The City of East Wenatchee amended their 2023 Final Budget after receiving an unexpected 23% increase in their liability insurance premium.

The City of East Wenatchee is currently insured under Cities Insurance Association of Washington (CIAW).

City of East Wenatchee Finance Director Josh DeLay said the increase is due in part to the insurance company’s apprehension to insure law enforcement, along with an increase in property values and inflation.

DeLay said the city didn’t have any insurance claims this year that could have led to this increase.

“No claims at all actually, which baffles me. We actually were pretty clean last year and there's no credit for that,” DeLay said. “We've been in discussion with CIAW, our broker [and] we're already working on a backup plan for moving forward.”

Other changes to the budget include a 3% mid-year cost of living adjustment.

The budget was amended to include an increase of $2,121,478, but a decrease in $3,110,500, mostly from the street improvement grants they did not receive in 2022.

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