The recent action taken by Kirkland Council at their last meeting was to identify which services are essential and which are not in the service matrix presented by staff in order to balance the budget. That action brings up several issues.

First, it is in direct conflict with several council members’ statements saying they did not want to reduce service levels. Now they either reduce service levels or raise fees and taxes by $8 million dollars to balance the budget. It will not be sustainable if the council does not reduce or eliminate spending surplus funds on non-essential services, which they have not done in the past. For the past 21 years they’ve spent a surplus of $12 million per year more than their adopted budget. Now, without the necessary budget reductions, it means taxpayers will pay even more now for fewer services. The idea of putting another utility tax increase on the ballot is ridiculous given the fact that utility taxes have already gone up, will continue to rise, and the city refuses to address surplus spending.

The Mayor stated on the city’s Web site, “Although the City still has financial challenges ahead, the annexation does not make those challenges any worse.” The service matrix presented to council to identify reductions proves him wrong. It’s worse. Knowing that annexation will increase the debt, when he said it would not make those challenges worse is false. Add to that the fact that additional revenues from the annexation area will not be coming in until two years after annexation makes it more difficult to balance the budget until then. After the two-year period, the debt will increase and the PAA will share in the necessary increases needed to balance the budget. And that makes it easier to balance the budget? The Mayor is wrong.

In the two-year period, services still must be provided and it will be on the backs of the current citizens of Kirkland. For the Mayor to say it will not make balancing the budget any worse is a gross misstatement of the facts. What do he and the council expect to do, raise fees and taxes to cover the shortfalls they created by their irresponsible actions that must be paid for? It’s certainly within their “capability” to do so if we let them.

Robert L. Style, Kirkland