Monroe raising water, stormwater charges starting in 2018

The Monroe City Council has approved next year’s budget, which includes nearly $90 million in expenses — which includes transfers — across all accounts.

Acting in agreement with Mayor Geoffrey Thomas, the council voted not to raise the city’s portion of property taxes in 2018, exclusive of new construction, but charges for water and stormwater services will go up by 7.5 percent and 4 percent respectively — the same as in 2017. Sewer rates will remain the same.

“And that is the largest portion of the bill,” said Monroe’s finance director Becky Hasart.

A rate study was completed a few years ago that looked at the city’s future needs, she said. The results of that work helped determine the schedule for what costs for services would be raised and when. The process makes rate increases more steady over time, she said.

Hasart led development of the budget and presented it to the council at three meetings in October and November. The first reading was held at the end of November, and the final reading took place in early December.

No comments from residents were received throughout the process, which began in late September.

“In this case, no news is good news,” Hasart said.

Public safety, economic development and construction were some of the programs and projects prioritized for next year through allocated funding.

The Monroe Police Department plans to hire on another patrol officer, and the city will replace the Sky River Park playground in 2018. Work to improve the intersection at Blueberry Lane and North Kelsey Street will start, and the 191st Street extension project design process will begin.

From the first time the preliminary document was made public to when it was passed at the Dec. 5 meeting, only a handful of changes took place, including a transfer of funds for the Lake Tye Park synthetic turf upgrades and approving a renewed four-year contract with Monroe Municipal Court Judge Mara Rozzano.

Monroe’s general fund is expected to grow by 2.44 percent by the end of 2018; taxes will make up about 61.4 percent of next year’s revenue in that account. That money pays for most general services, including police, parks, community and economic development.

The city has just less than two dozen funds payments to cover expenses in a given year. Each line item above a certain dollar amount is taken to the council at a later date; councilmembers must vote to approve spending the money at that time.

Each fund has varying revenue sources. Charges for services, such as fees or field rentals, property tax, sales tax, or the real estate excise tax (REET), which is taken in whenever real property changes hands, are a few.

Revenue for special funds, such as the city’s lodging tax account, may come solely from the lodging excise tax, which is collected any time a person stays in one of Monroe’s hotels or motels. The city can only spend that money on tourism. Other funds may have a variety of revenue sources.

Revenue from sales and property taxes is expected to rise next year without changing the rates. Because of the new construction taking place in the city, there will be more homeowners paying property tax.

Sales taxes were last raised when residents approved a 0.1 percent hike in 2013. The resulting money has been used to hire more patrol officers, create Elisa Delgado’s two-year embedded social worker pilot position, which costs $50,000 per year, and fund code enforcement and animal control.

Next year’s budget includes $7,500 to purchase drug testing equipment for the Monroe Police Department. It will be used to protect officers and evidence technicians from exposure to harmful materials. About $30,000 to purchase a new system for the department’s interview rooms that can record audio and video at the same time is also being requested.

The budget does not include an amount for the $2 per capita payment requested by the Snohomish County Health District. Hasart said the council can decide to take action to change the budget at any point after its adoption.

Washington’s municipalities are required to pass a budget by Dec. 31.