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THE COTTAGE GROVE

entinel

Wednesday

City unveils “zero-sum” budget as library cuts, audit fixes draw packed crowd reductions in library services, and manage limited funding for community promotions.

CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

The Cottage Grove City Council has received its first full look at the staff recommended 2026–27 budget, a stability focused spending plan shaped by delayed audits, corrected accounting errors, rising personnel costs, and a widening gap between General Fund revenues and expenditures. City Manager and Budget Officer Mike Sauerwein opened his presentation at the council’s Monday night, April 13, by emphasizing transparency, telling councilors, “I strongly believe in the ‘no surprises rule’ and I wanted to have everybody hear the same message at the same time.” The proposed budget reflects a city attempting to hold the line during a period of constrained revenue growth and significant structural pressures. Sauerwein outlined seven major challenges facing the upcoming fiscal year, including the need to close the General Fund gap, address incorrect beginning fund balances caused by delayed audits, evaluate

CORRECTING THE RECORD: TWO YEARS OF MISSING AUDIT DATA

A substantial portion of the presentation focused on the lingering effects of delayed audits. When staff prepared the 2025–26 budget, the most recent completed audit was from FY 2021–22, leaving two years of missing actuals that would normally inform beginning fund balances. Draft versions of the 2022– 23 audit arrived in September 2025, but by November, Interim Finance Director Eric Kytola discovered “substantial critical accounting errors,” including budget columns that did not balance and supplemental budget entries missing from the city’s accounting software. According to the staff report, “The situations have been rectified, and staff has implemented policies and procedures to prevent these problems from re-occurring.” The corrections required significant

mid year adjustments to the current budget, reducing it by $4.54 million through capital cuts, lower ending fund balances, use of contingencies, and other adjustments.

GENERAL FUND PRESSURES AND THE ‘ZERO SUM’ REALITY

The General Fund remains the city’s most constrained financial arena. In 2025, the Budget Committee recommended reducing the 16% gap between expenditures and revenues over three years, with a target of cutting one third of the gap, about $500,000, in 2025–26. By January 2026, Kytola reported that personnel costs were tracking at 43% and materials and services at 41%, alongside a $125,000 increase in General Fund revenue. Staff projected these trends would close the gap by 52%, or roughly $80,000. Even with those improvements, Sauerwein described the proposed General Fund as “largely a zero sums game with little or no flexibility,” noting that reasonable minds may disagree on how to allocate

scarce resources. The proposed budget includes a $200,000 contingency and an unappropriated ending fund balance of $1.649 million—slightly below the $1.7 million staff identifies as the minimum needed to cover expenses until property tax revenues arrive each fall.

MAYOR PRAISES PUBLIC

ENGAGEMENT

Councilors and Mayor Candace Solesbee thanked the citizens who spoke and represented the feelings of most of those who gathered in the near-capacity gallery. After the meeting she said she was pleased with the large citizen turnout and

Election 2026: Commission Candidates

funding gaps, and how would you balance them with other county budget priorities?

CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

Voters in East Lane County will choose their next Lane County Commissioner in the upcoming May 19 election. To help readers compare the candidates’ priorities and approaches, the Sentinel asked all three contenders to respond to the same three questions on major issues facing the district: the Clean Lane Project, the Public Safety Task Force’s funding recommendations, and delays in the Land Management Division’s permitting process. Their answers are presented below in full.

QUESTION 3 — Land Management Division Permitting Delays

QUESTION 1 — Clean Lane Project The Clean Lane Project has generated significant public debate, including concerns about cost, location,

Many residents and businesses have expressed frustration with the complexity and length of time it takes to obtain permits through the Land Management Division. What changes would you advocate for to improve the permitting process, and how would you ensure that reforms maintain both efficiency and necessary safeguards?

long term feasibility, and community impact. If elected, how would you approach the future of the Clean Lane Project, and what criteria would guide your decision making about whether to continue, modify, or discontinue it?

QUESTION 2 — Public Safety Task Force Funding Needs

return home. Being close to family was the deciding factor, especially the chance to build relationships with his nieces and nephews. He says he sees his youngest nephew almost every day, something that wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t moved back. “Some of the strongest memories I have from growing up in Cottage Grove were all the church ladies who I was so close to,” he said. “And some of the best teachers in the world work at our schools… they come into the store, which always makes me very nostalgic.”

do. He also noticed a growing interest among younger generations in tactile creativity — handwritten letters, physical journals, and analog art — a shift he attributes to kids who grew up surrounded by screens and are now seeking something more grounded. He says writing has always been cathartic for him, and that’s part of why he’s especially excited to offer notebooks. He admits he owns more than he’ll ever use, but the joy of writing and drawing keeps him collecting them. The shop carries unique journals and notebooks that reflect his personal taste and the creative spirit he hopes to inspire in others. “I really want people to feel 110% welcome in my store,” he said. “I went for a very cozy yet urban vibe much like a New York brownstone apartment.”

The Public Safety Task Force Report highlights several critical

programs and services that are currently underfunded, including those related to law enforcement, emergency response, behavioral health, and community safety. What specific strategies would you support to address these

HEATHER BUCH

Buch is seeking a third term on the Lane County Board of Commissioners. She says she is proud

Blackett’s Paper Trail: A hometown dream rooted in family, creativity, community CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

When Jared Gould-Blackett opened Blackett’s Paper Trail in Cottage Grove it felt less like the launch of a business and more like the arrival of something he’d been carrying since childhood — a creative new chapter on Main Street shaped by family, memory, and a lifelong love of tangible tools. Gould-Blackett describes himself as someone who has always been happiest with tangible creative tools — pens, notebooks, art supplies, and anything that invites writing or drawing. That lifelong love now fills the shelves of his new downtown shop. Jared grew up in Cottage Grove, graduating in the first class of the “new” high school in 2004. After two decades living elsewhere, including many years in California and Portland he felt the pull to

A STORE BUILT FROM PASSION NOT MARKET ANALYSIS

Blackett’s Paper Trail grew from that sense of belonging. Jared didn’t open the shop because he identified a market gap; he opened it because it was something he felt called to

INDEX

A FAMILY POWERED DREAM

Family support has been central to the store’s creation. Jared speaks often of his grandmother, Darlene Burback, who encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Though she passed before the shop opened, he believes she would have loved it. His grandfather, Garland Burback, has also played a pivotal role, offering steady support and encouragement throughout Jared’s life. And from his paternal grandfather, Dick Gould, he inherited what he jokingly calls his “office supplies addiction.” The shop is also a joint venture with his spouse, Frank Blackett, who brings his own background and perspective to the business. Frank previously owned a small pellet stove company in the 1990s and has spent his career as a geologist and geotechnical engineer, which

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