ML Council looks at tax increases, program cuts

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council members discussed what city services they wanted to keep and which ones they might decide to cut, or turn over to other operators, for three hours Tuesday, then adjourned with more discussion to come. Council members will convene a special meeting April 21 for that additional discussion.

“Hopefully, (council members) can give us direction, then we can take that, put it in writing and bring it back to you on (April) 28), hopefully for adoption,” said City Manager Rob Karlinsey.

The goal is to have priorities established that will be used to prepare the 2027 city budget, a process that starts in July, Karlinsey said.

The extensive budget review comes in the wake of a deficit in the city’s 2026 general fund budget. That followed a deficit in 2025. City officials hired a consultant to make a six-year revenue forecast, which projected that the general fund deficit would grow if city officials didn’t make some changes.

The deficit was about $1 million in 2026, which was less than 2025. But Karlinsey said in an earlier interview that council members have made it a goal to eliminate deficits in the general fund. The city’s other operating funds, things like water and sewer systems, are supported by fees.

City officials proposed what they call “service-level” budgeting, separating general fund services into three different categories. Core functions are things the city has to provide, some of them mandated by state and federal regulation. Basic services are things most cities typically provide, even if they’re not required. Enhanced services aren’t always provided by the city, but the city can provide them if it chooses.

In an earlier interview, Karlinsey cited recreation programs and economic development as examples of enhanced services. The enhanced designation does not mean those programs and services are unimportant, he said, but that there might be other options to provide them.

Mayor Dustin Swartz said the process of deciding where to make cuts, and what kind, will take some time.

“We don’t have to solve this all in one shot tonight,” Swartz said. “This is definitely going to have to be an ongoing process.”

City officials identified nine programs that fit the criteria of enhanced programs. Assistant City Manager James Richmond asked council members to rank them in order of their benefit to city residents, their economic impact, whether or not they’re recovering their costs, their economic impact and the liability they pose, among other criteria.

The nine programs identified included the city’s quarterly newsletter, its human services programs, the Moses Lake Public Library building, the Larson Recreation Center, overall recreation programs, the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, Surf ‘n Slide Water Park, the Cascade Campground and the Larson ice rink.

“(From the rankings) you can kind of get an idea where the council sits in relationship to those programs,” Richardson said.

Council members ranked the quarterly newsletter and Surf ‘n Slide as the most important on the list, but all nine were rated as medium priorities or lower. The Cascade Campground was a higher priority than the ice rink; the human services program, recreation programs and the ice rink were higher than the museum, the rec center or the library.

Council members do have the option of asking voters to set up junior taxing districts for specific programs; a separate fire district that would have the same boundaries of the city is already under discussion. Karlinsey said another example would be a metropolitan parks district.

“You could say, ‘Hey, do you want to fund the LRC and the ice rink and the Surf ‘n Slide? They cost this much money and we’re going to set a tax rate in the metropolitan parks district to pay for those.’ Then the MPD could be all about those three programs,” Karlinsey said.

Council member Victor Lombardi said revenue was only part of the equation.

“We haven’t even looked at expenses yet,” Lombardi said.

The three lowest-ranked programs for council members were the Larson rec center, museum and library. Deputy Mayor Don Myers asked for an analysis on the impact of cuts to the rec center and museum.

The library is in a different category because while the city owns the building, library operations are the responsibility of NCW Libraries, the regional library system, Myers said.

Lombardi asked about raising fees at the water park, or possibly reducing hours, or both. Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services director Doug Coutts said city officials are working on a fee study for the water park, among other programs.

“I think that’s going to tell us a lot because we do have to look at the market and comparables,” Coutts said. “We can’t just look at cost recovery. If we’re too high, we’re not going to get anybody showing up.”

City officials already are doing a cost analysis at the rec center, he said.

Council member Joel Graves said there might be other options for some services.

“I wanted to bring up the Larson Rec Center. I do think that it’s worth exploring options around if there’s a willing party that would be interested in running it. I think it’s something that our city enjoys, but it doesn’t mean the city has to run it,” Graves said.

The process of finding a possible operator would take longer than a year, however, he said.