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Anacortes council reallocates $200,000 in REIT funding to prioritize pedestrian safety
Summary
The City Council adopted two ordinances amending the first-quarter operating budget and Capital Facilities Plan, removing $200,000 in 2026 REIT funds from the annual sidewalks and bikeways program to preserve matching capacity for grant-funded pedestrian-safety projects. Both ordinances passed 7–0.
The Anacortes City Council voted unanimously on March 16 to amend the first-quarter operating budget and the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) to remove $200,000 in 2026 real-estate-excise-tax (REIT) transfers from the annual sidewalks and bikeways program and repurpose those funds to prioritize pedestrian-safety projects.
Finance director Steve Hoagland gave the staff overview, noting the CFP edits include four crosswalk projects with REIT funding and a requested $312,000 remodel for Fire Station 1. Hoagland described how CFP amendments are incorporated into the operating budget and called out the major line items.
Council member Hunt moved the amendment to reduce REIT transfers by $200,000 from account 10057203970000 (reducing that line from $238,292 to $38,292) and to deduct $200,000 from the sidewalks and bikeways expense line; the motion was seconded and approved. During debate, Council members including Fantini, Bolton and Young said the change is a fiscal trade-off intended to preserve matching funds for grants the city expects to pursue. "We don't have the revenue," Council member Young said, urging prudence in leveraging limited REIT dollars.
Mayor Walters called a roll-call vote on ordinance 5023 as amended; the ayes were 7 and the nays 0. Council then adopted ordinance 5024 with a corresponding deletion, again 7–0.
What this means: The council has elected to reduce planned city REIT spending in 2026 on the sidewalks and bikeways program to create capacity for leveraging outside grants and to prioritize near-term pedestrian-safety projects listed in the CFP. Hoagland and staff will implement the edits to the ordinances and reflect them in the operating budget and CFP.
