Moses Lake council approves fiscal sustainability plan

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council members approved a fiscal sustainability plan Tuesday, but City Manager Rob Karlinsey cautioned that the work is just beginning.

“In short, as hard as this might have been to adopt the plan and get here, this is the easy part. Actually implementing it goes into much greater detail and is a much heavier lift,” Karlinsey said.

Council members approved the plan with a 7-0 vote.

City officials will use the plan for direction when working on the 2027 budget, a process that begins in the summer. Council members started discussing a sustainability plan late last year while working on this year’s budget. The city’s General Fund, which pays for most city operations – from the Moses Lake Fire Department to the Larson Ice Rink – was combined with the street budget. Both are funded through taxes and fees.

The General Fund and streets budget incurred a deficit in 2025 and 2026, although the deficit was smaller in 2026. In light of that, council members made getting rid of the deficit a priority.

Extensive discussion produced two options, one that would ask voters for a “levy lid lift,” which would increase the levy rate for property taxes, and one that didn’t. Another option included a one-tenth of one percent sales tax increase for public safety, which would pay for Moses Lake Police Department services. A separate one-tenth of one percent sales tax was another option given to council members. It would pay for cultural activities.

At an April 24 special meeting, council members decided against a levy lid lift, although they were willing to support a sales tax increase for public safety. Council members decided to look for additional cuts in city operation as well.

Karlinsey told council members that city officials tried to make fiscally conservative projections when preparing the forecasts, but that the forecast didn’t take a recession into account.

“If that happens, we have to come back and figure this out together,” Karlinsey said.

City officials established a “rainy day” fund in 2024, which Finance Director Madeline Prentice characterized as a savings account. City officials are allocating money to it every year, and it’s projected to be at about $2 million by the end of the plan in 2030.

“It’s for those emergency situations, or as (Karlinsey) said, if we have an economic downturn and we need those monies to be able to provide the services,” Prentice said.

Council approval would be required to use that money, she said.

The plan projects that some cultural services that are provided – and paid for – by the city would be shifted to nonprofit operators by 2029. Those include the Larson Recreation Center, Moses Lake Museum & Art Center and the Larson Ice Rink

Even after the museum and the recreation center were transferred to new operators, the city would still be paying some costs. The city would be responsible for the debt payments on the recreation center, $692,000 per year. The financial forecast projected the city would be paying about $400,000 per year toward the museum.

Deputy Mayor Don Myers said it’s been a long process, one that’s subject to change if conditions change.

“This is not the end. Obviously, this is just a plan,” Myers said. “We’re doing the best we can to provide the services, to the best of our ability, that we need to provide.”

Council member Mark Fancher said it’s been a tough process, too, but a necessary one.

“We have a responsibility,” he said.

Karlinsey said he’s confident that city employees can come up with some good ideas for reducing costs, and Fancher said he thought Karlinsey was right.

“The direction we were going was obviously not sustainable,” Fancher said.

Council member David Skaug said he thought the situation provided some opportunities.

“Sometimes we might have to examine just what it is to be part of a community, and what can we do? There are two choices – we can roll up our sleeves and be part of the process, or we can open our checkbooks. There’s a real distaste for more taxes, so it kind of leaves the other option. We really need to see people step up and be part of the process,” Skaug said.

    Operation of the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center would transfer to an outside entity as part of the city’s “fiscal sustainability plan.” Moses Lake City Council members approved the plan Tuesday.