Darrington hopes snow doesn’t break its budget this year

Published 10:37 pm Tuesday, November 24, 2009

DARRINGTON — There’s no room for a big snowfall in this town this winter. No room in the town budget, that is.

Darrington officials are hoping for a much milder winter than last.

“The snow last year was so hard on us, it depleted our resources,” town administrator Lyla Boyd said.

An accumulation of nearly 9 feet of snow fell in the Cascade foothills town from December through February. The town spent most of its annual street budget of $60,000 to clear the snow. Huge piles of the icy leftovers sat around for months.

“We don’t have the money this winter to bring in the heavy equipment to clear all the streets,” Boyd said. “If it does snow, we’ll be asking residents to help us get through it.”

At its meeting Dec. 9, the Darrington Town Council is scheduled to vote on the town’s 2010 budget.

The proposed $1.17 million budget includes a 1 percent property tax increase, the most allowed by state law. That’s an increase of 2 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, Boyd said. The tax increase should give the town an extra $2,300.

In total, the town is scheduled to collect $239,136 in property taxes, which amounts to about $1.58 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Though the parks budget has suffered, most services will be maintained at the same level, and the town’s four employees get to keep their jobs, Boyd said.

“The budget is pretty much bare bones,” she said. “By the time we pay our police contract, prosecutor or public defender and jail fees, a huge chunk is gone.”

The contracts with Snohomish County for those services total more than $300,000, Boyd said.

The town did secure a grant for $93,000 to buy some land from the state Department of Natural Resources to extend the town airport.

“We will continue to apply for grants because our tax income will never raise enough money to pay for our needs,” Boyd said.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.