11/20/08

Marysville budget sees growth, opportunity

By Beckye Randall

Marysville planners are anticipating less of a budget crunch than some other local municipalities may face in 2009, but the mayor’s budget still calls for considerable belt-tightening.

Rather than cutting jobs, the city is expecting to add a second prosecutor for the municipal court department. Five open positions in Community Development will remain unfilled for the foreseeable future.

The 2009 preliminary budget, as proposed by Mayor Dennis Kendall, calls for a 9.5 percent increase above 2008 spending levels. The overall budget is estimated at $140.9 million, with a general fund of $33.5 million.

The figures include a 1 percent increase in the emergency medical services levy. The budget also calls for a new 5 percent amusement tax on paid admissions for events, recreation and amusement activities to be determined by the City Council. The amusement tax would generate an estimated $151,000.

The 2009 spending plan anticipates a 16.5 percent rise in sales tax collections, based primarily on major new retail store openings, construction activity, and gains from the streamlined sales tax process that went into effect July 2008.

The city plans to continue its annexation of approximately 20,000 residents in central Marysville and hopes to complete the process by the end of 2009. Other priorities for the year include the creation of a Smokey Point Master Plan, continued pursuit of a Marysville branch campus for the University of Washington, the redevelopment of downtown Marysville and the waterfront, and building a new Marysville Civic Center for all city administrative offices.

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