EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council voted 3-2 on Monday to approve the 2025-26 biennial budget with a 4% property tax increase over the next two years.
Council members Jared Mead, Megan Dunn and Strom Peterson, all Democrats, voted to approve the $3.22 billion operating budget. Republican council members Nate Nehring and Sam Low opposed.
Now it goes to County Executive Dave Somers’ office to sign. That’s not a done deal, as several council members openly wondered if he would sign it.
“I think they’ll consider vetoing it,” Dunn said in an interview following the meeting. “I would assume they’ll think about whether or not it strikes the right balance, and if it doesn’t, then they’ll veto it.”
Nehring said he wasn’t sure what the response from the executive’s office would be.
“I think the aftermath of the veto could potentially be something which he’s even less in favor of,” Nehring said in an interview. “So I think that’s something he’ll have to take into consideration.”
In a statement Monday afternoon, Somers said his “team and I will closely review what was passed by Council today and then determine any next steps.”
“I will provide an update once that review is complete,” he continued. If he does veto the budget, the council would need four votes to override it.
Prior to voting, the council took public comment for over 1½ hours. Members then discussed amendments to the budget for another four hours. Most of the public comment dealt with the property tax increase, though some took time to express frustration with the results of an audit into the county executive’s office.
Somers proposed an 8% increase. The proposed hike is not on a property owner’s entire bill. It is an increase of the county’s portion, about 6.3% of the total bill. Fire districts, schools, libraries, roads and others get a portion of the revenue, as well.
Snohomish County, like any other county in Washington, can impose a 1% property tax increase without voter approval each year. The county does not have to levy the additional tax each year.
If the county doesn’t levy the tax, the percentage is saved for use later, which is referred to as banked capacity. Nehring had proposed no increase. Mead, the council president, pitched a middle ground of 2% each over the next two years.
Nehring said he would oppose any tax increases. He referenced the public comment, saying residents spoke “loudly and clearly.”
He added: “I think we need to be able to look citizens in the eye and say we have gone through the entire budget with a fine tooth comb and cut all waste in county government and increased efficiency to the maximum extent before we raise the tax.”
Peterson proposed a fourth option to increase the county’s portion of that tax revenue by 4% next year and 2% the year after, for an increase of 6%.
Low then called for an amendment to Peterson’s amendment, which would increase property taxes by 4% next year and 0% in 2o26.
Initially, all of the proposed amendments failed. Mead suggested at Monday’s meeting he would likely vote for a 0% increase over the proposed 8% increase.
Mead then put forth a motion to reconsider his amendment. The second time around, the council passed it, with Nehring and Sam Low dissenting. Peterson, Mead and Dunn all voted for the 4% increase.
It leaves the county with about 6.3% in banked capacity after 2026.
At least five of the commenters explicitly asked for defunding the Office of Social Justice and questioned its purpose. The office is not a true county department. Instead, it is several positions within the county executive’s office with a budget for dispersing grants. An audit this month found found a series of questionable hiring practices in the county executive’s office. It also found some tasks in the Office of Social Justice could be performed by other departments.
Local groups, including the Snohomish County branch of the NAACP and Connect Casino Road, spoke in favor of keeping Office of Social Justice funding where it is.
“As you finalize the budget and plan for the future, we urge you to consider the complexities of the current political climate and ensure that the OSJ has adequate resources to meet the growing needs of this diverse community,” reads a letter signed by NAACP Snohomish County, representatives of the 38th Legislative District and the Snohomish County Human Rights Commission. “It is the collective and shared responsibility of our elected leaders to uphold fairness and opportunity for all residents.”
Connect Casino Road director Alvaro Guillen said he had “deep concern” with any cuts to the office.
“By utilizing the banked capacity, you can ensure the preservation of essential services like these classes and many others,” Guillen said. “Cutting staff or potentially eliminating the Office of Social Justice would be a step backward, undoing the progress made towards a more just and inclusive county.”
Robust discussion regarding the executive’s office audit happened throughout the day, with Mead clearly frustrated with what he called “bloat.”
“It’s our duty as a legislative body to ensure that we’re spending our tax dollars efficiently, effectively and ethically, and we are not doing that right now,” Mead told his council colleagues.
A budget amendment, proposed by Mead, would have removed funding from a pool for grants within the Office of Social Justice and move positions to other departments, as well. The amendment failed, but Low proposed another version that did pass.
With that amendment, two positions in the executive’s office were cut and the Office of Social Justice will have some of its unused money moved. Another accepted amendment will seek to implement other recommendations from the audit.
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.
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