Edmonds City Council to Vote on Raising Sales Tax to Highest Rate in the State

At their public meeting this Tuesday, September 9^th 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 a three-week period. At their August 19^th meeting, the Council voted to increase the city’s sales tax rate for public safety.

If the cultural access sales tax increase is approved on Tuesday, the City of Edmonds will hold the title of having the highest sales tax rate of any city in Washington State. The city’s website says that this new tax will expand “access to science, heritage, and arts programs.” While these programs may be important and appreciated by citizens, tough decisions must be made during a time of budget constraint and city deficit in order to create a sustainable budget. The city cannot provide for everything and some services will need to be reduced or eliminated so that core services can be prioritized without overburdening taxpayers.

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 will be on the November ballot for voters to consider later this fall.

If all of these tax increase proposals are approved, Edmonds residents will be facing an approximately $2,000 local increase to their property tax bills (this does not account for state or school property tax increases) as well as a 10.7% sales tax rate, the highest in the state (even above Seattle’s 10.35% rate.)

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.

You can change this by attending Tuesday’s Edmonds City Council meeting and providing public comment in opposition to these tax increase proposals. The September 9^th Council meeting will begin at 6:00pm and will be held in City Council Chambers at 250 5^th Avenue N Edmonds, WA 98020.

Unable to attend the City Council meeting? You can still share your concerns by clicking the link below:
EMAIL YOUR COUNCILMEMBERS TODAY ASKING THEM TO PRIORITIZE CITY SPENDING AND TO VOTE “NO” ON RAISING THE SALES TAX TO THE HIGHEST RATE IN WASHINGTON 

You can also submit a public comment here.