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Kenmore council confronts $20M structural gap; considers MPD, levy lid lift and councilmanic taxes
Summary
City manager told the retreat that Kenmore faces a multi‑year structural shortfall and asked council to choose high‑level revenue directions: a Metropolitan Park District (MPD), a public safety levy/levy‑lift, councilmanic sales taxes, or a packaged local 'Kenmore options' measure; councilors split on timing and fallback cuts.
City Manager Terry opened the budget portion of the retreat by reminding the council that financial sustainability is the city’s top priority for 2026 and that staff had provided a detailed forecast on Feb. 23. She laid out three broad paths: revenue, further efficiencies, or cuts, and asked the council to provide policy direction rather than rate details.
Staff summarized candidate councilmanic revenue levers already built into forecast models: a transportation sales tax (0.1 percentage point), an optional public safety sales tax, car‑tab increases, surface‑water or utility fees, and cable/communications fees. Council members debated whether to…
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