Mountlake Terrace invites community to fiscal town halls

Published 2:42 pm Friday, May 15, 2026

EVERETT — The city of Mountlake Terrace is inviting the community to two town halls this month to learn about the city’s plan to bridge its budget gap.

The first town hall will take place 6 p.m. Monday at the Brighton School Auditorium at 21705 58th Ave. W. The second will be 6 p.m. May 26 at Lake Ballinger Center at 23000 Lakeview Drive.

Currently, the budget gap sits at about $4 million in the $21-million general fund. The gap is due to structural financial issues, including limits on revenue generation, inflation, and increased insurance and public safety costs, the city said in a press release Wednesday. The city is also aiming to increase its reserve fund from 5% to 20% to meet best financial practices.

In 2025, the city created a fiscal sustainability task force to look at the city’s general fund, identify underlying issues, evaluate solutions and provide recommendations to city staff. On May 7, the City Council adopted a set of strategies to bridge the fiscal gap based on the task force’s recommendation. Strategies include a property tax levy lid lift and increasing vehicle license and plaza rental fees.

“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,” Deputy City Manager Carolyn Hope said in the release.

The town halls will include a presentation by city leadership and a chance to split into groups to go deeper into questions. The content will be the same at both events.

On May 27, the city will post the meeting materials on its website at cityofmlt.com/2263/Fiscal-Sustainability-Taskforce-FST.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.