Edmonds City Council to Vote on Raising Sales Tax to Highest Rate in the State
At their public meeting this Wednesday, November 12th at 6:00pm, the Edmonds City Council will be holding a vote on a proposal to increase the city’s sales tax rate for “cultural access” to the arts. This will be the second sales tax hike which the Edmonds City Council has considered in just the past several months. At their August 19th meeting, the Council voted to increase the city’s sales tax rate for public safety.
These sales tax hikes are in addition to a recent property tax increase of approximately $1,000 per household from the city’s annexation into the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) earlier this year. Another $14.5 million property tax levy lid lift was placed on last week’s General Election ballot by the City Council; that measure was rejected by an 18-point margin by Edmonds voters.
If the cultural access sales tax increase is approved on Wednesday, the City of Edmonds will hold the title of having the highest sales tax rate of any city in all of Washington State at 10.7%.
The City of Edmonds’ budget deficit is a self-inflicted problem resulting from years of reckless overspending from city leaders. Rather than addressing the budget deficit through spending reductions, city leaders are now poised to implement all of these new taxes and fees in one year. It may be the case that some of these taxes, such as the public safety tax, will help fund core services. However, no plan has been put forward by city leaders. This lack of transparency, in addition to the added tax burden, is cause for concern.
You can change this by attending Wednesday’s Edmonds City Council meeting and providing public comment in opposition to the cultural access sales tax increase. The November 12th Council meeting will begin at 6:00pm and will be held in City Council Chambers at 250 5th Avenue N Edmonds, WA 98020.
Unable to attend the City Council meeting? You can still share your concerns by contacting the city council and telling them to vote NO on increasing more taxes and raising the sales tax to the highest rate in the state!
Your voice can make a difference—let the Edmonds City Council know you oppose more tax increases and want real fiscal responsibility instead.