Locally owned
November 5, 2014
Review sammamish
Budget plan includes property tax hike
Fright night football
By Neil Pierson npierson@sammamishreview.com
Sammamish officials are looking to increase general fund expenses by about 3 percent over the next two years, and a 1 percent property tax hike would help support that plan. The City Council discussed a preliminary budget proposal Oct. 21, and while it made several minor changes to City Manager Ben Yazici’s plan, the estimated 2015-16 budget of $132.8 million looks relatively intact. Adoption of the budget and property tax increase are expected at the council’s Nov. 18 meeting. State law allows cities to increase property taxes up On the web to 1 percent each year, but Sammamish hasn’t imposed an Read the 2015 city of increase since 2008. The proposal Sammamish budget proposal would generate an additional at www.sammamish.us/files/ $460,000 over the next two years, document/13480.pdf. increasing the city’s property-tax revenue to $46 million. The preliminary budget looks to increase general-fund expenses to $75.6 million in the next biennium, an increase of $4.6 million, or 2.9 percent. Much of that increase would go toward public works projects, legal and administrative services, and parks and recreation offerings. Budget figures show Sammamish has the lowest per capita revenues and expenses of any Eastside city. In 2012, the city collected $651 per person and spent $449 per person, significantly lower totals than Mercer Island, Issaquah, Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland. Compared to the same cities, Sammamish also has a lot fewer employees to serve its residents. The city employs 1.6 people per 1,000 residents, and would need to hire another 75 full-time employees to match the next-lowest city on the list, Kirkland (3.1 per 1,000). At the Oct. 21 meeting, the council deliberated over a list of budget issues. City officials compiled a 49-item list of council suggestions over the past few months, and 31 of those suggestions were included in Yazici’s preliminary budget proposal that was released in early September. One of the more contentious topics was a plan to hire a community services coordinator. The half-time employee would be a liaison to schools, neighboring jurisdictions and a wide array of service groups. Councilwoman Nancy Whitten said she couldn’t support the position’s creation without knowing more about the job description. She believed the city might be better off increasing grants to outside agencies that specialize in specific community-service tasks. “This position gives me heartburn, frankly,” Whitten said. “I could be very positively in favor of it, but I don’t understand it.” On a 5-2 vote, the council amended the original plan, choosing to set aside money but delay hiring someone until it forms a common vision on the job description. Councilman Tom Odell and Deputy Mayor Kathleen Huckabay were opposed. There was also disagreement over a plan to spend $4,000 to join the King County Cities Climate Change Coalition. The council eventually approved the idea, 6-1, with Councilman Ramiro Valderrama providing the lone opposition. Valderrama noted the city is already paying $88,000 a year to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, an organization that deals with many of the same issues surrounding sustainability and climate change. Yazici noted the fee is a state-mandated expense, but Valderrama felt many residents wouldn’t care, adding that people have complained in past years about the number of membership fees the city has purchased. Odell, who is leading discussion on climate-change issues this month at a National League of Cities meeting, said the membership is beneficial. See BUDGET, Page 3
Photos by Greg Farrar
The Halloween night football game between Eastlake and Skyline high schools brought out plenty of fun and frightful costumed students. Above, Skyline cheerleaders look at a photo of themselves taken by team photographer Jim Nicholson before the game. Right, three Eastlake fans coordinated a Spider-Man vibe in the Wolves’ bleachers.
SLIDESHOW See more photos from the Eastlake-Skyline football game at www.sammamishreview.com.
Lake trail design nearing completion King County Parks announced Oct. 22 that the designs for a segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail are 60 percent complete. The 1.2-mile South Sammamish Segment A, from Southeast 43rd Way to Southeast 33rd Street, is scheduled to start construction in the late spring of 2015. Tree removal strategies are a major part of the trail segment’s design. Metal tags have been placed on “significant trees” through the trail corridor, which stretches for 11 miles between Redmond and Issaquah.
Professional arborists have completed an assessment of 194 significant trees along the trail segment. Coniferous trees with a diameter of at least 8 inches, and deciduous trees with a diameter of at least 12 inches, are determined to be “significant” in Sammamish city codes. “Building a wider trail that is safer and more accessible to people of all ages and abilities does require removing some trees,” a county parks news release stated. Of the 194 trees in the assessment, 70 will be removed. An additional 51 trees will be monitored, and will be saved if they
aren’t affected by construction. If any trees being monitored show signs of damage from construction, arborists can recommend their removal. Prior to removal, the parks department will notify Sammamish officials and adjacent property owners. Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
50¢