The city of Port Townsend is getting ready to hunker down and weather the economic fallout felt by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it finalizes its budget for 2021. 

City Manager John Mauro credited quick cost-saving fixes by his staff and temporary staffing reductions for keeping the 2020 budget as forecasted after COVID-19 threw a wrench into the city's annual spending plan.

Despite the actions, Port Townsend is not through the woods yet when it comes to pandemic challenges, Mauro said in a message included with next year’s spending plan. 

Projected economic impacts from the pandemic, continuing into 2021, have seen the city take additional steps in its preliminary budget to weather the storm.

Delaying and reducing services like street maintenance, street striping and pool operations are all proposed under the 2021 budget. Currently vacant city jobs such as streets lead operator and accountant will remain frozen for the time being. The city is also looking at eliminating seasonal parks and streets workers and cutting three current full-time positions.

"Simply put, each reduction will have a serious negative impact, so we have been in the unsettling position of trying to minimize those negatives and preserve the absolute essentials," Mauro said. "It’s not been easy, but the team has worked tirelessly, creatively, and selflessly and this preliminary budget reflects those hard efforts."

In his message, Mauro also said that without changes, the existing financial approach would ultimately be unsustainable. The city manager also drew specific attention to the disproportionate effects from COVID-19 felt by vulnerable populations. 

"If it wasn’t so before, COVID has made it abundantly clear that there are structural and systemic instabilities that don’t properly or fairly serve all in our community – and that the most vulnerable among us take a disproportionate share of the pain," Mauro added. "This is true for our future budget as well, with structural instabilities that we are unable to ignore. A commitment to financial sustainability requires us to take a more thoughtful look at the long-term foundation while we fix the metaphorical windows or walls."

Under the proposed 2021 budget for the city's general fund, the largest expense incurred in the year ahead will be salaries and wages for city staff ($3.4 million), down about 4.2 percent from the approved budget for the prior year.

The largest expense proposed under the 2021 budget, by department, goes to police operations at more than $3 million. Other significant expenditures, by department, go to the city attorney ($559,273) and city manager ($327,954).

For next year, the city of Port Townsend has proposed a $2.83 million tax levy which will include the allowable increase of 1 percent, along with an adjustment incorporating the value of new construction projects.

The next meeting of the Port Townsend City Council will be held via video at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7.

For more information on how to participate in city council meetings, visit www.cityofpt.us/citycouncil/page/agendasminutesvideos.