Councilmember Nehring's December Newsletter

Snohomish County, Washington sent this bulletin at 12/01/2025 06:00 AM PST

Dear North County Neighbors,

I hope you and your families enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving! This time of year is a great opportunity to reflect on all of the blessings in our lives. November was a busy month at Snohomish County government, from budgets to broadband to several panel discussions about important topics facing our communities. Here is a summary of the newsletter with the full content below:

💰 County Budget & Policy: Opposed property tax increases and secured $5M/year for recovery housing; added a new forestry position to the Agricultural Advisory Board.

🌾 Land & Conservation: Highlighted the Stillaguamish Basin farmland preservation project, protecting 235 acres with Conservation Futures funding.

🛠️ Workforce Development: Shared RAP Program updates, participated in countywide workforce panel, and promoting the upcoming “Girls Build” event.

🤝 Regional Partnerships: Met with SWISS Counties and supported Resolution 25-044 recognizing the Buddy Bowl youth anti-bullying initiative.

🌐 Broadband Expansion: SR 530 Ziply construction advancing; new broadband dashboard launched for countywide connectivity updates.

In The News

Snohomish County Council seeks to appoint District Court judge | Everett Herald – Nov. 18, 2025

Snohomish County Council votes to approve planned 2% tax increase | Everett Herald – Nov. 13, 2025

Property Tax Column | Lynwood Times, Nov. 28, 2025

Community Events

Dec. 6 – Merrysville for the Holidays

Dec. 6 – Arlington Hometown Holidays Santa Parade

Dec. 6 – Stanwood Tree Lighting

Dec. 6 – Granite Falls Winter Market

Dec. 14 – Marysville Jingle Bell 5k Fun Run

Veterans Day

I hope you all took the opportunity to honor our veterans last month at one of the many ceremonies throughout the county. Our freedoms are made possible by the brave sacrifices of so many who have served in our armed forces and we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. Thank you to our veterans, to those who have served, and those serving today.

Mid-Biennial Budget Amendment

On Wednesday, November 5, the Snohomish County Council adopted our mid-biennial budget amendment. Because we are in the middle of our first biennial (two-year) budget, this year’s process was much more limited than a full budget cycle. We were only considering small changes to the budget, which runs through the end of 2026.

Consistent with my vote last year, I voted against the 2% increase to the County’s general property tax levy, as well as the other proposed increases to levies collected by Snohomish County. The 2025–2026 budget had been built on an overall 4% increase to the general levy. During last year’s budget deliberations, I proposed an amendment that would have balanced the budget without any property tax increases.

This year, I introduced an amendment to reallocate $5 million per year of existing housing funds toward recovery housing projects. Recovery housing is an important part of our effort to help people move out of addiction and back into healthy and productive lives. The funding comes from our Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, which is dedicated to supporting housing and behavioral health treatment capacity and services. This amendment was passed by a majority of the Council.

Conservation Futures Feature

As part of our ongoing Conservation Futures feature, this month, I am highlighting the Stillaguamish Basin Farmland Easements, a project in partnership with Forterra NW just outside of Alington. The project consists of 235 acres of farmland which will be preserved for agricultural use. The Conservation Futures Program awarded $1,050,920 for the project. Forterra NW is working with multiple property owners to secure the development rights for multiple farms.

Last month, I joined project staff at Foster Farms, one of the properties participating in the project. The partnership between property owners, non-profits like Forterra NW, and the Conservation Futures Advisory Board allows farmland to be preserved and local farms to remain viable. I appreciate everyone who works on these important preservation projects and enjoyed getting out to the site to see the project firsthand.

Agricultural Advisory Board Ordinance

Back in October, I wrote about the joint County Council/Agricultural Advisory Board meeting held in September. At that meeting, we discussed the request from the Ag. Board to add a forestry representative to the board. The board has specific seats dedicated to various agricultural industries and sectors but did not have a dedicated seat for forestry. Following this request from the Ag. Board, I drafted and introduced an ordinance to add a forestry seat and re-arrange some of the other seats to keep the board composition stable.

