fisher explained that both are reasons for the action. The water line is for the planned water-treatment plant, he explained. Without city ownership, “you have to jump through a whole bunch of paperwork hoops” to get federal grant funding, he said.
If that explanation had been provided from the outset, “it would have been easier to get behind it,” Hill said. ▪
Pictured: City Manager Kenna West as Gabby Walton speaks; inset: West during Trammart News testimony. (photo credit: City YouTube)
Editorial: Please city manager, can you pay attention to resident testimony?
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
Gabby Walton, who was given this year’s “Community Member of the Year” award on the 60th anniversary celebration of the Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce, took her place at the podium this past Wednesday night to speak to the city budget committee. As expected, one of those present was immersed in her phone. The same thing happened about a week before, with business owner Mitch Teal, when he made a similar presentation in public testimony.
Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed this alleged lack of attentiveness to speakers, such as merchants and residents, but some of those who have considered participating in city meetings by providing public testimony have told me they are reluctant to do so. Some have referred to the woman in the top job of the city, Kenna West, who just doesn’t seem interested. She is otherwise occupied, immersed on her phone or distracted by something else.
It seems to have happened repeatedly. So, I am writing this editorial about it.
Because, for me, tuning in to residents and tuning out of mobile devices has been a great learning experience. Nothing has proven more newsworthy than those resident and merchant voices. Nothing.
Resident testimony has led me to document the push for a toddler swing at Sunset Meadows park, which now has been installed; Resident testimony has resulted in raising safety awareness for the dangers of swimming in the Willamette River, which now has a new life jacket kiosk. These are just two of many examples.
And the importance of that resident or business voice seems to be the message from Walton, too, when she spoke this week. While West was face down in her phone, Walton advocated for “clear communication, more public transparency and deeper inclusion for families and community stakeholders” by the city.
Walton is a member of the Independence Days Commission and she noted there has been confusion lately over city processes, though she made it clear that the budget committee is seen as having been tasked with “hard decisions” that are appreciated. But there is a “disconnect” with local government that hurts trust, she pointed out.
For the past couple of years, it has been my understanding from city staff that West has barred them from speaking with me, apparently the only hyper-local press in Independence. She has indicated that she doesn’t like my press coverage. Since she came aboard more than two years ago, I have been unable to meet her expectations to provide routinely positive news stories. In fact, I often reported on the accumulating debt, and painful episodes, like the municipal pool closure and controversial land-use hearings.
The city's communications director, in spite of city policy directing media requests to be answered, hasn't responded to emails or phone calls by Trammart News in well over a year.
A few weeks ago, when I was trying to ask a question of the finance director, in city council chambers, the city’s communications director grabbed me to interrupt that attempt.
That evening, in a shaky voice, I addressed the city council from the public podium about how wrong I felt that physical confrontation was – and then I got a taste of what it was like to be ignored while speaking. West concentrated on the white-box timer while I spoke.
The truth is that I don’t think I matter nearly as much as residents, and I would ask the city manager to take that into account. Won’t you focus attention on them during their public testimony? They are the lifeblood of the community.
Less than 24 hours after the budget committee meeting this past week, a 50-year resident of Independence, John Thomas, called me about the lack of public input.
“People now have three minutes to speak,” he said, apparently alluding to the council’s passage of a provision that cut the previous five-minute time period to three minutes, which passed a few months ago. It had the effect of further squelching free speech, he told me.
I believe it goes further than that – I think it can erode trust. I think that may be what Gabby Walton was trying to say Wednesday night.
The decline of public trust of government isn’t breaking news. The Pew Research Center has been documenting those losses periodically. But on a local level it’s been painful to see.
Last year, the assistant city manager of League City in Texas, which is about halfway between Houston and Galveston with a population well over 100,000 people, published an article that cited public trust as more important than solid evidence. That’s right. It is public trust that guarantees a win.
He recalled being taught that lesson the hard way – in his younger years, during an experience with residents when unarguable facts failed him in the face of low public trust. “Heck, I think I could have told them the sky was blue, and they still probably wouldn’t have believed me,” wrote Rick Davis in Public Management, the magazine of the International City/County Management Association.
So, City Manager West, can you put down your phone the next time someone from outside city hall speaks at the podium.
I actually carry no grudge about my own experience. I filed a complaint over the communications director’s treatment of me with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint is still pending, but the sergeant investigating the matter told me it’s been deemed “founded,” and I think that’s likely the result of a video that clearly shows a grasping hand on my shoulder.
