MEDICAL LAKE — The Medical Lake City Council approved two city-wide tax increases and held a preliminary budget hearing during its regular bi-monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Without discussion or debate, the City Council quickly passed two property tax increases totaling 5 percent that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
The first, a 4 percent increase, tapped into the city’s available 8.04 percent “banked levy capacity” — tax increases the city has opted not to use since 1985 that allows it to raise taxes beyond the state’s 1 percent per-year levy cap limit.
The increase will add an additional $22,256 to city coffers.
The second increase raised the city’s emergency medical services tax rate by 1 percent. The increase offsets the city’s direct costs to Spokane County Fire District 3 after voters approved an annexation of Medical Lake’s fire and EMS services into the district in August that will collect an additional $1,441.
Both tax increases passed unanimously — absent Councilwoman Laura Parsons, who was on an excused absence — including councilmen Don Kennedy and A.J. Burton who initially voted against the tax increases at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting.
The council also held a public hearing to discuss the 2020 city budget that City Administrator Doug Ross called “conservative.”
Both revenues and expenses have increased during the past two years. For the 2020 budget year the city is projecting $5.55 million in revenues from all sources. Adding an estimated $900,000 in estimated balances carried forward from this year and the city estimates a total revenue balance of $6.45 million.
Expenses are projected to be $6.33 million, according to memo from Mayor Shirley Maike to the council, and other budget information attached to the council agenda packet.
City projects in 2020 include:
• The $465,000 South Lake Terrace Street project that is funded primarily by a Transportation Improvement Board grant with $23,500 in matching city funds.
• The estimated $500,000 Spokane Intertie project at Craig Road.
• Interpretive trail signs replacement estimated to cost $40,000.
Budget wish list items such as a new vehicle for the city’s wastewater treatment plant, a new street sweeper and an additional lake aerator were not included in the budget.
“The one takeaway from the budget message … should be how conservative we are in our numbers,” Ross said, noting that the ending 2020 cash balance of nearly $667,000 would likely be higher based on past budget history.
“That’s more a product of us being conservative,” Ross said.
Budgeting is an essentially a guess, he noted.
“We’re making educated guesses here and we don’t want any surprises,” Ross said.
He estimated the ending cash would be more in the $800,000 range.
Some budget details include $413,900 to be paid to Spokane County Fire District 3 during the 2020 budget year to pay for the difference in the city’s 50-cent per $1,000 of assessed value EMS levy revenues and the District 3’s current levy of $1.50 per $1,000. That budget line item will disappear from city’s budget in 2021 when the fire district begins collecting its full levy amount from Medical Lake property owners.
Ross also noted the city’s law enforcement contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office rose by less than $7,000, or about 1 percent.
The budget hearing was the first of two public hearings required by law. The second hearing is scheduled for the next regular council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at which time the council will also vote on the budget at a first reading, followed by a second and final reading, at its Dec. 2 meeting.
Lee Hughes can be reached at lee@cheneyfreepress.com.
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