Renton finance staff outline mid‑biennial budget adjustments; recommend ending in‑house electronic home detention program

Carrie Roller, finance administrator for the City of Renton, presented the city’s mid‑biennial budget adjustments at a Committee of the Whole meeting, saying the package covers updated revenue forecasts, a property‑tax levy estimate and several proposed staffing and capital funding changes.

Roller said next year’s property tax levy is estimated at about $26,600,000 — an increase equal to the 1% allowed by law — and that the city must have the levy communicated to King County by Nov. 30. She estimated that, using current assessed values, the levy would add roughly $5 per year in city property taxes for a median Renton home she quoted as $722,000 in assessed value.

The changes Roller proposed would raise general‑fund revenues by about $19,500,000 across the biennium, including a $1,000,000 increase to sales‑tax revenue each year, a proposed increase to business (B&O) tax collections of $4,000,000 in 2025 and $3,000,000 in 2026, and higher projected utility tax receipts tied to electricity. Roller said investment earnings are performing better than previously budgeted and proposed raising those revenue estimates as well.

Roller proposed expenditure changes that…