Terrace keeps domestic violence program, adds police sergeant to budget

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — A police sergeant and continuing the city’s domestic violence program are two of the items the City Council added to the 2005-2006 city budget on Monday.

The budget’s general fund expenses, which includes most of the city’s day-to-day operations, dipped from $15.4 million in 2005 to $15.1 million in 2006.

Since the Council adopted a biennium budget in 2005-2006, the Council focused on minor changes for this year’s budget sessions.

A federal grant sponsoring the city’s domestic violence program, which dedicates resources to investigate and prosecute domestic violence cases, will end in February. The Council allocated $90,791 to keep the program operating for the rest of 2006.

The Council gave a nod to the Police Department’s request to convert a civilian position to an administrative sergeant position, which costs an additional $25,286. The advantage is the sergeant can fill in for officers who are on vacation or sick and provide back-up during an emergency. The move reverses a 2004 Council decision.

The Council also showed support to reinstate the Citizen’s Academy, an annual workshop offered for free that shows what it’s like to be a police officer, as recommended by the city’s police advisory board. The Council decided the city will seek private funding for the course, which costs approximately $2,500 a year to offer.

The city saved about $7,000 by buying an Internet-based recreation registration system for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department a year early. The $8,000 program replaces paper punch cards with magnetic strip cards. Participants will eventually be able to register for classes through the City’s Web site.

The Council adopted a 1-percent property tax increase for 2006. The owner of a $200,000 home will pay an additional $4 per year.

Copies of the 2005-2006 city budget as amended are available at City Hall and the Mountlake Terrace Library.

For information, call Scott Hugill at 425-744-6208.