Edmonds rejects parks money for sidewalks

The city of Edmonds won’t shift money from a dedicated parks fund to pay for sidewalks.

The City Council decided Tuesday to keep money for parks in the parks department and not use it to help cover backlogged sidewalk projects in the city.

Ten residents spoke at Tuesday night’s council meeting in favor of keeping the money in the parks department. No one spoke in favor of using the money for sidewalks.

For each of the past two years, the city has lost about $350,000 in income to its street fund – nearly half of the annual total – after the 2002 passage of Tim Eyman’s Initiative 776, which eliminated county-level motor vehicle excise taxes.