Mercer Island Property Tax Hike Appears Doomed

MERCER ISLAND, WA - Mercer Island might be heading for major budget cuts in coming years. The city's levy lid lift request, Proposition 1, was failing Tuesday night.

Proposition 1 would have allowed the city to increase property taxes to raise new revenues. But the measure was failing Wednesday afternoon by about 14 points.

Mercer Island is facing a budget crisis in the upcoming years for several reasons. City officials project future expenses will increase about 5 percent per year, but under state law, Mercer Island property tax revenues can only increase by 1 percent per year - unless a majority of voters approve an increase.

On top of that, the city is projecting a slowdown in revenue from construction permits, and can no longer safely tap into reserves to fix the structural deficit. In July, the City Council decided to put the issue up for a vote.

Here's where the measure stood on Tuesday night:

• Yes: 4,846
• No: 6,310

A victory is likely impossible at this point. There are about 18,000 registered voters on Mercer Island, but about 13,200 votes have been counted so far.

City spokesman Ross Freeman told Patch Wednesday that the city planned for this eventuality. The city's proposed 2019-20 budget cuts employees each year, including a fire deputy chief and school counselors.

Former Councilman Mike Cero has led the opposition to Proposition 1. He's been sending out emails opposition the proposition since early summer.

"The budget can be balanced without additional taxes and without impacting services. Mercer Island doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem," opponents wrote in a ballot rebuttal.

But if Proposition 1 doesn't pass, city officials are warning of harsh budget cuts - including cuts to police and fire services. Without the levy lift, the city predicts it will be in the red $3.7 million in 2021 and $4.1 million in 2022.

"The City must provide a balanced budget - there is no credit card or home equity line of credit to borrow against. With less revenues, the City will have to focus on only providing," City Manager Julie Underwood warned in her 2019-20 budget message.

We'll report the latest Mercer Island Proposition 1 results beginning Tuesday night around 8 p.m. Refresh this page for the latest results.

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