Following a presentation by Finance Director Janella Lewis and a public comment session, the Mountlake Terrace City Council at its Thursday, Nov. 29 meeting voted to increase property taxes by 1%.

The increase is the highest amount allowed under Washington State law and includes new revenues from new construction, minus $1,694,166, as promised to voters after the annexation into South County Fire passed in April 2023. 

Calculations made after the annexation show the city’s 2024 rate will be 60.8 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

“For example, $619,723 is the average assessed value of a home in Mountlake Terrace in 2024,” City Manager Jeff Niten wrote on social media. “The owner of that home can expect the city’s portion of their property tax bill to be about $377 in 2024.”  

Lewis explained during the Thursday presentation that the city’s primary general fund revenue sources are from property, utility and sales taxes, with smaller percentages from gambling taxes, licenses, permits and fines.

About 20% of every homeowner’s property tax bill will go to the City of Mountlake Terrace in 2024. Other recipients of property tax revenues include the Edmonds School District, Sound Transit, the Public Hospital District No. 2, Snohomish County and Sno-Isle Libraries.

No one from the public signed up to deliver comments. No comments were submitted via email or physical letter, and no one commented via video conference.

The next city council meeting is Thursday, Dec. 7. and will begin at 7 p.m. in Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Avenue West, Mountlake Terrace. To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.

To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.

Live-streamed meetings and past video recordings can be seen at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt. 

The complete agenda can be seen here.

— By Rick Sinnett