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Lakewood staff recommend 1% property tax increase for 2026; council questions budget implications
Summary
Deputy City Manager Todd Krause recommended the council implement the state-authorized 1% property-tax increase for 2026 and said the average homeowner's annual city share would rise by modest dollars under the projected levy. Council members asked questions about the calculation and long-term fiscal effects.
Deputy City Manager Todd Krause told the Lakewood City Council on Oct. 20 that the city is authorized under state law to increase its 2026 property tax levy by 1% and that staff recommends the council implement that increase.
Krause said assessed value in the city had increased by "just under 360,000 or 3%" as presented in the packet and estimated that, compared with 2025, the property-tax impact to the average homeowner would be about $5.81 more annually if the base calculations hold. Krause added that adopting the full 1% increase as recommended would raise the average homeowner's annual city property-tax share to about $9.55 above the 2025 amount. Krause warned that declining to take the 1% increase over a six-year period would produce cumulative revenue shortfalls (he estimated about $500,000 over that period if the city does not take the increase).
Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about table layout and the assessment calculations; Krause acknowledged a confusing table in the packet and clarified the $3.75 difference in one comparative column was a table artifact. No final levy ordinance was adopted on Oct. 20; Krause said the council is scheduled to hold a public hearing Nov. 3 and adopt the levy Nov. 17.
