Redmond finance committee advances six items to Nov. 18 consent agenda, including utility fee updates and 2026 property-tax ordinance

The Committee of the Whole — Finance, Administration and Communications advanced six items to the Nov. 18 consent agenda on Wednesday, Nov. 12, including updates to utility connection charges and an ordinance to set the 2026 property tax levy.

Haley Zurcher, the city’s financial planning manager, told the committee the city is proposing updates to one-time connection and capital facility charges that apply to new development. Zurcher said the city and its rate consultant, FCS Group, recommend using a single, consistent methodology across water, wastewater and stormwater that counts total system cost (including replacement and repair projects) divided by total system capacity. “It is best practice for these charges to be reviewed and updated every two years,” Zurcher said, adding that Redmond’s last update was 2018.

The proposed change shifts the cost basis for some charges, producing mostly increases because of a larger, updated capital improvement program (CIP) cost basis; Zurcher said some larger water-meter charges and downtown stormwater charges fall, due to methodology and denominator changes. She said the analysis was presented to 1 Redmond business stakeholders on…