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
22 Responses
What are we going to do about it, Mike? Comically I already shop out of Mukilteo for my groceries and gas and very rarely eat at the few restaurants that are even available. Ultimately, the people of Mukilteo need to be given the chance to vote on matters like these. These council members serve themselves, not the community, especially with salaries of 140k-200k a year. Modern day grifters.
The large salaries are senior staff. Councilmembers make a stipend of $500 a month, which has recently been raised after 26 years, to $917 a month.
I figured out the law.
As you may be aware, our council passed on 4-3 margin a councilmanic sales tax increase raising our sales tax in Mukilteo to 10.7%, the highest in the state and second highest in the country.
The issue is now squarely in Mayor Marine’s hands. He has 10 days to veto this or it becomes de facto law. There is no sidestepping this. This is either his tax increase or he will veto it. The countdown began on Tuesday. Remember this come November.
Here is the law that applies.
RCW 35A.12.100 The mayor shall have the power to veto ordinances passed by the council and submitted to him or her as provided in RCW 35A.12.130 but such veto may be overridden by the vote of a majority of all councilmembers plus one more vote.
RCW 35A.12.130 Every ordinance which passes the council in order to become valid must be presented to the mayor; if he or she approves it, he or she shall sign it, but if not, he or she shall return it with his or her written objections to the council and the council shall cause his or her objections to be entered at large upon the journal and proceed to a reconsideration thereof. If upon reconsideration a majority plus one of the whole membership, voting upon a call of ayes and nays, favor its passage, the ordinance shall become valid notwithstanding the mayor’s veto. If the mayor fails for ten days to either approve or veto an ordinance, it shall become valid without his or her approval. Ordinances shall be signed by the mayor and attested by the clerk.
I just forwarded this article to the Nextdoor app. I would have never known about this if I hadn’t accidentally come across this. I’m a senior and live a hop skip and a jump down the street from Harbour Pointe Middle School for around 30yrs. The property taxes are bad enough along with the water bill (only 2 people in my household). Now this adds another strain on us along with anyone else on a limited budget while others feel they have the right to jack up their income because they feel they deserve it 😤😡
Is this argument about the miniscule tax increase or about senior staff’s salaries? Conflating the two to support your argument doesn’t really make sense. Yes, the city pays top dollar for its senior staff, as does our school district for their teachers.
Your consumer spending, the stuff affected by this increase, will go up 70 cents for the entire year. If you can’t afford that, you should not be retired.
Mayor Marine, now is your time to veto this sales tax increase. The city needs to tighten its belt further and reduce expenses by reducing staff, training, etc. Private businesses continue to improve efficiencies through AI and other means, because we MUST to stay afloat. All Government agencies must also do the same! Until the city of Mukilteo scrubs its budget to the highest degree, the city has no business raising the sales tax yet again. This sales tax increase should also be put to a public vote.
How much should the belt be tightened? What is the exact number? Close the community center, fire department, and fire half of police?
How about what I proposed last year? How about the mayor doing his job and running the city within budgetary authority to not exceed revenue? Don’t fll for the red herring game played that we must fire half the police or other draconian things. The mayor owes us a plan to reduce salaries, implement furloughs nd reengineer the delivery of city services. That’s his job and why he is paid and elected to run the city. I asm a council member. My job is to approve the budget and crete legisllation; I can’t manage the city for him. That’s his job. And any citizen wise enough to recognize the administration has failed to scrub its budget, is spot on correct.
You have a MBA; I also have a MBA. Somewhere along the line you obviously learned from running a business that the suggestions you made to help reduce the deficit cannot be accomplished by reducing salaries and implementing furloughs. These are stopgap measures and do not solve the problem.
As in the private sector, a city’s cash flow and revenue stream are key to sustaining a viable city budget. If that fluctuates, assets can be sold, as in Hawthorne Hall and implementing traffic cameras to catch speeders (which isn’t a bad thing considering all of the hot shot cars lately).
I agree with those that contend the sale of Hawthorne Hall at below appraisal price was a wise decision. Why? Because, as someone stated, what would the demolition costs amount to? As for neighbors, they most likely knew that someday this property might be converted or sold.
Relatively speaking, Mukilteo is still a small populated city with limited resources for revenue, yet residents want services and amenities that they’re accustomed to, which all cost a ton of money and escalate in cost every year.
I suggest you chill out about the actions of the council and mayor and wait to see how plans work out. And, you are always free to suggest additional revenue streams for the city.
With your logic, corporate America would never implement reductions in force, furloughs, mandatory unpaid leaves, voluntary unpaid leaves, layoffs, reengineering, LEAN, Kaizen or any kind of cost reduction strategies – yet they do, almost routinely, in response to the environment. I am deeply immersed in the city finances. Perhaps you’d like to discuss them with me instead of advising me to “chill out.” I would be delighted to educate you on our city finances and my perspective.
