Tag Archives: tax hikes

Mixed results for Sammamish in resident survey

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Sammamish residents overwhelmingly like living here, say it’s a good place to raise children and provides good customer service.

But only 46% believe the City is going in the “right direction,” only 58% have confidence in the City government, just 55% believe the City government is acting in the best interests of the City and 65% say that City is being honest.

These mixed results come from a periodic survey Sammamish does, this one from the National Research Center in Boulder (CO) and ICMA in Washington (DC). The survey was conducted last year and released in March.

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New taxes, debt appear inevitable in Sammamish

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utilities-sammamish

Sammamish cash coffers will decline by 73% during the next two years, from $62m to $17m, as expenditures exceed revenues in the 2017-18 budget.

With major road projects being considered, and even without them, new taxes and/or debt seems to be inevitable.

The City Council last year approved the budget without any new taxes or debt, going into this year’s Council elections in November.

But forgoing new revenue means a burst of new taxes seems likely to stave off the so-called cross-over point when the City looks at a cash deficit. The current projection is that the crossover point will occur in 2020, according to the finance section in the Council packet, which may be found here.

Finances will be a part of the Council’s annual retreat, which begins Thursday night and continues through noon Saturday at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma. Finances are slated for discussion Saturday morning.

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