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Mountlake Terrace signals support for higher contribution to retain regional emergency‑management services amid federal grant uncertainty
Summary
City staff told the council that pending legal challenges and federal program changes threaten grants that fund regional emergency‑management services and presented three options; councilmembers indicated a preference to raise partner contributions roughly 30% to preserve services, a change that would cost Mountlake Terrace about $11,388.
City staff briefed the City Council on a proposed update to the interlocal agreement (ILA) with Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) that covers regional emergency‑management planning, training and readiness services.
The City Manager said the current ILA runs through December 2026 and that DEM has relied heavily on three federal grants — the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), the State Homeland Security Grant, and the Urban Area Security Initiative — to provide services. Staff reported there are pending lawsuits and federal policy changes tied to DEI requirements that may make some jurisdictions ineligible to accept federal funds, creating uncertainty for 2026 funding.
DEM proposed three broad options for partner jurisdictions: (1) reduce service levels and eliminate or scale back selected planning deliverables (volunteer/donations management, recovery framework, mitigation annexes, non‑9‑1‑1 outreach/CERT); (2) raise partner rates about 30% to maintain current service levels (staff estimated Mountlake Terrace’s share at about $11,388); or (3) some combination of reductions and rate increases. Staff asked the council tonight for a preferred option to carry to the regional partners in November; no ordinance or contract amendment was before council for formal adoption.
Councilmembers expressed frustration at the instability of federal funding but said the regional approach provides economies of scale and local value — citing CERT training, a planned Whidbey Island Fault exercise and mitigation planning as examples of services delivered through the ILA. Multiple councilmembers said they prefer option 2 (rate increase) so DEM can maintain current services and added that staff should pursue state and federal advocacy to restore or backfill grant funding. The council did not take a formal vote; staff reported they will present the preferred option at the regional partners meeting and return an amended ILA for formal local approval if required.
