Moses Lake council keeps 2026 levy flat, hears budget showing $1M deficit
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Summary
The Moses Lake City Council held a public hearing on the proposed 2026 budget and voted 6–1 to certify the property tax levy without taking the allowable 1% increase, while staff said the combined general and street fund has an approximately $1 million deficit that will be partially covered by reserves and one-time ARPA funds.
The Moses Lake City Council on Tuesday held its first public hearing on the city’s proposed 2026 budget and adopted the regular property tax levy without the 1% allowable increase.
Finance Director Madeline Prentice presented the council with an overview of the proposed $118,300,617 citywide revenue estimate and the accompanying expenditures package. Prentice told the council the combined general and street fund shows an approximately $1,000,000 deficit, but that the city’s reserves meet policy targets and could cover the shortfall. She also said the proposed plan would increase the rainy day fund and create a strategic opportunities fund using proceeds from property sales.
On the mechanics of the levy, Prentice explained the calculation starts from the 2025 levy, adds allowable increases (the lower of 1% or the implicit price deflator), banked capacity if used, and value from new construction. Staff said the preliminary budget does not include taking the 1% levy limit increase; council members asked about the uncertainty caused by the county assessor not yet providing a final assessed valuation.
After discussion over timing and transparency of county valuation data, a council member moved to adopt the property tax levy resolution as presented — without taking the 1% increase. The motion passed 6–1.
Prentice highlighted key budget changes from preliminary figures: a roughly $2,000,000 reduction in all-funds expenditures, driven largely by a drop in water capital construction from about $5.4 million to $3.57 million in the final CIP, and a small revenue increase (about $55,000) attributed to state shared revenues. She also noted capital improvement fund proposals increased compared with 2025, and that some one-time ARPA funds (about $1,000,000) are planned to help the general fund in 2026.
The council closed the public hearing after a single public comment and directed staff to continue work toward final budget adoption at the next scheduled hearings.
