Middle and low income residents, the fabric of our city, are getting priced out of the community. We are losing our base of volunteers and nonprofit members. 8-years ago living in Redmond was affordable. Not today. In a large way, of course our problem is inflation, Home values in Redmond approximate $1.4M, twice pre-pandemic levels. Rent is increasing every year.
But, it's not just a problem of affordable housing. We have to cope with expenses we've never had:
State Retail Tax. $10 tax/ on every $100 retail goods purchased
8% Utility price increase this year with no end in sight owing to AI data center power needs.
Hospital: Historic Levy Lid-lift, 50 cents / $1000 value (~$440/year on my property)
LWSD: Two proposed Levy-lid lifts: Feb. 19th. Capital increase ($44) and Programs increase ($180) on a $1.5M property.
Other segments of King County property taxes are increasing.
Sound Transit ~ $1,000/year
Proposed C.O.R. Parks and Safety Lid-lifts in 2026 or 2027.
City staff are allowed up to 2-3 remote work days per week. The Parks Director lives in Kenmore, a Deputy in Duval, and another Deputy in Mill Creek. The cost of living in all these cities is less than Redmond. Please set a compensation policy for remote meetings that encourages living in Redmond.
Council members are responsible for developing and overseeing the budget so in light of the financial pain we feel, they must keep the staff compensation at the forefront in their deliberations and throttle it's growth.
Compensation constitutes the majority of city operations and pulling a lever to slow its growth has never been more crucial. So far, it doesn't look good:
196 new hires in 2025
Proposed 2026 Non Union Pay Plan Council decision on January 6th.
-- Bob Yoder, 1/3/2026
No comments:
Post a Comment