MUKILTEO – The city still wants to increase property taxes to pay for millions of dollars worth of parks and roads projects.
But it won’t be as initially envisioned.
The City Council is now considering two property tax increases for a variety of projects including beautifying the Rosehill Community Center grounds and building Harbour Reach extension, a new road between Beverly Park Road and Mukilteo Speedway.
The City Council originally wanted to ask voters to agree on a single property tax increase that would have generated money over 20 years.
If that passed, the city would have borrowed $30 million and paid that off over time with the property tax increase.
At its meeting on Monday, a financial consultant told the council there was a flaw with the proposal.
According to state law, the city can’t use money from property tax levies to repay bond debt for more than nine years.
So the council decided to split the property tax increase into two separate measures.
The city would borrow less money than originally planned. The city would repay that with the first property tax measure.
The other property tax measure would generate annual revenue that would pay for other projects over time.
The council directed staff to return with the proposal on Monday. If the council approves, the city would place the property tax measures on the August ballot.
The city has a May 29 deadline to approve the measures for the ballot.
Combined, the levies would cost owners of $350,000 homes about $240 per year.
The downside to the new plan is that it may take longer to get to some projects. Those projects may cost more because of inflation, Mayor Joe Marine and council members said.
“The projects we’re going to have to delay are going to cost us more to do later,” Marine said.
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