Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Milton council OKs 0.1% public-safety sales-tax measure for November ballot
Summary
Council adopted Resolution 26-2005 to submit a 0.1% sales-and-use tax increase (notated as 0.001 for clarity) to the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot to fund police services; staff estimated roughly $200,000 annually and counsel authorized minor wording edits and appointment of two pro‑statement volunteers.
Milton City Council voted unanimously July 6 to submit a local public-safety sales-and-use tax proposition to voters in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. Finance director Michelle Robec told council that, at current budgeted revenue and expenditure levels, the general fund balance would fall below the target by 2028 without additional revenue and that a 0.1% increase targeted to police operations would generate an estimated $200,000 annually based on 2026 receipts.
Robec cited the enabling statute as part of her explanation and noted counties and other jurisdictions have similar options under different RCWs. After discussion, council approved an amendment to the resolution's parenthetical notation—changing the presentation from "0.1%" to "0.001"—so the numeric value would be clearer to voters, then voted to adopt Resolution 26-2005 to place the measure on the ballot. The council also approved seating Jackie and Dave Strader as the city’s designated pro‑committee to write a pro‑statement for the county voter guide; staff said counties will accept county-level committee filings and publish notice to solicit any con committee statements.
"Based on 2026 sales tax receipts to date, it is estimated that a public safety tax would generate about $200,000 annually," Robec said. The measure requires voter approval; if approved the tax would be collected starting according to state procedures and used to maintain Milton police services and public safety levels described in the resolution.