But maybe it was a blessing in disguise, as they say. I never paid much attention to how public testimony was received, and even turned a deaf ear to some residents who told me it’s a waste of time to provide it.
I guess it is never too late to learn a thing or two in civic participation. I hope the city manager feels the same way. ▪
Editorial: Please city manager, can you pay attention to resident testimony?
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service, May 16, 2025
Gabby Walton, who was given this year’s “Community Member of the Year” award on the 60th anniversary celebration of the Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce, took her place at the podium this past Wednesday night to speak to the city budget committee. As expected, one of those present was immersed in her phone. The same thing happened about a week before, with business owner Mitch Teal, when he made a similar presentation in public testimony.
Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed this alleged lack of attentiveness to speakers, such as merchants and residents, but some of those who have considered participating in city meetings by providing public testimony have told me they are reluctant to do so. Some have referred to the woman in the top job of the city, Kenna West, who just doesn’t seem interested. She is otherwise occupied, immersed on her phone or distracted by something else.
It seems to have happened repeatedly. So, I am writing this editorial about it.
Because, for me, tuning in to residents and tuning out of mobile devices has been a great learning experience. Nothing has proven more newsworthy than those resident and merchant voices. Nothing.
Resident testimony has led me to document the push for a toddler swing at Sunset Meadows park, which now has been installed; Resident testimony has resulted in raising safety awareness for the dangers of swimming in the Willamette River, which now has a new life jacket kiosk. These are just two of many examples.
And the importance of that resident or business voice seems to be the message from Walton, too, when she spoke this week. While West was face down in her phone, Walton advocated for “clear communication, more public transparency and deeper inclusion for families and community stakeholders” by the city.
Walton is a member of the Independence Days Commission and she noted there has been confusion lately over city processes, though she made it clear that the budget committee is seen as having been tasked with “hard decisions” that are appreciated. But there is a “disconnect” with local government that hurts trust, she pointed out.
For the past couple of years, it has been my understanding from city staff that West has barred them from speaking with me, apparently the only hyper-local press in Independence. She has indicated that she doesn’t like my press coverage. Since she came aboard more than two years ago, I have been unable to meet her expectations to provide routinely positive news stories. In fact, I often reported on the accumulating debt, and painful episodes, like the municipal pool closure and controversial land-use hearings.
The city's communications director, in spite of city policy directing media requests to be answered, hasn't responded to emails or phone calls by Trammart News in well over a year.
A few weeks ago, when I was trying to ask a question of the finance director, in city council chambers, the city’s communications director grabbed me to interrupt that attempt.
That evening, in a shaky voice, I addressed the city council from the public podium about how wrong I felt that physical confrontation was – and then I got a taste of what it was like to be ignored while speaking. West concentrated on the white-box timer while I spoke.
The truth is that I don’t think I matter nearly as much as residents, and I would ask the city manager to take that into account. Won’t you focus attention on them during their public testimony? They are the lifeblood of the community.
Less than 24 hours after the budget committee meeting this past week, a 50-year resident of Independence, John Thomas, called me about the lack of public input.
“People now have three minutes to speak,” he said, apparently alluding to the council’s passage of a provision that cut the previous five-minute time period to three minutes, which passed a few months ago. It had the effect of further squelching free speech, he told me.
I believe it goes further than that – I think it can erode trust. I think that may be what Gabby Walton was trying to say Wednesday night.
The decline of public trust of government isn’t breaking news. The Pew Research Center has been documenting those losses periodically. But on a local level it’s been painful to see.
Last year, the assistant city manager of League City in Texas, which is about halfway between Houston and Galveston with a population well over 100,000 people, published an article that cited public trust as more important than solid evidence. That’s right. It is public trust that guarantees a win.
He recalled being taught that lesson the hard way – in his younger years, during an experience with residents when unarguable facts failed him in the face of low public trust. “Heck, I think I could have told them the sky was blue, and they still probably wouldn’t have believed me,” wrote Rick Davis in Public Management, the magazine of the International City/County Management Association.
So, City Manager West, can you put down your phone the next time someone from outside city hall speaks at the podium.
I actually carry no grudge about my own experience. I filed a complaint over the communications director’s treatment of me with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint is still pending, but the sergeant investigating the matter told me it’s been deemed “founded,” and I think that’s likely the result of a video that clearly shows a grasping hand on my shoulder.
But maybe it was a blessing in disguise, as they say. I never paid much attention to how public testimony was received, and even turned a deaf ear to some residents who told me it’s a waste of time to provide it.
I guess it is never too late to learn a thing or two in civic participation. I hope the city manager feels the same way. ▪
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