After a public hearing at its Nov. 14 meeting, the Mountlake Terrace City Council unanimously adopted a 1% property tax levy.
Washington law requires cities to hold a public hearing on revenue sources, including considering possible increases in property tax revenues as part of the annual municipal budget process.
Under state law, the city is allowed to increase its property tax annually is 1% without using banked capacity.
According to the Snohomish County Assessor’s office, the city’s total assessed value for taxes in 2024 is estimated to be $5,267,604,078, a .25% increase from the city’s total assessed value in 2024. New construction is $74,125,533, 1.41% of the total.
The city no longer collects property tax levies for emergency medical services (EMS) as voters annexed EMS to South County Fire.
An additional property tax levy will be collected in 2025 to repay the debt approved by voters in 2017 for the Civic Campus project.
Finance Director Sirke Salminen said the taxpayer payments for the 30-year Civic Campus loan would decrease over time. The annual payment will be $82 for an average home in 2025, down $2 from the 2024 cost.
No one from the public signed up to speak during the public hearing.
Read the presentation materials here.
In other business, the city council reviewed and approved the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb ramp project.
The intersection of 56th Avenue West and 224th Street Southwest was identified as a high-traffic area and arterial connecting the Evergreen Playfields to the neighborhood west of 56th Avenue.
City Engineer Rich Meredith said the intersection was a “pretty wide space” with “a lot of pedestrian activity.”
A map showing the location of the curb ramp project. (Image courtesy of the City of Mountlake Terrace.)
The city received the funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and allocated them for safety improvements meeting ADA criteria. Some of the components of the project include:
– Six reconstructed ADA-compliant curb ramps.
– Rectangular rapid flashing beacons and pedestrian crossing signs.
– Curb bulbs on two corners to help shorten pedestrian crossing distances.
– High-visibility crosswalk markings.
– A new stormwater infiltration system to better treat and manage surface runoff.
The lowest bidder for this project came in at $199,506.63, which was $1,908.37 – or 1% – below the engineering team’s estimate. With a 15% contingency of $29,925.99 for any possible cost overruns, the total amount requested is $229,432.62.
The council also:
– Renewed and approved the Multifamily Tax Exemption Code for 12 years. State law allows cities to exempt the improvement value of new housing or the rehabilitation of qualifying existing housing from the property tax for 8, 12 or 20 years. The exemption does not include land value or non-residential improvements, such as ground-floor retail in a mixed-use housing development. There are no limits on what communities may offer as part of this extension, and it is at the city council’s discretion to approve or deny requests for extension after adopting the code.
– Reviewed and approved an ordinance amending the city’s municipal code (MTMC 2.120.090) related to the hearing examiner appeals processes. This ordinance brings the appeal timeframe to 14 days, ensuring that city processes are consistent.
– Reviewed and renewed the for the city’s state lobbyist Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs. The company is not proposing a fee increase. Councilmember Rory Paine-Donovan said that Shelly Helder and the Honeywell firm had done a “bang-up job” for the city in the past.
The next council meeting will start at 7 p.m., Nov. 21, at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.
To make a public comment remotely, complete the registration form within 24 hours of the meeting’s start here.
To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.
You also can view live-streamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt.
The agenda can be viewed here.
— By Rick Sinnett
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