As a councilmember, it is my privilege to spend time understanding city finances and explaining them to our residents who are busy living their lives, assuming we are managing their interests well. We are not.
At Monday’s City Council meeting on June 16, the mayor presided over a simple majority of the council that gifted the residents the highest sales tax in the state of Washington. This regressive tax of 10.7%, up from 10.6%, was voted on by Councilmembers Tom Jordal, Louis Harris, Richard Emery, and Donna Vago. In fact, Harris and Jordal made the motion – so eager were they to pass this regressive tax!
Our council is tone deaf and blind to the broader environment where Washingtonians are disproportionately impacted by the Trump tariffs on China and Canada, and at the same time bracing for the impact at the state level of the largest tax increase in the history of the state.
Given that perfect storm of taxation, the voters should have had a say in the sales tax increase. Four councilmembers disagreed and approved a councilmanic sales tax increase. This means you have no say in it other than at the ballot box in November.
Stunningly, when defending his decision to vote to pass the increase after making the motion for the increase, Councilmember Jordal said, “I don’t suspect that people are going to go to a different restaurant for (this) reason.”
I’m sorry, but my friend, Councilmember Jordal, is not considering the context of layering increase upon increase upon increase upon the average Mukilteo resident. Mukilteans are the ones paying our sales tax – not ferry traffickers, not tourists and not AirBNB’ers. It’s Us…You….Me! Most or our retail trade is you and me buying food to feed our families!!!
Only Councilmen Steve Schmalz, Jason Moon, and I, Mike Dixon, voted against this tax increase. Most disturbingly, Councilmembers Jordal and Harris won’t even be here in 6 months, as they are lame ducks who announced their decisions to step down at the end of the year. They presided over the budget we have today as our council president and vice president and now on their farewell lap they are leaving behind a mess for me and whoever else wins in November to deal with next year. So even if you didn’t like their policies, they are immune from your vote.
I have every intention of running again in 2027 and, if re-elected, plan to continue to work to bring fiscal discipline and transparency to this city on behalf of the residents. If I knew I was leaving in less than six months, I would not impose my views on controversial, long-term topics on the residents. It is striking that we have two short timers weighing in like this repeatedly shaping and fashioning legislation, killing things they don’t like and opining away on their personal preferences while knowing they are out the door in six months. One would think they would defer to the rest of us who are committed to the long term and must live with what they are leaving us.
This same simple majority chose to defer funding our priority one critical capital equipment. When presented with a funding approach to buy critically needed equipment for the city, this same simple council majority voted down every iteration of using a cost effective, state-run leasing program called LOCAL to buy the equipment today versus kicking the can further by failing to act today while pondering what to do tomorrow.
We have NO plan to purchase nearly any of this equipment, including the breathing apparatus for the fire department needed for recertification in 2026, except their hollow claims that we will either do so if the EMS levy lid lift passes in November or do so using the existing equipment reserves if the levy lift fails. The problem is the math ain’t mathing. There isn’t enough money in the equipment reserves to buy this equipment, and either the gang of four doesn’t understand this or they simply don’t care.
Remember my warning when I am proven right seven months from now by the long-range financial planning committee just like I was proven right on the entire budget and deficit spending debacle.
For those who don’t remember, last year I wrote repeatedly of how we were in Gap deficit spending levels and would run out of ending fund balance by 2027 with double digit deficits in the general fund as far as the eye could see. The LRFP committee then took 7 months to conclude I was right, and we do in fact operate in Gap deficit level spending, will run out of ending fund balance in 2027 and do have double digit deficits as far as the eye can see.
Then remember, the mayor repeatedly stated that he had revenues to solve the problem: sale of Hawthorne Hall, annexing the small parcel East of the speedway and implementing the magic speed cameras.
Yet despite all these revenues, we still find the need to pass the highest sales tax in the state while continuing to raise senior managerial salaries to over $200,000 on average, with the administrator going to $242,000 next year plus a $6000 annual car allowance plus benefits approximating $60,000. This for a person who we hired in 2021 at $141,000???
These unsustainable and unconscionable managerial salaries for the non-represented employees are crippling the city. It is not the unionized fire, police and line worker in public works or junior clerical worker. It is this willful decision to fund these non-represented positions at the max of their salary band, arbitrarily increase the bands to match those of cherry-picked high spending cities, while having no merit or performance review process whatsoever. If you draw air and are employed on day one of year two, you get the next maximum of the band if you were at the maximum last year. This is how you go from $141,000 to $242,000 in 6 years. But who cares? We have revenues – magic speed camera revenue and now a new sales tax. Watch your wallet and try not to speed.
Mike Dixon, Mukilteo City Councilman
Mike Dixon was elected to a four-year term in 2023. Born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he has made Mukilteo his home since 2007. Mike is a member of the board of directors of Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center, the Everett based non profit providing safety, justice and healing to victims of child physical and sexual abuse, assault, and neglect. He also serves as 3-time elected water and wastewater district commissioner.
Mike recently joined USI Insurance Services in their Seattle office as a commercial lines insurance producer following the recent sale of his Farmers Insurance agency in Old Town. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management science and an MBA, both from MIT.
Seeing the City’s ongoing fiscal crisis, Mike’s current focus is to balance our budget and ensure the long term fiscal health of the city by restructuring and optimizing its delivery of services. Mike is also focused on helping to make the City more affordable for residents to support growth and address the affordability crisis of our region.
Mike and his significant other, Alise, live in the Kamiak subdivision of Harbour Pointe with his son, Nehemiah, a senior at Kamiak. Mike also has a daughter, Gabriele, a sophomore at Kamiak, three adult children, and a granddaughter, Cali.
Mike and Alise enjoy partner dancing, exercising, traveling, and spending time with their extended family and friends.
COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliate.
Author: Lynnwood Times Contributor
