Facing an Existential Budget Crisis, an Eastside Enclave Considers Emergency Valve
Clyde Hill, the Eastside city of 3,000 tucked in between Medina and Bellevue, has a budget problem. In five of the last seven years, city expenses have far outstripped revenues coming in, and reserves have been draining away.
While city leaders, including Clyde Hill's last two mayors, spent years pointing to an unsustainable budget trajectory, few steps have been taken across those years to address the issue. Despite the considerable wealth Clyde Hill residents contain in their portfolios and their homes – the city's 1,100 or so properties are valued at a collective $4.93 billion – lower tax rates are a major draw for city residents.
A vote taking shape this November could mark a turning point for the city, with Clyde Hill's leaders painting the decision as existential. Without getting back on a more sustainable financial path, they say, Clyde Hill could be forced to explore merging with a nearby jurisdiction like Medina or Bellevue – a nuclear option that most city residents would likely want to avoid.
This past Thursday, on the eve of the long holiday weekend, the Clyde Hill Council held a special meeting to to advance plans for a property tax increase that will equate to a 69% hike compared to the current city rate. Though that will push the rate to $0.50 for every $1,000 of assessed value, still below the rates of most nearby cities, voters will be asked to sign onto the biggest local property tax increase in Clyde Hill in decades, and likely the city's history.
https://www.theurbanist.org/facing-an-existential-budget-crisis-an-eastside-enclave-considers-emergency-valve/
