At its January planning retreat, city staff presented the council with a projected five-year deficit of approximately $8.7 million (2016-20) across the three budgets (general, capital and Youth and Family Services). To close that shortfall, options such as raising taxes and user fees, cutting services and/or restructuring city comp plans among others were presented.
I would strongly urge the council to be fiscally responsible and to begin taking steps sooner rather than later to address this issue.
An easy one is to raise the Mercer Island Center for the Arts lease payments from the currently proposed level of a symbolic $1 per year to a level something closer to a market level, yet still subsidized. This single action could reduce the projected deficit by 5 to 10 percent!
I doubt many voters will be very happy to have their taxes raised if the council votes to keep the MICA lease payments at $1 per year.
Peter Struck
Mercer Island
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