Vancouver residents should pay close attention to City Hall over the next few days. On Friday, (Nov. 13), the City Council is scheduled to consider action that could remove or suspend City Manager Lon Pluckhahn. Then, only three days later, on Monday, Nov. 16, the Council is scheduled to hold the final public hearing and approve the city’s roughly $2.3 billion budget for 2027–2028.
Peter BracchiVancouver
Lon PluckhahnVancouver city manager
That timing alone makes this worth watching.
Pluckhahn was not a temporary appointment or an accidental hire. In 2024, Vancouver conducted a national search that included community and employee input, public candidate forums and three finalists. He had already served as Vancouver’s deputy city manager since 2021 and brought about 30 years of local-government experience. When he was selected, Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said the Council believed he was “uniquely qualified to lead Vancouver now and into the future.”
A little more than two years later, that relationship may be ending just as one of the city’s largest financial decisions reaches the finish line.
Vancouver operates under a council-manager form of government. The elected City Council sets policy, approves the budget and hires the city manager. The city manager then oversees the day-to-day operation of City Hall, manages departments, prepares the recommended budget and is responsible for carrying out the Council’s decisions.
That makes the city manager one of the most important positions in Vancouver government.
The proposed 2027–2028 budget was developed over months under Pluckhahn’s administration. City departments submitted requests, management reviewed spending, financial assumptions were examined and the city manager’s recommended budget was released October 1. The proposal covers two years of city operations and includes hundreds of millions of dollars for public safety, streets, utilities, capital projects and other services.
The Council ultimately owns the budget because it has the final vote. But the administration that prepared the spending plan matters too. The manager and his staff develop the numbers, recommend priorities and will normally be responsible for carrying out the plan once it becomes law.
That is why Friday is about more than a personnel change.
If the Council believes Vancouver needs a new person running City Hall, residents should understand what changed between the confidence expressed in Pluckhahn two years ago and the action now being considered. Just as important, the public should know whether that change affects the financial plan scheduled for adoption only three days later.
The budget can legally continue even if Pluckhahn is suspended or eventually removed. The Council can appoint an acting manager and proceed with adoption. But the closeness of these two decisions makes transparency especially important.
This is also happening as residents are being asked to absorb a very large number: $2.3 billion. Not all of that money comes from the general fund, and much of it is dedicated to utilities, capital projects and other restricted uses. Still, it represents the city’s financial plan for the next two years and deserves more than routine attention.
The Council chooses the city manager. The Council approves the budget. Within about 72 hours, it may make major decisions about both who runs Vancouver City Hall and how the city will spend public money through 2028.
Most residents do not follow every council workshop, agenda packet or budget hearing, and few should be expected to. But this is different.
Friday could mark a major change in city leadership.
Monday could lock in the spending plan for the next two years.
Those two events are close enough together that Vancouver residents should be watching both.
Peter Bracchi
Vancouver
Comments
Loading comments…