MARYSVILLE—Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring delivered his 2025 State of the City address Tuesday evening, January 28, covering city accomplishments and what lies ahead for the City of Marysville through the rest of the year.
Mayor Jon Nehring has been the Mayor of Marysville since 2010 and raised his family there. Coming from a background in business he was able to bring along his expertise in the private sector to the way he runs the city.
Marysville is the second largest city on Snohomish County with 74,390 residents and 18th largest city in the State of Washington. It operates with a total revenue of $120.5 million made up of a $57.8 million Enterprise Fund and a $62.5 million General Fund. The vast majority of Marysville budget is spent on Public Safety and Public Works.
The City also has a Standard and Poor bond rating of AA+ and has a healthy amount in its emergency fund reserves.
In Marysville 10% of property taxes paid go to the City but it’s been over a decade since the City has raised the City-portion of property taxes. That hasn’t changed in its recently passed biennial budget.
Mayor Nehring highlighted the City’s budget first and foremost Tuesday as he said, “you can’t do anything without a city budget.” He then transitioned to a new Capital Improvement Program which rolled out last year, which consolidates components of all the separate Master Plans into one place to plan for infrastructure needs.
Nehring then transitioned to Public Safety stating, “there’s really no greater priority than Public Safety.”
Mayor Nehring was pleased to announce that the Marysville Police Department was just recently awarded the State Accreditation Awards from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) which only 31% of the Departments in the State of Washington have achieved.
The examination lasted over one year and evaluated every aspect of the Department’s operations. However, it took several more years to prepare, Nehring noted.
“The Chief and his team really did an amazing job pushing this through and sticking with it for several years,” said Nehring. “Now we have to maintain it.”
Nehring also brought to attention the formation of the group Mayors and Business Leaders for Public Safety—of which he and Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell are members of – encompassing people from across the ideological spectrum.
“We’ve united among common sense, accountability laws, and we’ve gone to the State Legislation on numerous occasions and asked them to repeal some of the damaging laws that legalized drugs across our state, a law that prevented police from pursue, and kudos to the State Legislature for listening and fixing those,” said Nehring.
Total number of crimes reported in Marysville are down 3.7% from 2023 while police staffing levels are increasing. Marysville is one of two municipalities in Snohomish County with its own jail, along with Lynnwood, which was voter approved nearly six years ago.
As far as courts, in 2023 Marysville Municipal Courts conducted four jury trials and summoned over 1,600 citizens from Marysville and Lake Stevens as jurors.
Transitioning to Emergency Management Nehring noted that the City has its own in-house Emergency Management program and launched its own Marysville Ready Neighbors program last year that encourages household preparedness for emergencies while welcoming a similar program for businesses.
Next Mayor Nehring tackled the City of Marysville conducting an eight-year updated to its Comprehensive Plan last year — which is a “big task,” he added. Each city in Washington is required to zone for population growth as a requirement of the Growth Management Act, which passed in the 1990’s.
“It’s often that the City Council and I are sitting bemoaning the fact that we have such quick growth in the community, it’s difficult to keep up with the infrastructure, and we wish it would pause quite honestly,” said Nehring. “That’s not the reality in the state we live in. There’s a lot of people moving in and the population spreads out among cities, they give you a growth target, you zone for it, and if you meet all the zoning targets they are allowed to build and that’s just the way it works.”
In 2024 the City of Marysville welcomed 32 businesses with 12 expected to open in 2025 including: 163 RV Storage, PepsiCo, a second Chick-fil-A location, SAIA Trucking, Boba Milk Tea and Coffee, DTG Recycling, Pilchuck Rentals, Sourdough and Co, Brown Bear Car Wash, Kendall Ford Service, Quality Auto Center, Walden RV Storage.
Other topics highlighted at Tuesday’s event included; the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics, Marysville Talent Show, the Consulate General of India’s visit to Marysville, the opening of Jenning’s Nature Park Playground, Marysville Business Summit, the citywide clean sweep, Eggstravaganza Egg Hunt, Strawberry Fields Playground opening, the downtown Stormwater Treatment Plant Grand Opening, the opening of Marysville 3rd Street Farmers Market, Fourth of July Fireworks celebration, the State Avenue Expansion Ribbon Cutting, Trick or Treat Down Delta, Tree Planting Ceremony with Snohomish Conservation District, Marysville Police Officers Association Coat Drive, Heroes and Hoops Charity Basketball Tournament, and Merrysville for the Holidays.
In attendance at Tuesday’s event was Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, County Council member Nate Nehring, Marysville Fire Chief Ned Vander Pol, Snohomish County Judge Fred Gillings, Marysville City Council members Tom King, Peter Candelius, and Kelly Richards as well as several City staff members.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