If you’re job is to approve the budget, then stop trying to do the mayor’s job? Either you stop with all this or you tell us exactly what needs to be done. How much do all salaries need to be reduced by and how many days of furlough will happen?
Patty and John,
We need 10% cuts immediately – as I outlined in detail last September – October, both at the dias and in op-eds. Here is one. https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2024/11/16/deficit/
Here is my 20 point plan for Mukilteo –
1. Rollback non-represented salaries to 2023 levels.
2. Implement furloughs of 1 week per quarter on all nopn-represented employees.
3. Use capital leases to purchase priority 1 capital equipment, currently unfunded and with no mechanism to fund them.
4. Privatize Rosehill via a public-private partnership with an entity like the Mukilteo YMCA.
5. Form an RFA with the City of Everett and the Paine Field Fire Department to retasin local control, shift this cost off the general fund and provide far higher service levels thasn currently or historically possible.
6. Eliminate the city administrator position; the city can be managed by a full time mayor. There is no need for a CEO and a COO in a strong-mayor form of government for 21,000 people.
7. Implement performance reviews to ensure good employees are rewarded and less than stellar are weeded out. Raises must be earned.
8. Continually implement city-wide Kaizen events and LEAN process methodologies to systematically identify process efficiencies and improvements in service delivery city-wide.
9. Salvage the waterfront deal with the Port. This has been completely botched by the mayor’s insistence the Port pay us for the land they gave us for free in 2017. This economic engine needs to be started ASAP.
10. Eliminate the plan to build a $40 million parking garage at the waterfront.
11. Alter the Park Master plan and leave the Waterfront parking lot as is. We have no money.
12. Hire an enforcement officer to uniformly enforce city codes.
13. Hire a meter maid to uniformly enforce parking violations, particularly at the Waterfront.
14. Allow AirBNB in Mukilteo, especially in Old Town.
15. Never spot zone Hawthorne Hall. It must remain residential.
16. Increase height limits to 7-stories in dense zones along major arterials ancd permit smart density along arterials.
17. Market Mukilteo to attract clean-tech manufacturers to our industrial base and form a clean tech cluster that is an expansion of Everett’s.
18. Annex the entirety of the MUGA to add density in the south, particularly along 148th, while CAPTURING the development along 99 that will come with the light rail expansion. These efforts should be focused on creating housing affordability in these targeted zones.
19. Add a Balanced Budget law mandating that city budgets must limit general fund expenditures to general fund revenues and not rely on fund balances to statutorily balance the budget.
20. Advocate at the state level for the elimination of the 1% cap on property tax increases and revert to 3% as prior to 2001.
What would you propose be scrubbed from the budget other than staff training, etc? Do you know what training they undergo commensurate with their job duties? Have you scrutinized the upcoming budget by line item and have suggestions for cuts or reductions?
Let’s meet and talk – I’d be delighted to.
Your 20 points read like a mayoral campaign, not a council person who cares about others’ viewpoints or concerns.
You are really blinded by fealty. I’m not running for mayor. I am a council man trying to move my legislative agenda. If I wanted to run I would have. The declaration deadline was May 9.
This is how the loyalists try to drown out my ideas. It won’t work. Debate if you wish, but trying to dismiss me makes you seem non serious.
All year long the mayor’s loyalists have decried everything I have suggested. Let’s be serious. I am
Very concerned, put a ton of effort in and have workable excellent ideas for the city. Why don’t you use your formidable intellect to critique my ideas instead of claiming I am running for office, questioning my motives or suggesting I’m a shill? You asked what my ideas were and I told you. This is a workable agenda for the city and I hope to get my policy agenda enacted.
You’re right. The laws permits him to veto this. He has 5 days left and if he fails to, then it’s his increase.
Guess who’s running for mayor! Theo Anderson
Oh this AGAIN? Guess who donated $1000 to the mayor who is actually running again for a fourth term.
Wish I was one of these people who scoff at the increases everywhere, “oh you can’t afford it? boohoo.”
Curious what they do for work… I’m 32, make ~80k/year, but after paying my mortgage, utilities, trash, and food bills, I’m left with very little.. having to budget for the gas tax/CCA, and rising costs everywhere you look – then add the fact my home is a fixer-upper in need of repairs and maintenance.. WA didn’t used to make me feel this way, but things are sure changing and the inability of our politicians to balance a budget on things that actually matter.. really sucks. 🙁
It’s a $1 increase in sales tax per year for you. If you live in Mukilteo, you aren’t that poor.