Lacey City Council sees 2016 budget proposal

Lacey City Manager Scott Spence presented the proposed 2016 budget to the City Council on Thursday night, emphasizing that the city’s annual budget continues to show improvement following the recession.

TELL ME MORE

The city’s total budget for next year is about $128 million, which is slightly higher than in 2015, but still down from the pre-recession boom years.

The good news is that the deficit in the general fund — the portion of the budget that pays for general city services such as public safety and public works — was the lowest it has been in years. The city faced a general fund deficit of almost $1 million in 2013, but now faces a deficit of about $480,000 for next year. It’s smaller because of better-than-expected sales tax revenue, generated largely by commercial and residential construction.

The city expects to balance the budget with reserves, such as gambling tax reserves, city Finance Director Troy Woo said.

HOW DOES THE BUDGET AFFECT ME?

If you’re a property owner, you pay property taxes to the city. The city is proposing a property tax levy of about $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That is down from about $1.23 in 2015 because the assessed value of real estate has gone up about 4 percent in the past year.

MY PROPERTY TAX LEVY IS HIGHER THAN THAT

That’s right. The city is proposing a base property tax levy of $1.20, but you also have to pay for voter-approved bonds and levies, which get tacked on to the property tax levy rate, too. For 2016, the total proposed levy is about $1.43 for next year, which is still down from 2015 because of the increased value of property and some other factors.

Levy rates tend to fall when real estate appreciates in value. When real estate goes down in value, as it did during the recession, levy rates rose to make up the difference. The direction the rate is going often doesn’t relate the bottom line on your tax bill.

WHAT’S THE CITY DOING FOR ME?

The city has a whole host of spending in mind for 2016. Some of that is for big projects and some for smaller concerns. Some of those projects will be paid for with grant money, not taxes.

The city expects to begin work on the $4 million roundabout at Hogum Bay Road and Willamette Drive as well as go out to bid on the $2.26 million roundabout at College Street and 22nd Avenue Southeast.

Residents of the Brentwood neighborhood in Lacey will have to be patient next summer because the city is set to make infrastructure improvements in the area, including to water service and roads. Waterlines have failed in the area before, so it’s time to make those changes, Public Works Director Scott Egger said Thursday.

The city is set to spend $100,000 for bleacher covers at the Regional Athletic Complex, $75,000 for new pickleball courts at Rainier Vista Park, $50,000 to enhance Long Lake beach and $25,000 so far to celebrate the city’s 50th anniversary as an incorporated community.

HOW TO BE HEARD

Budget-related public hearings are set for Nov. 12, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3. The budget is expected to be adopted Dec. 17. Lacey City Council meetings start at 7 p.m. and take place at City Hall, 420 College St. SE.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 12:54 AM with the headline "Lacey City Council sees 2016 budget proposal."