County Executive Dave Somers late last week announced his decision he will not veto the budget County Council approved Nov. 27, but also would not sign it, meaning it will be enacted into law without his endorsement.
Somers’ budget submitted to the County Council packed an 8% property tax increase for the county’s portion of property taxes.
Weeks later, a County Council majority passed a budget with a 4% property tax with reduced revenues and alterations within the executive’s department. Vice Chair Nate Nehring lobbied for 0% increase.
Somers said he did “strongly consider a veto” of this adjusted budget but decided not to. A veto, Somers reasoned, could result in a county government shutdown. The county government must pass a budget by Dec. 31 to operate.
Somers’ announcement meant no Friday the 13th for county staffers.
County Council Chair Jared Mead said Somers’ decision wasn’t a surprise since the Executive wasn’t happy with the budget, but is glad the county will move forward.
The Executive “had signaled many times he did not agree with the direction of some” of what was in the budget, Mead said.
But not having the budget vetoed means “there’s something positive about that for residents of Snohomish County,” Mead said.
To get an idea of what 0%, 4% and 8% translates to in dollars, each 1% in property tax brings in $1 million to the county budget.
The 4% increase Mead proposed and the council majority approved takes a 1% regular increase and 1% banked capacity in both 2025 (2%) and 2026 (2%).
Somers’ proposal would have taken a 1% regular increase in both 2025 and 2026 and also take about 6% in banked taxes during that time.
In his statement that came out Dec. 13, Somers defended the budget he submitted to council as responsible and balanced and that it “included spending cuts across departments and offices that totaled about $8 million annually, rejected nearly every request received by county departments for new general fund positions, and included a modest property tax increase of about $2 per month or $24 per year on an average-valued home by 2026. My goal was – and will always remain – to make sure we can balance our budget, fulfill our responsibilities, and continue to run an efficient county government.”
