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The City of Mountlake Terrace will host two fiscal town halls at 6 p.m. Monday, May 18, at the Brighton School Auditorium, 21705 58th Ave. W., and Tuesday, May 26, at the Lake Ballinger Center, 23000 Lakeview Dr., to discuss the City’s budget gap and recently adopted fiscal sustainability strategies.
According to the City, the general fund currently faces a $4.2 million budget gap within its $21 million budget because revenues are not keeping pace with expenditures. City officials cited structural financial issues, including limits on revenue generation, inflation and increasing insurance and public safety costs. The City is also working to increase reserve funds from 5% to 20% to align with recommended financial practices.
The meetings will include a welcome from city leadership, a presentation on the City’s financial outlook and smaller group discussions focused on community questions and feedback.
“This month, the City will host two in-person meetings and share information online for the community to learn about these issues,” Deputy City Manager Carolyn Hope said in the City’s news release. “The City wants to ensure that when we ask the community for their feedback on major financial or policy decisions, that we close the loop by sharing how community feedback was evaluated in the decision-making process, explaining the final decisions, and how those decisions may impact community members.”
The Fiscal Sustainability Taskforce was formed in 2025 to evaluate the City’s long-term financial outlook and recommend solutions to address the general fund gap. The task force met between July 2025 and January 2026 before presenting recommendations to the City Council in February.
On May 7, the City Council adopted a package of fiscal sustainability strategies that city officials said closely aligned with the task force’s recommendations, including reductions, cost-saving measures, partnership opportunities and increased revenues.
Meeting materials will be posted online May 27 at the City’s Fiscal Sustainability Taskforce page.
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