EDMONDS – During the fall, several residents told city of Edmonds officials they’d be willing to have their property taxes raised to support the police and fire departments.
At a hearing April 8 on the same issue, few of them showed up.
Judging from the comments of the six who did speak, the city’s plan to go to the voters next fall to raise $1.75 million per year for public safety will not succeed. The plan as currently proposed would cost the owner of a $250,000 home $134 more per year in property taxes.
“Most people do not have the ability to absorb that kind of increase in their expenses,” said resident Ron Wambolt.
“I think this is going to fail, and it’s going to fail big time,” said resident Ray Martin.
Last fall, Mayor Gary Haakenson originally proposed to cut approximately $2 million from the city budget, about $950,000 of it from public safety, the largest portion of the city’s expenditures. The city ultimately wound up cutting a total of $1.4 million – including 25 jobs – with $520,000 of the cuts coming from police and fire.
City officials said the need for the cuts was in response to tax cutting initiatives that have reduced the city’s income over the past four years. City finance director Peggy Hetzler said the combination of the sharp reduction in state vehicle license fees and the limiting of annual property tax increases to 1 percent are primarily responsible for what has reached a $1.9 million annual loss of revenue.
Some of those who spoke contended the ballot measure would not be needed if the city had been more frugal. City salaries – including Haakenson’s raise last year from $84,000 to $97,000 – were cited as an example.
Haakenson countered that the average salary among all city employees is $58,886. “I don’t think $58,000 a year is out of line,” he said. If every employee in the city received the maximum possible raise next year, it would total $53,000 and if every department head received their maximum 5 percent raise it would total $6,500, only a small portion of the city’s more than $20 million budget.
“We are where we are because of voter-approved tax reduction initiatives, plain and simple,” he said.
Regarding his salary, Haakenson said, “frankly most of the time it ain’t worth it,” though he recently declared his candidacy for re-election.
“I’m not going to apologize for the salary I make, I work hard for it, and I’m sorry some folks don’t appreciate it,” he said.
Council member Deanna Dawson said she was frustrated that more citizens didn’t offer comments on specific parts of the proposal. It doesn’t help to just say it costs too much money, Dawson said, but rather, “what’s on this list you don’t want to include.
“Tell me what it’s going to take to make this thing pass, because we’ll be in a world of hurt and lose a lot of cops and firefighters next year if this doesn’t pass.”
Council member Lora Petso voiced concern that asking for too much would jeopardize the chances of the measure’s passage. Council president Dave Earling asked the police and fire chiefs if they had prioritized the lists. They said they had not but could do so.
The items to be cut without new revenue “could be services other than the ones that are listed there,” police Chief David Stern said.
Some of the items proposed for inclusion would restore cuts from this year, such as the parking enforcement/animal control officer in the police department and a training officer to replace the former assistant chief in the fire department. Others would prevent cuts anticipated to be necessary without more revenue, including two police officers, the Crime Prevention Unit and three firefighter/emergency medical technicians. Some would cover future anticipated costs and cost increases, such as jail costs, radio dispatch and retirement costs.
The “levy lid lift,” as it is called, would absorb about $500,000 from the general fund. That amount would be used to absorb projected cost increases for remaining public safety program costs and other non-public safety costs, such as retirement and medical insurance costs that exceed the rate of inflation. The levy amount was set at the $1.75 million to be able to cover anticipated costs over five years, though the taxes collected through it could be reduced after the first year if they are not needed, Hetzler said.
Edmonds firefighter union president Doug Dahl spoke in favor of the plan, saying it would cost between 32 and 66 cents per property owner, depending on the value of their property. Layoffs and service reductions will occur if it doesn’t pass, he said.
“This is not a scare tactic,” Dahl said.
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