Thank you for the veto, now let’s squarely address Mukilteo’s challenges
Thank you, Mayor Marine, for vetoing the councilmanic sales tax. Now let’s turn our attention to other pressing matters facing the city. We need 10% cuts immediately – as I outlined in detail last September and October, both at the dais and in op-eds. Here is my 20-point plan for Mukilteo: 1. Rollback non-represented salaries to […]
Mayor vetoes sales tax increase that would have made Mukilteo highest in Washington state
MUKILTEO—Mayor Joe Marine has vetoed Ordinance 1518, a measure adopted by the Mukilteo City Council on June 16, 2025, that would have raised the city’s sales tax to the highest rate in Washington State. “As Mayor, I take seriously the responsibility to balance our financial needs with the realities our residents and businesses face,” said […]
Commentary: Mukilteo Council to residents, ‘Let them eat cake!’
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 […]
I fear nothing when I am in the right
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” ― John Adams, The Portable John Adams To keep the math simple, $140,000 of cuts per year on a $20 million expenditure budget equals 0.70%. This is what […]
Mukilteo Budget: Big bets and tough choices avoided
At the November 25 Council Special meeting, the Mukilteo City Council voted 5- 2, Councilmembers Dixon and Steve Schmalz against, to adopt the biennial budget for the years 2025-2026. The adopted budget, little changed from the mayor’s 2025-2026 preliminary budget, draws down the general fund ending balance, our savings account, from $5 million today, to […]
Commentary: Just Trust Joe?
Doubling down on obfuscation: At the November 4 Council Regular meeting, the Council voted to close the public hearing on the City’s biennial preliminary budget from the mayor for the years 2025-2026. The mayor’s 2025-2026 budget draws down the general fund ending balance, our savings account, from $5 million today, to under $2 million in […]
Broken promises, lies & dereliction of duty: How Mayor Marine has driven city finances into a ditch
On Friday afternoon October 11 at 4:15 p.m., the Mukilteo City Council received the City’s first biennial preliminary budget from Mayor Joe Marine for the years 2025-2026. In the run up to this preliminary budget, there was vigorous debate concerning waiving our deficit spending policy, known as the Gap policy, for this budget, with the […]
Mukilteo Mayor to propose ‘lean’ biennium budget to weather fiscal challenges
MUKILTEO—Mayor Joe Marine will be presenting his city’s first biennium budget to residents during a Special Meeting at Mukilteo City Hall at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 14. After his address, members of the public will have up to five minutes each to ask questions on the proposed 2025-26 biennium budget during the Public Hearing. […]
YOUR MONEY: The $1.3 million boondoggle South Mukilteo Park
MUKILTEO—Mukilteo City Council on Monday, July 1, approved $1.3 million to “renovate” an existing park in Harbour Pointe, using $800,000 of your tax dollars on a “South Mukilteo Park” project that is now $550,000 over budget; yet is asking Mukilteans to cough up $180 per home or $1.5 million per year for an EMS Levy […]
Mukilteo 2024 State of the City address, February 28
MUKILTEO—Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine will deliver his 2024 State of the City Address on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. at Rosehill Community Center. Hosted by the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, the event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged but not required. Mayor Marine will present the State of the […]
