By Doug Petrowski
Mountlake Terrace City Manager John Caulfield will present the city’s six-year financial forecast 2013-2018 and review the Preliminary 2013-2014 Revenue Estimates before the City Council at its Monday, Sept. 17 meeting. The presentations are the first steps toward approving the city’s 2013-2014 biennial budget, which may contain cuts according to a couple of councilmembers.
The proposed 2013-2014 Biennial Budget itself will be unveiled at the City Council’s Oct. 1 meeting. The City Council is scheduled to adopt the budget Nov. 19.
Caulfield told the City Council at a special meeting Sept. 8 that in 2014, the budget must reflect a $500,000 annual payment for rental of the facilities currently being used as a temporary city hall. Current rental fees are being met with a bond anticipation note, but that will no longer be available after next year.
“Beginning in 2014, we need $500,000 a year or more just to stay here,” Caulfield told the council. “So how are we going to deal with that?”
“We need to talk more about dollars and cents,” said Councilmember Kyoko Matsumoto Wright. “If you don’t have enough money in your budget then you’re going to have to cut something out.”
“If we don’t get something done, I hate to say it, but it looks like we will be doing cutbacks,” added Mayor Jerry Smith.
The Sept. 17 City Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the council chambers of temporary city hall, 6100-219th St. S.W., Suite 200.
Here we go and we should have known that threats were coming really soon, since we the voters turned down the bond issue to build a NEW city hall. But yet we have the money to buy and install NEW water meters, restripe our roads for bike lanes, re do some of our parks and let others like the dock @ lake Ballinger collapse. And pray tell how can we afford a NEW city hall when we can’t keep the city going as it is?
Yes, I know up our lic. tabs fees some more, raise water rates to cover the cost of the NEW meters, cut back some more on garbage rates like we did a few years ago.
Could you please identify yourself with your real name? Thank you. Teresa Wippel, publisher, MLTnews.com