Councilman Nehring's December Newsletter

Dear North County Neighbors,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. My December newsletter is going to focus on the 2018 Snohomish County budget which was recently passed by Council. 

For months, the Council has heard from County departments, elected officials, and the public on the proposed 2018 budget. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, the County Executive proposed a 4% property tax increase and the Council Chair proposed a 2% property tax increase. Last week, the Snohomish County Council took a series of votes related to the budget and ultimately adopted a 2018 operating budget with a 0% property tax increase.

On Monday, November 20, 2017, the Council voted on a number of revenue ordinances. These ordinances set the amount of money Snohomish County will take next year in property taxes. After the 2% increase proposal failed, I introduced my proposal to freeze property taxes at their current rate (0% increase). This ordinance passed on a 3-2 vote with the support of Councilmembers Sam Low and Stephanie Wright who joined me in opposing a property tax increase. The Everett Herald covered that vote in an article linked here.

On Tuesday, November 21, 2017, the Council deliberated and passed a 2018 operating budget that funds essential County functions without raising property taxes. The budget that was ultimately passed included funding for public safety in the form of 5 new sheriff’s deputies and one new code enforcement officer to assist in cracking down on nuisance properties around the County. To arrive at a balanced budget, the council incorporated many of my amendments to cut spending. Some of these cuts include:

-Removing pay increases for multiple management positions

-Removing proposed additional employees

-Cutting back on County Council expenditures

-Moving debt payments from general fund to Real-Estate Excise Tax funding

This budget passed the County Council on a unanimous 5-0 and now heads to the County Executive’s desk for his approval. The Everett Herald covered the budget here.

I am thankful to the constituents that have reached out in support of my 0% property tax proposal and to my fellow councilmembers for working with me to pass a no-new-taxes budget which will relieve the tax burden on the hard-working taxpayers in Snohomish County. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Nate Nehring
Councilman, District 1

Snohomish County Council 3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609 Everett, Washington 98201   8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building  Phone: 425-388-3494 E-Mail: Nate.Nehring@snoco.org   Russell Wiita, Legislative Aide