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Public commenters urge clearer budget priorities and oppose higher property taxes
Summary
Two residents urged the council to set clearer budget priorities to control growth in spending and asked elected officials to resist property tax increases amid state budget pressures.
At public comment during the Jan. 13 council meeting Linda Martin of Anacortes urged the mayor and council to set clear budget priorities to rein in what she described as incremental budget increases. Martin said she observed department directors generally proposed about 4% increases to their budgets, that the finance director recommended a 1% property tax increase to balance the proposed budget, and that fees for services were proposed to rise by a little over 2%. She recommended the council and mayor publish priorities to guide departmental budget proposals and said the council should decide whether to raise taxes based on community knowledge.
Later in the public comment period Nick Genovese of Anacortes told the council that state legislators in Olympia were beginning a new session and that he had heard reports of a large state budget shortfall. Genovese said, from a public perspective, there is "no appetite for any increased property tax rates at all" and asked the council to use its influence with state legislators to convey residents' opposition to escalating property taxes.
Council members thanked the speakers for their comments. No formal council action was taken during the public comment period.
