City will ask voters for funds for police and fire

EDMONDS – The city of Edmonds will go to the voters next fall to ask for money for public safety.

“It’s a foregone conclusion,” City Council president Dave Earling said at the annual City Council retreat Feb. 7.

The question is exactly how much, and for exactly what. The city will go to the voters in September or November 2003 to begin collecting the revenue in 2004 if the levy passes.

Police Chief David Stern and Fire Chief Tom Tomberg discussed the issue with the City Council and Mayor Gary Haakenson at the retreat. The primary topic of discussion was how to develop the proposal in such a way to make sure it is approved, and so the money it raises lasts as long as possible.

The city cut the equivalent of 24 full-time positions and $1.3 million from its budget for 2003. It faces another $900,000 in cuts for 2004 if tax increases are limited to 1 percent, the current legal maximum, and no other revenue is found, said city finance director Peggy Hetzler.

The city at the end of 2002 was at $2.27 per $1,000 of assessed value in terms of its taxing capacity, with the new figures for 2003 yet unavailable from the county but not likely to be much different, Hetzler said. The city could ask voters for a total of as much as $3.10 per $1,000, an 18 percent increase. The added amount would raise $2.5 million for the city.

But city officials have yet to decide how much to request. City Council members agreed to create a committee of elected officials and police and fire staff to study what should be included in the proposal. Earling set a deadline of the end of April for having a plan in place.

Both the police and fire departments endured significant cuts for 2003. The police department – the largest department in the city – endured the most cuts, totaling $377,453. These included and animal control/parking enforcement officer, administration positions and cadets, partial funding of a school resource officer, records personnel and reserves. Two patrol officers and the crime prevention officer had been targeted for cutting but were restored when the City Council increased property taxes 2.5 percent.

The fire department lost $168,920 in funding, including the assistant chief, half an administrative support assistant and the fire reserves were placed on volunteer status. If the extra revenue had not been raised, the equivalent of two full-time firefighter/emergency medical technicians would have been lost, along with the fire inspector position.

“I didn’t have much to cut in the first place,” Tomberg said.

With the city facing more cuts, the fire department could well have to cut the firefighter positions, or reduce hours of operations at some stations, he said.

“The fire inspector alone isn’t going to do it,” Tomberg said. He’s not yet sure what else he would add.

“This is a very important issue that needs to be talked about and considered and reflected upon,” Tomberg said.

The police department faces the same potential predicament next year. The two patrol officers and the crime prevention officer were funded only for this year. With the police department being the largest city department, “I don’t see how we can avoid” cuts if new revenue is limited to 1 percent, Stern said.

The patrol and crime prevention positions, being the first that Stern reinstated from the cuts originally planned for 2003, would likely be the first he will fund again with any new money. But beyond that, he’s not sure yet, he said.

“That’s what we have to work out in this committee format,” Stern said. Also, “I want to see what kind of input I get from the community.”

In fall budget hearings, citizens voiced overwhelming support for public safety, many indicating a willingness to pay higher taxes to keep the police and fire departments intact.

But Earling sounded a note of caution.

“The voters seem to be inclined to be satisfied with less government,” he said at the retreat. “That’s something we need to weigh hard. I think it’s a test for the whole community over the next several years.”