EDMONDS — Citing a steep drop in sales tax revenue and a need to make up for the loss of millions of dollars, the city of Edmonds plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees and slash city services.
The Yost Pool will not open this year and city parks will do without seasonal help. Other programs are being cut back or eliminated to keep the city from running up a deficit.
The city had hoped to make up for declining sales taxes by asking voters in November to approve a property tax increase.
“In the meantime, sales tax revenues have dropped 50 percent,” Mayor Gary Haakenson said. “We can’t just wait until November to wait to see if this levy is going to go through.”
The city already cut its retail sales tax projections for 2009 to $4 million from $6 million. Now it is projecting $3 million in sales tax revenue.
Sales taxes are the city’s second largest source of revenue after property taxes.
The biggest reason for the shortfall, Haakenson said, was dismal sales at Highway 99 auto dealerships.
Haakenson declined to talk about the number of layoffs or what departments they will come from until he meets with leaders for the city employee unions.
He said the brunt of cuts will be spread across five or six city departments.
This is the first of several budget cuts that will be implemented in the next two months, the mayor said.
Mary Lu Carlson of Edmonds has four children who swim at Yost Pool.
She said closing the pool down will be a big disappointment for many families in the city.
“If they have to cut, I’d like them to find cuts in other places,” Carlson said. “I don’t know the whole scheme of where the money goes, but that’s not a good one to cut. That’s a lot of families. That’s where we put our children. It keeps them occupied all summer long.”
City Councilman Ron Wambolt said he understands the need for action but would rather the council had a chance to discuss cuts with the Haakenson before he announced his plan.
“I wish I’d had some more advance notice of it,” Wambolt said. “These are all things that we discussed during the budget process and we retained them.”
He also believes pay cuts should have been looked at first. Wambolt said 43 nonunion employees received 5.8 percent raises this year.
“There haven’t been any pay cuts,” he said. “I don’t think our staff is overpaid, but when you have tough economic times you can’t always do everything that’s fair.”
City Council President D.J. Wilson said he agrees with Haakenson’s actions, painful though they may be.
“These cuts are absolutely necessary,” he said. “I don’t support any of them, but I have to vote for them.”
Wilson said the mayor isn’t required to consult the council on the cuts but that the plan will be discussed at a meeting March 24. He said Haakenson will give a presentation, the public will get a chance to comment, and Wilson will introduce a resolution supporting the cuts.
City revenue swung $1.4 million downward in two months, Wilson said, leaving a potential deficit of $1.1 million.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable to have a deficit like that,” he said.
Other changes include:
Termination of a crime prevention program and police reserve program.
No more city spending on the flower program. It will now be funded through donations to the parks department and is expected to be cut in half.
Elimination of an animal control contract with the city of Mountlake Terrace
No fire or police department participation in Edmonds Night Out.
Roughly $33,000 taken from the Economic Development Department’s advertising budget.
The mayor also asked the City Council president to eliminate $25,000 from a contingency fund.
David Chircop: 425-339-3429, dchircop@heraldnet.com.
Herald Reporter Bill Sheets and Enterprise Reporter Christopher Fyall contributed to this report.
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