City Property Tax Decrease for 2012 Approved

The Enumclaw City Council on Monday night approved 7-0 a city property tax rate of $1.30 per $1,000 assessed value for 2012, meaning that a home with an assessed value of $250,000 would see a tax decrease of about $16 per month, according to an October memo from Finance Director Stephanie McKenzie.

The rate for 2011 was $2.07 per $1,000 assessed value.

McKenzie told Council Monday that since those estimates were first made and the Mayor's preliminary budget was first released, the King County Assessor has come back with updated total assessed values for Enumclaw and they are slightly higher than previously indicated.

This would slightly lower taxes for homeowners further, assuming home values remained the same, she said.

Council's approval fulfills what it says was a promise made a year ago when voters approved the fire annexation to roll back the city's property tax burden on residents by 89 cents per $1,000 assessed value for 2012.

Editor's Note: Councilman Jeff Beckwith reminded us Tuesday that while the 89 cents per $1,000 assessed value was the agreed upon rate by the city for the decrease, the actual levy rate that the Fire District will implement in 2012 is $1.09 per $1,000. The Counci's vote to decrease city taxes will not cover all of the fire levy increase.

While the tax cuts are a win for tax payers, it leaves the city short about $900,000 in tax receipts for next year. (Read about the shortfall.) Council has already heard pleas from city and outside agencies for funding, including the Police Department, Chamber of Commerce, Enumclaw Youth and Family Services and Green River Community College.

Council was cognizant of the demand and therefore also passed 7-0 on Monday an ordinance to bank what taxes it didn't levy for a future need. According to McKenzie, local governments that choose to levy less than the maximum increase in property taxes allowed by law each year have the right to levy the remaining amount later, if necessary.

The banked capacity, in this case, is about $1 million.

Also by law, Council does not need to put a future levy increase to voters, and Councilman Mike Ennis emphasized this. "It's a way around the 1 percent restriction on local government to raise property taxes without a public vote," he said.

However, because the fire annexation in the long run affects the city's ability to levy taxes as needed, he supports this particular ordinance. When the time came to increase taxes for a need such as an additional police officer or street maintenance though, he said, "I think it should be conditional on some sort of advisory vote from the public, whenever we impose the tax above 1 percent. ... I think that needs to be a requirement to banking."

Councilman Sean Krebs concurred with Ennis' advocacy for an advisory vote and said with regards to the needs of the Police Department, Council should look into how to support it early next year but there wasn't time in this budget session. (See about the Police Department's needs for next year.)

2012 Budget

Monday was also the first reading of the ordinance pertaining to the 2012 budget. While no general actions were taken, Councilman Jeff Beckwith did succeed in securing an additional $10,000 to the request from , which was initially $15,000.

Auburn Youth Resources likely wasn't going to continue to subsidize operations of the Enumclaw Youth Center, which costs $72,000 per year, if the city couldn't commit more than $15,000 next year, he said. And while the Center's advocates would rather see a 50/50 split of $36,000 each, Beckwith said he wasn't sure Council would OK that. "Honestly if you guys are willing, we'll go there but my feeling is getting it to $25,000 may be all I can get."

He continued, "I think it's important to try and show a good faith effort" to fully fund the Center.

Gary Hemminger, director of Enumclaw Youth and Family Services, told Council that research has shown that after school programs such as those provided by the Center has multiple positive effects on a community. "I believe that keeping the Youth Center is the right thing to do -- it's the right thing for our kids, it's the right thing for law enforcement, it's the right thing for schools, it's the right thing for our healthcare system, and it's the right thing for the business community of Enumclaw."

Councilman Rich Elfers was the lone dissenter, expressing his concern for stabilizing the ending fund balance of the general fund. "I don't disagree with helping out, but down the road, the money we're spending now and we're moving into reserves ... we won't have enough to function."

Krebs stopped short of recommending his own budget amendments but did indicate he would propose at the next Council meeting that $10,000 that has currently been set aside this year for economic development be instead directed to the for operation of the Visitor Center. This would be a temporary solution until a permanent arrangement can be found.

Additionally, he suggested $4,000 requested by be given from the city's hotel/motel tax and an additional $1,000 to $1,500 from that same tax be used to subsidize the rent for Chamber for the Visitor Center building.

Krebs withheld his proposals Monday so that Council could hear from City Administrator Mike Thomas about the city's plan this year to use the $10,000 set aside for economic development. Thomas reported that the city is looking to consultants for insight intowhat opportunities exist on the Plateau, what retail leakages exist, what employment trends are affecting the area, what business interests there are outside the city and the general perception of doing business in Enumclaw.

Krebs responded he was generally very supportive of this work but would prefer to see the $10,000 used more immediately to support the Chamber of Commerce.

Council is expected to pass next year's budget at its December 12 meeting.

In Other News:

Library: Council had a first reading of an ordinance to use a separate fund to support the city library for next year as opposed to the general fund. It was suggested by Councilman Kevin Mahelona at the November 14 meeting to use Fund 180 to support the library until a ballot measure could be put to voters over a possible annexation to King County Library System. Elfers opposed the idea and said it was not good fiscal policy to take reserves to fund operating expenses.

Mahelona further asked Thomas when a transfer agreement with KCLS could finally be ready. Thomas indicated possibly January 2012 which would give Council two months to make adjustments before passing the necessary resolutions to move forward with an election in April. (Read of the library.)

Chamber of Commerce: Darami Coulter, vice president of the Chamber Board of Directors, spoke during the public hearing to clarify some statements about the Chamber and to restate the Chamber's wish to continue to run the Visitor Center (Read of the Visitor Center issue):

• The Chamber does have a rewritten mission statement which is to continue to develop business within the community and to improve relationships between community members and to increase economic development.
• The Chamber over the last 12 months has mainted a positive cash flow, but as running the Visitor Center is a city function that the Chamber undertakes, it needs city funds to support that.
• The Chamber does not only support its own members. At the recent Wine Walk, 25 percent of participating merchants were not Chamber members and they paid the same amount as members. Additionally, more than 50 percent of businesses participating in the Whoville Parade this Saturday aren't members.

City Golf Course: While review a list of third quarter budget amendments for this year, Ennis asked why a transfer of $36,000 from REET (Real Estate Excise Tax) to support the city golf course wasn't considered an interfund loan. Both McKenzie and Thomas indicated that it could be a loan but there is no expectation the golf course could repay that amount any time soon given two years of dismal business due in large part to bad weather.

"This raises a red flag that the city may  not have the capability to manage the golf course in-house," he said.

City staff is looking for possible vendors, Thomas said.

Biosolids: Council approved a resolution with Boulder Park, Inc. to take on the collection of biosolids at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and transport them to a Beneficial Use Facility in Douglas County, Wash. The current contractor is ceasing operations next year, Public Works Director Chris Searcy said. The new contractor will also save the city $15,000 over current costs.