On November 12th, the County Council approved this ordinance and the County Executive signed it on November 17th. The board is now looking for representatives for the new positions. If you are interested in applying or know someone who might be interested, you can apply at this link or contact Linda Neunzig at Linda.Neunzig@Snoco.org.

Snohomish County K9 Foundation Dinner

On November 15th, I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the Snohomish County K9 Foundation Dinner. The Foundation supports K9 officers through community outreach, continuing education, and program assistance. The dinner was their main fundraiser for the year and I was honored to be invited to speak. Our K9 officers are a critical element of our public safety efforts and I am grateful for their service.

RAP Program Update

The Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program is off to a great start with the new school year. Both new and returning students are active in the classroom and shop, honing their skills to become the next generation of workers in the building and construction trades. Staff from the RAP Program gave an update to the RAP Advisory Board at our fall meeting held last month. The Board has representatives from local school districts, trade unions, industry partners, and local government.

The RAP Program will be hosting their annual Girls Build event on December 4th. This event brings female students from across the county together to learn about the RAP Program and career options in the building and construction trades. Tradeswomen from multiple industries work with the students on projects, share their experience, and encourage young women to pursue careers in the trades. This is a great annual event and I am excited to see it continue.

Growing Local Talent Discussion

On Tuesday, November 18th, I participated in a Coffee Chat discussion hosted by Economic Alliance Snohomish County focused on workforce development. The panel included Matt Poischbeg (Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center), Erin Williams (Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee), Charlotte Murry (Snohomish and Island County Labor Council), Julie Mainstone (Snohomish County PUD), and I. I shared updates from the RAP Program and the work happening to prepare the next generation of building and construction trades workers. All of the panelists had great information to share about this important topic for our region. Thank you to Economic Alliance Snohomish County for hosting the discussion and for the invite. You can watch the panel discussion at this link.

LSC Panel

Last month, Leadership Snohomish County hosted two panel discussions for their Law & Social Justice Day. I was invited to participate in the panels alongside Sheriff Johnson and other stakeholders from the law and justice system. We had great discussions about the challenges facing our communities when it comes to public safety and the ways we can work together to foster safer communities in Snohomish County. I appreciate Leadership Snohomish County for inviting me to participate and for my fellow panelists for the great discussions.

SWISS Counties Meeting

On Tuesday, November 18th, the SWISS Counties met as part of the Washington State Association of Counties Annual Conference. SWISS is made up of Snohomish, Whatcom, Island, Skagit, and San Juan County officials. The group has been meeting since 2020 to partner on shared priorities and advocate to our state delegation on issues affecting the northwest region of the state.

Buddy Bowl Resolution

On November 12th, the Snohomish County Council passed Resolution 25-044, A Resolution in Support of the Buddy Bowl and Inaugural NCYFL Pro-Bowl Games. The Buddy Bowl is an annual tradition, started by Marysville resident Preston Dwoskin to raise awareness of bullying and provide inspiration for young people who are struggling with bullying. This year’s event was a new partnership between the Buddy Bowl and the North Cascades Youth Football League. The event took place on November 23rd at Sedro-Woolley High School and brough together over a dozen youth football programs to participate. I am proud to support Preston’s efforts with the Buddy Bowl and congratulate the program on their new partnership with NCYFL.

Broadband Update

There has been some exciting progress on the broadband front recently! Our partnership with Ziply to bring high-speed fiber to residents along the SR 530 corridor is underway and construction is moving along. Residents in the area can now sign up for Ziply service and get the connection to their homes installed at no cost to the customer. Those interested need to sign up during the installation window to take advantage of the free installation. After construction is complete, residents will have to pay for the connection. To check availability in your area or sign up, visit https://ziplyfiber.com/ and enter your address.

We have also launched our new broadband dashboard with information about all of our broadband efforts. The dashboard (linked here) has information about the current projects, BEAD funding program, and other updates. Take a look and please let us know if there’s additional information that you think would be helpful on the dashboard.

I send out monthly newsletters to keep you informed about what I am working on and how I am representing the residents of North Snohomish County on the County Council. Please feel free to reach out to me at 425-512-4810 or Nate.Nehring@snoco.org.

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