PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Council passed a $103.8 million budget at a Tuesday, June 2, meeting with the caveat that cuts may need to be made in the future.

The 2020-21 budget represents a substantial increase from years past, largely driven by revenue derived from large federal grants for airport projects. Despite an economic downturn driven by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the city isn’t anticipating making any layoffs at this point.

But Finance Director Linda Carter said City Manager Robb Corbett had the authority to make spending cuts as the fiscal year went on.

“I’m sure he’s going to make you well aware of that as the city manager,” she said. “But we actually don’t have to come back to you to lower the budget.”

Corbett told the council that staff would begin delivering monthly budget updates to gauge the city’s revenue picture and whether cuts needed to be made.

The new budget only calls for a modest cut to the Pendleton Convention Center, but with the governor’s stay-home order canceling the types of events it relies on to bring in revenue, it’s operating with a skeleton crew.

The council approved a $150,000 loan from other city funds to help keep the convention center afloat during the shutdown. Despite outsourcing most staff to other departments, the city intends to spend the money on covering utility bills and other basic operational expenses.

The council also approved a $100,862 change order with engineering firm Murraysmith to do final design work on a sewer lift station that will service the west side of the airport industrial area.

Accessible by the Airport Road extension, the potential industrial site once represented Pendleton’s top economic development opportunity. But a lack of activity in the area and the rise of the unmanned aerial systems range has quieted discussion on the area.

“We see this as a way to be prepared for an opportunity that should come our way,” he said. “We just don’t know when.”