On December 8, 2020, the Kirkland City Council unanimously adopted the 2021-2022 Budget, “Investing in a More Equitable, Safe and Resilient Kirkland.”

The budget was profoundly shaped by the dramatic and historic events that continue to unfold in 2020. The City is still grappling with the social, financial and health impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak that erupted in Kirkland on February 29, 2020 and spread throughout the nation. Also developed amid the racial justice movement reignited by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, the budget proposal responds to the commitment made by the City Council on August 4, 2020 through Resolution R-5434 to affirm that Black lives matter, to improve the safety and respect of Black people, and to help end structural racism.

“On behalf of the City Council, we would like to thank everyone in the community who provided input on the budget and shared their priorities as we look toward the next two years,” said Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet. “We would also like to thank the City staff for developing a fiscally responsible budget that reflects both our community’s values and our community’s needs. We are proud of this budget and the budget process that we have been through this year.”

The City’s biennial budget puts the community’s priorities into motion and links goals and policy to the actual day-to-day activities of the organization. Kirkland prides itself on providing residents an exceptional quality of life with safe streets, a clean environment and beautiful parks. These choices, whether related to public safety, maintaining parks, keeping pedestrians safe, or protecting the natural environment, are made through the budget.

In order to ensure Kirkland’s finances and infrastructure are resilient, the budget addresses the economic challenges of 2020. The budget also maintains the City’s AAA credit rating and compensates for the expiration of the state Annexation Sales Tax Credit (ASTC) in 2021, which results in the loss of nearly $5 million per year in the City’s general fund revenue. Balancing the budget required drawing on one-time cash reserves and reductions in expenditures. The total biennial budget for 2021-2022 is 6.87 percent less than the final amended 2019-2020 biennial budget.

The preliminary budget can be viewed by going to www.kirklandwa.gov/budget. The final budget document will be available during the first quarter of 2021.

Plan has been two years in the making and was informed by the community

On December 8, the Kirkland City Council adopted the Sustainability Master Plan, which identifies how the City will implement and measure sustainability strategies and defines actions for achieving a livable and sustainable community. The key objective of the plan, which followed extensive community outreach over the past two years, is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

“The City of Kirkland is committed to a sustainable future that includes cleaner air and water, healthier food to eat, expanded housing options that allow people of all economic means to live here, and a more socially just and equitable city that is welcoming and inclusive of all people,” said Kirkland City Councilmember Neal Black. “We have addressed these issues and many others throughout the City’s policies and plans, and it’s exciting to comprehensively coordinate sustainability strategies under one plan.”

The Sustainability Master Plan establishes goals and implementable actions that put the City on a clear path to achieve sustainability for future generations to come. Development of the plan fulfills a 2019-2020 Council work plan goal and included extensive outreach to learn the community’s priorities for creating a more sustainable Kirkland.

The plan is divided into eight focus areas: energy supply and emissions, buildings and infrastructure, land use and transportation, natural environment and ecosystems, sustainable material management, sustainable governance, sustainable business and healthy community. In addition, the plan includes a section detailing actions community members can take to help make Kirkland more sustainable, a recognition of the need for widespread participation to achieve the plan’s robust environmental objectives.

To integrate sustainable decision-making into the City’s processes, the plan introduces a decision-making matrix. This new tool is a weighted decision-making tool that helps the City make more informed decisions on projects, programs, policies and actions across all municipal operations, and is intended to institutionalize sustainability throughout the organization.

“Many of the Sustainability Master Plan’s goals have time horizons of five and ten years and there are others that will take longer to achieve,” explained David Barnes, senior planner for the City of Kirkland and project manager of the Sustainability Master Plan. “It’s essential that the actions in this plan are carefully implemented and its goals monitored and measured. The annual progress reports and updates to the plan will help ensure that City operations and the community are working together in partnership towards a truly sustainable future for all.”

For more information about the Sustainability Master Plan, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/sustainabilityplan.

Join Councilmember Amy Falcone in taking the Shop Local Pledge by committing to purchase at least one gift through www.ShopLocalKirkland.com this season. Shop Local Kirkland is the City’s new digital main street, with over 200 Kirkland-based businesses and counting. Shop your favorite farmers market vendors, service providers, fitness studios, restaurants, boutiques and breweries.

New businesses are added all the time as we seek to grow this online showcase of Kirkland’s best assets.

You’ll find businesses that you didn’t even know existed! We promise you’ll find something unique, interesting and fun, and even better, your purchase supports our small business community and helps it survive and thrive. Visit Shop Local Kirkland today and purchase with purpose!

You can help when winter weather makes roads dangerous! Treacherous road conditions like snow and ice can pose challenges for police response. In order to make it easier for police to respond to emergencies, please do not drive unless absolutely necessary. If you must, drive slowly and carefully, leaving plenty of space for braking. Stopping will take significantly longer, and four-wheel drive does not improve stopping ability on ice or hard snow packed roads.

Do not drive around road closure signs or traffic cones. 

Please pull off the road if you are in a minor non-injury accident so that you do not block the roadway and cause additional collisions. Accidents can be reported online by visiting the Washington State Patrol at: https://www.wsp.wa.gov/driver/collision-records/. Vehicles left blocking roadways or intersections will be removed. You may contact NORCOM dispatch non-emergency number at 425-577-5656 to inquire if KPD removed your vehicle.