White Salmon City Council amends budget, talks public records procedures

Jennifer Neil, director of finance and operations, explained the first 2026 budget amendment, a routine process that she framed as technical in nature. Changes include $128,500 worth of interfund transfers, $259,000 in expenditure adjustments and $8,910,000 for ongoing capital projects, primary those related to water infrastructure. 

“Importantly, all but about $5,700 of these changes are supported by restricted or designated funding sources. This results in minimal impact to the general purpose resources,” Neil said. With a few minor questions, council approved the amendment unanimously. 

After Councilor Doug Rainbolt pulled it from the consent agenda, public records procedures were next. The resolution established statutory default fees, redaction fees and updated other measures to ensure White Salmon’s policy maintains compliance with Washington’s Open Public Records Act, but Rainbolt was concerned about how body camera footage is distributed, especially sensitive footage involving children. 

He explained, and Bingen-White Salmon Police Chief confirmed, that some people request videos to put them online for personal profit. To ensure that local kids aren’t being exploited, Rainbolt asked whether it was possible to have multiple people review requests for body camera footage prior to release. 

“I totally agree with what you’re saying, but also, you got to look at the amount of time that is being spent on this,” Hepner said. “If you want two or three people to view the same video before it’s sent out, well, that’s more people than I got working most of the time.” 

While council adopted the resolution as presented, Mayor Marla Keethler noted that, if there’s a desire to conduct a more thorough policy explorations, it’s under their purview. 

In her regular update, she also highlighted that city’s annual wildfire open house will take place on May 4, 5-7 p.m. in White Salmon’s Fire Hall. The same day, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources will commence the final phase of a shaded fuel break around the city, to be completed by end of June.