The Kirkland City Council approved a new biennial budget for 2015-2016 during its Dec. 9 meeting after adding $1 million in spending from the preliminary budget, bringing the total budget to $584 million.

According to Director of Finance Tracy Dunlap, the council revised the final budget by adding a social worker at John Muir Elementary school as well as a second school resource officer, whose salary is partially paid for by the Lake Washington School District. The final budget also set aside revenue to replenish the general Capital Contingency Fund, as well as money to evaluate options in response to the proposed closure of the Northshore Public Health Center by King County. The budget also acknowledges the $200,000 given to the city by Google for free Wi-Fi at Everest and Houghton Beach Parks.

The new budget shows little change, a .2 percent increase, in spending from the last biennial budget. This is mainly due to pay raises for city staff which was offset by the completion of major capital projects. The budget also places a renewed focus on replenishing emergency reserve funds, as well as financing a new fire station.

The increase in spending among the general fund, is offset by a drop in spending for non-operating funds.

Dunlap said this decrease in spending is the result of the completion of the Kirkland Justice Center and the Totem Lake culvert. The proposed budget shifts spending towards funding a new fire station, as well as replenishing emergency reserve funds. The Kirkland Justice Center, which houses the Kirkland Police Department and Kirkland Municipal Court, was completed earlier this year. The debt on the Kirkland Justice Center is $35.3 million in 30-year bonds, with debt service running through 2040.

Though Kirkland Parkplace’s new owners recently announced plans for redevelopment, there probably will not be any positive changes until the 2020-2021 budget, Dunlap said.

Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett previously told the Reporter that redevelopment at Parkplace or Totem Lake Malls would be a “game changer” though Dunlap stated those changes to the budget will have to wait until the effects are felt by construction, and there might even be a temporary negative impact if businesses are forced to close during that period. Additionally, the length of the construction phases would also be a critical factor.

“It would be a couple of years at a minimum before it would start to significantly affect things,” she said.

The budget also allocates $5.3 million to their reserve funds by the end of 2016 in anticipation of losing $4 million in annual annexation sales tax credits starting in 2021. The reserves were used to help balance the budget during the Recession, and the city hopes to have the reserves filled by 2018, which can be used to help fill the budget gap if revenue does not increase.

Last year, the city brought in $16.6 million in sales tax revenue, finally surpassing the $16.5 million in 2007 before the Great Recession, albeit the 2013 figure reflects the 2011 annexation of Finn Hill, North Juanita, and Kingsgate, which nearly doubled the city’s population from 48,000 to 80,000.

Property tax and retail sales tax are expected to be the two most significant sources of revenue for the city’s budget at $35 million and $36 million respectively. Retail sales tax revenue is predicted to increase by 20 percent from the previous biennium budget.

Legally, the city is required to have a balanced budget, which is made every two years. The city currently maintains a AAA credit rating by Standard and Poors.