Updated: Snoqualmie Faces Budget Deficit: Mayor Asks Council to Quickly Decide on Ballot Measure to Raise Residents’ Property Taxes

Update: The city has added the July 22 special meeting to its meeting calendar. Residents can view the meeting agenda and details here: https://snoqualmie-wa.municodemeetings.com/bc-citycouncil/page/city-council-special-meeting-21

At the July 13, 2026, Snoqualmie City Council meeting, Mayor Mayhew presented a somber picture of the city’s 2027-28 biennial budget, saying that the city would need to run a ballot measure asking residents to approve a $3.4 million property tax increase or face city service level cuts. 

According to the budget presentation given by Mayor Mayhew, the 2027-2028 biennial budget faces a $1.5 million shortfall, due to staffing and services costs outpacing city revenue. Washington state law prohibits taxing jurisdictions, including cities, from raising taxes by more than 1% annually without voter approval. The allowed 1% increase is historically outpaced by inflation, which was the driving force behind significant staffing and service cost increases in recent years. It’s also the reason many cities consistently have revenue and budget challenges. 

The tax increase proposed by Mayor Mayhew has two parts: 1) In 2027, he proposed a permanent $3.4 million property tax increase (significantly above the allowed 1% cap) to cover the $1.5 million predicted budget shortfall and another $1.9 million to modernize the city and restore services reduced in recent years. 2) For 2028-2036, he proposed adjusting the levy limit for inflation and population growth, which is often higher than the state-allowed 1% cap.

If his proposal is approved by council for the November 3 ballot, and the measure is passed by voters, it would mean a $49/month property tax increase for the average home in Snoqualmie in 2027, and possibly more in the following 9 years.

There’s a very tight deadline for this council decision, with the mayor noting that if the city were to place a property tax levy lid lift measure on the November 3 ballot, council approval would be needed in three weeks to meet the King County Elections August 4 filing deadline.

Some Councilmembers pushed back. Councilmember Cotton questioned the tight timing, expressing concern that this topic wasn’t brought to council earlier so there was more time to gather public feedback. She also questioned why the mayor was doing the budget presentation when, historically, it would be done by a department head. 

Councilmember Wotton was cautious about asking for a property tax increase, given the overall affordability issue in King County, noting recent hikes in city utility rates, rising grocery and gas prices, and increasing property taxes. He said he needed much more information to make his decision, including knowing what a balanced budget would look like using the approximate $23 million in available city revenue. 

Councilmember Murphy stated that the public should be involved much earlier in this process, saying he wanted to hear residents’ thoughts on potential service-level reductions. He questioned whether there was enough time to properly gather resident feedback, given the administration’s request for council decision on a ballot measure at its July 27 meeting. 

Councilmember Andre Testman asked for more details on a proposed balanced budget aligned with available revenue, adding that they owed that to the public before asking for a tax increase. 

Mayor Mayhew told council during the meeting that he had no budget cuts to offer and that it was up to councilmembers to direct the administration on where any cuts should be made. 

The council requested a special meeting on July 22, 2026, to delve deeper into the 2027-28 biennial budget, including how to produce a balanced budget with available revenue, as well as further discussion of a possible November ballot measure. Council also requested time during its July 27 meeting for residents to provide feedback on the budget, followed by a Town Hall on July 29, so that residents had two opportunities to share feedback with them about potential service-level reductions and/or a tax increase.  

As of July 16, 2026, the requested July 22 special meeting and Town Hall were not listed on the City’s meeting calendar. 

Previous Resident Feedback on Taxes and Service Level Cuts

In 2023 and 2025, the city conducted in-depth community surveys, with the 2025 survey specifically asking residents, “Which services, if any, you would be willing to pay more in taxes or fees, and which would you be willing to reduce to avoid higher costs.” The two areas where the most survey respondents stated they would reduce were: 1) supporting economic development (including tourism, attracting retail businesses, etc. (52% somewhat or more than willing to reduce) and supporting arts, culture, and events (50% somewhat or more than willing to reduce).

In the 2023 survey, respondents were specifically asked whether “the city should increase property taxes to maintain services such as police, EMS, and parks maintenance at current levels.” 58% of survey respondents were strongly or somewhat supportive of a tax increase.