By Jack Mayne
The Burien City Council on Monday night (Nov. 1, 2021) preliminarily approved the city’s 2022 budget which includes a 1 percent increase in the property tax levy.
The action is slated to be approved on Nov. 15.
A 1 percent property tax levy increase is approximately $77,700 in additional revenue. A homeowner with an estimated median assessed value of $458,000 will pay around the same amount due to the decrease in the tax rate, but Councilmembers Tosta and Marx wanted more special information before final approval by Council is slated on Nov. 15.
Council also approved an annual increase of the Surface Water Management service charges by 5.5 percent to adjust for inflation.
New Grants
City Manager Brian Wilson said the city has obtained two new grants from the State Department of Commerce. One is the housing action plan implementation grant of $100,000. The second was applied for by the city Community Development Department “transit development implementation” grant of $250,000.
Economic Development
Chris Craig, Burien’s Economic Development Manager, Dave McFadden, Managing Director of Port of Seattle’s Economic Development Division and Markham McIntyre, Executive Vice President of the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce addressed the Burien Council on the recovery from the pandemic. They indicated a desire to contract with community groups to help get information and economic assistance to those Burien area businesses that need it.
