MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The worst is yet to come for municipalities, including the financially sure-footed Mountlake Terrace, warned city manager John Caulfield.
It could be another decade before cities see a recovery and even then finances won’t be as robust compared with a decade ago, Caulfield said.
“The current decade is probably going to be worse,” he said.
Caulfield presented the city’s six-year financial forecast spanning 2011-2016 to the City Council during a Nov. 17 work session.
As property values continue to plummet in Mountlake Terrace, property tax revenues are expected to dip by 12 percent in 2012.
City services are paid for with 20 percent of a taxpayer’s total property tax bill.
Further, city officials will have to brace for cuts at the state level, rising employee health costs and aging infrastructure.
The forecast gives the council predictions of what’s to come based on trends and determines if adequate funding sources lay ahead.
“It gives an idea of where our finances are headed,” Caulfield said.
Not all is bad.
City officials continue to sidestep cutting services and layoffs. Caulfield credits this to the council’s strong reserves, not deviating from its financial goals and, unlike neighboring cities, opting to not dip into savings or use one-time funds to pay for ongoing operations.
“We have been strategic,” he said.
Councilwoman Kyoko Matsumoto Wright said the credit is misdirected.
“I’m so impressed with what our city manager has done,” Matsumoto Wright said. “He always says it’s what we’ve done. I disagree.”
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