City Council Votes to Add 6 Year Tax Increase to Ballot

Lake Forest Park voters haven’t approved a property tax increase in 25 years. A proposed levy in 2010 was rejected by 78% of voters, and a 2021 levy to fund parks and sidewalks was also defeated, with 65% voting against it.

The levy lid lift will last from 2026 to 2031 if it passes; however, according to former city council member Alan Keist, "as we learned at the Sept 18 [2025] budget committee meeting, that the intention of city officials is to immediately renew the levy after the sixth year." He further commented to the council regarding how the tax increase may affect voters, "This presentation is a distortion of how city services are funded."

After extensive discussion, the council decided to propose a $0.24 increase per $1,000 of assessed property value starting in 2026. However, the city may not be calculating the true cost to the typical homeowner, as explained by former City Council member Alan Keist. He states in the video below that the city portion of his tax bill won't be $581 as calculated by the City, but $2,249. 

Deputy Mayor Furutani, Vice Chair Goldman, Councilmember Saunders, and Councilmember Riddle voted in favor, and Councilmember Lebo, Councilmember Goode, and Councilmember McCartney opposed. 

Deputy Mayor, Tracy Furutani responded:

Dear editor:
I am responding to comments that appeared in your article “City Council Votes to Add 6 Year Tax Increase to Ballot ” (July 11, 2025) regarding what happens when the proposed levy lid lift expires and how the city is funded in general.

First, the assertion that “the intention of city officials is to immediately renew the levy after the sixth year” is incorrect. The City Council in 2031 would have to do exactly as the current Council has done: pass legislation authorizing the city to place a levy lid lift on the ballot for the voters to decide. I would expect that that future Council would have as vigorous and thorough a debate as the current Council did, with the outcome being no more certain.

Similarly, the claim that the city is distorting the source of funding of city services is also untrue. The city, like the cities of Shoreline, Kenmore and Mountlake Terrace, does not maintain its own fire department or its own library because of votes by Lake Forest Park citizens in previous decades to have other agencies provide these services. To lump the se portions of one’s property tax bill in with the city’s portion is a gross distortion, since the city does not have any ability to dictate what the library district or the fire district request.

Finally, the Council Contingency Fund, the Budget Stabilization Fund and the Strategic Opportunity Fund ARE counted as part of the General Fund. These funds are set aside for specific purposes; for instance, the Strategic Opportunity Fund is used to help qualify the city for grants that require matching funds from the city. Since grant dollars allow the city, as an example, to acquire and rehabilitate parkland, there is a need to keep the Strategic Opportunity Fund unencumbered and not easily moved to address other needs.I appreciate the opportunity to address the community’s concerns regarding the levy lid lift. It is not an easy thing to ask your friends and neighbors for their money to help the city retain its police department, court and other employees that make LFP one of the most safe cities in the state. This is exactly what the Council decided to do, and it is our job as individual councilmembers to make the case for this levy.
Thank you,
Tracy Furutani
Deputy Mayor, Lake Forest Park