MUKILTEO—For its Business Meeting at 6 p.m., Monday, April 15, the Mukilteo City Council is expected to vote on whether to proceed with adding a ballot measure to the August 6, 2024, Primary Election for a permanent EMS Levy Lid Lift at a levy rate of $0.50 per $1,000.00 of assessed valuation, starting in 2025.
The current EMS Levy Rate is $0.27529739895 per $1,000 assessed valuation and will provide the City with a revenue of $2,039,955 in 2024. The proposed $0.50 per $1,000 is projected to provide the City $3,705,003 based on the current assessed valuation. The EMS funds may only be used for EMS related expenses.
On September 14, 2004, Mukilteo voters approved an EMS Levy of up to $0.35 per $1,000 assessed valuation for six years. On August 17, 2010, the voters approved making it permanent at a rate not to exceed $0.50 per $1,000 assessed valuation. On August 7, 2018, the voters rejected a measure that would have set the rate at $0.50 per $1,000 for six consecutive years, with the limit factor for each ensuing year not to exceed 106% of the previous year.
On August 1, 2023, the voters rejected a EMS Levy measure that would have set the rate at $0.40 per $1,000 for six consecutive years. With the passage of time, the rate has been gradually reduced to approximately $0.27 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
This item was previously presented to the City Council at their March 25, 2024, work session. That meeting provided the Council with historical information about the levy, outlined the need for the proposed levy lid lift, and provided staff an opportunity to answer the Council’s questions. At that meeting a consensus was generally developed for placing a ballot measure before the voters that would seek to raise the levy rate to $0.50 per $1,000.00 of assessed for 2025.
As previously shared with Council, the first available election is the August 6, 2024, Primary Election. To meet this date, the City must send the adopted resolution, names for the members of the pro/con committees, and the explanatory statement to the County by May 3, 2024, pro/con statements are due June 12, 2024, and pro/con rebuttals are due June 17, 2024.
Supporting Documentation:
2024 EMS Election Consultant Contract
Council will vote to authorize Mayor Joe marine to sign Consultant Agreement with Liz Loomis Public Affairs in the amount of $45,000 to provide strategic communication services to city staff. The consultant will create a communications plan and messaging for the EMS Levy renewal.
Supporting Documentation:
Selection of Mukilteo EMS Levy Pro and Con Committees
The City Council is required to appoint one to three people to serve on each of the pro/con committees for the EMS Levy Lid Lift. The pro committee will write a statement for (in favor of) the measure and a rebuttal to the con committee’s statement. The con committee will write the statement against the measure and a rebuttal to the pro committee’s statement.
Council will vote whether or not to approve Richard Emery, Dave Dundon-Harris, and Michael Dixon to serve on the pro committee and Kevin Stoltz, Steve Schmalz, and Sabrina Otness to serve on the con committee for the EMS Levy Lid Lift.
Supporting Documentation:
Long-Range Financial Planning Committee Approval
The Mukilteo City Council is expected to vote on approving allotment of seats to the Long-Range Financial Planning Committee. The proposal is for member seats to be comprised of three City Councilmembers, three Mukilteo resident volunteers, and three administration staff (Mayor, City Administrator, and Finance Director).
The Finance Director is seeking approval to reconvene the LRFP Committee and approval of the make-up of the members of the LFRP Committee in order to proceed with the next steps.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
