Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget And Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pasco council adopts property and utility tax changes and initiates emergency comp-plan amendments; loan acceptance postponed
Summary
Council approved a regular 1% property-tax increase (ordinance 4802) and a 1.5% increase to city-owned utility taxes (ordinance 4803); it also initiated emergency comprehensive-plan amendments related to the Pasco School District capital facilities plan (resolution 4679) and the RS-20 land-use conflict (resolution 4680). Approval of a $14.7M DWSRF loan for Butterfield was postponed pending the rate discussion.
At its Nov. 17 meeting the Pasco City Council moved forward on several fiscal and planning items. After a staff presentation on property-tax mechanics and ‘‘bank capacity," the council adopted ordinance 4802 to increase regular property taxes by up to 1% (a modest levy action staff said would amount to roughly $5/year on a $500,000 home). The vote was unanimous.
Later the council adopted ordinance 4803 to raise the city's utility tax rate on city-provided utilities by 1.5 percentage points, a measure staff estimated would yield about $900,000 annually for the general fund to support public safety, parks and other services.
On planning, Director Haley Mattson presented two emergency comprehensive-plan amendments. Resolution 4679 authorizes updating the Pasco School District capital facilities plan to align with revised school-impact fees. Resolution 4680 addresses a code-conflict in the RS-20 zone in the Riverview area by changing the comprehensive-plan land-use designation to restore a 2–5 units-per-acre range; both resolutions were adopted unanimously to allow timely alignment with state and school processes.
Council briefly approved a DWSRF (Drinking Water State Revolving Fund) loan of $14,727,000 for Butterfield intake and permanganate improvements, then rescinded and postponed that action until rate decisions are finalized because loan repayment depends in part on the yet-unresolved rate structure.
Next steps: staff will carry forward the levy and utility-tax ordinances into the 2026 budget process, continue the comprehensive-plan work with the Planning Commission, and revisit the DWSRF loan once the council resolves the utility-rate question.
