Ordinance No. 1346 – property tax lid lift 2004 for public safety, transportation, community services

This initiative failed

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Former City Councilmember says ‘A 64 percent tax increase because the Des Moines City Council won’t do its job!’

April 1, 2024April 2, 2024

External Articles, TaxesSusan White, Waterland Blog

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, submitted by a verified resident. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of South King Media, nor its staff:] A 64 percent tax increase because the Des Moines City Council won’t do its job! For the past eight years, the council majority has repeatedly lectured … Continue reading “LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Former City Councilmember says ‘A 64 percent tax increase because the Des Moines City Council won’t do its job!’”

RCW 84.36.381Residences Property tax exemption qualifications

Why some King County home values dropped while taxes on them rose

February 23, 2024February 25, 2024

External Articles, TaxesSeattle Times

By Gene Balk / FYI Guy Seattle Times columnist If you’re a King County homeowner, it’s likely your home’s assessed value fell in 2024. Nearly everywhere in the county, assessed values dropped from last year. But you may be surprised to find your property tax didn’t go down nearly as much as you may have … Continue reading “Why some King County home values dropped while taxes on them rose”

March 9, 2006 Minutes

Video: https://youtu.be/vOmNJMuriY8

Money is the real equity

Marina, Neighborhoods, TaxesLeave a comment

An essay about why dock repairs, are really about Equity–doing what is right for the entire City for a change. The way we are approaching Marina Redevelopment is not only fiscally irresponsible it is unfair to the full community–particularly the younger and more diverse parts of the city.

The Minority Report (Part 2 of 2: Policy)

Airport, Economic Development, Engagement, Marina, Policy, Public Safety, Taxes, Transparency, Transportation

This is the second half of our response to the April 15th State Of The City presentation. Part 1 discussed our objections to the way it was carried out. Here we’ll talk about some specific policy differences. For those of you short on time, you can follow along with this presentation packet. As noted last … Continue reading “The Minority Report (Part 2 of 2: Policy)”

Des Moines Police Department Historic Officer Staffing Levels

Staffing levels of the DMPD have varied quite a bit since 2000. They began a gradual decline due to various changes to the State taxing system (eg. I-695, liquor tax claw back) but made a come back in 2006 with a voter-approved special purpose property tax lid lift Ordinance 1375. However, the levy expired in … Continue reading "Des Moines Police Department Historic Officer Staffing Levels"

Mayor lashes out at new SeaTac Councilmembers for lecturing city

TaxesSeaTac, Sewer District, Utility Taxes, Waterland Blog

Mayor lashes out at new SeaTac Councilmembers for lecturing city | The Waterland Blog Nov 13, 2015 | Business, Crime, Featured Stories, Headlines, Life, Politics, Video by Jack Mayne Two still unseated SeaTac City Council members went before the Des Moines City Council on Thursday night to tell its members to not believe its staff on advice about a proposed 16 percent utility tax … Continue reading “Mayor lashes out at new SeaTac Councilmembers for lecturing city”

Ongoing Stuff

Get vaccinated! Yeah I know you’d like to forget about it, but there are new variants and the infection rate is climbing. Fortunately, there is an effective booster, which is recommended for people 65 and older and those who are immuno-compromised. It is available now, effective, free and you can get your appointment today here and here , including walk-Ins at SAFEWAY, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, SeaMar and Healthpoint. And, And, AND, you can also get free rapid tests here and at KCLS Libraries!

Sign up for the King County Code Red Alert program. When you sign up for Code Red you’ll be notified immediately when there is a possible health threat. After the recent ‘Boil Water Notice’ I received just a few grouses that ‘it did not work’. I’m 99% certain that the problem is that you have to actually sign up for an account. Do It! There is this ‘guest’ option which is stupid and should not even be an option. Everyone who had an account in their system was notified. If you’re like me and signed up ten years ago (after the last notification), go to the site immediately and verify your account. Ten years is a long time for any computer system.
Check out the 223rd Green Street Project web site and take the 223rd Green Street Survey before December 11th!
Check out the Des Moines Marina Steps web site and take the Marina Steps Survey.
If you’re interested in any of our Kids or Senior activities, you can sign up here.
Learn more about our Comprehensive Plan and take the Housing Action Plan Survey.
Take the City Communication and Engagement Survey
Give blood! Schedule an appointment today. There is a CODE RED emergency shortage.
Masonic Home! There is a petition for those who are interested in historic preservation of the property. If you have questions, don’t contact me. Contact Barbara McMichael and Lloyd Lytle Jr
Community Service Officer Tonya Seaberry wants to hear from neighborhood groups interested in establishing block watch programs: Tseaberry@desmoineswa.gov or 206-878-3301.
City Of Des Moines Minor Home Repair Program: Low to moderate income households can get grants to do all sorts of necessary repairs. Email Tina Hickey (206) 870-6535.
Every home should have a Carbon Monoxide Detector–especially during the colder months! Full stop. If you need one but money is tight, South King County Fire And Rescue will get you one. Just call their Community Affairs Office at 253-946-7347.
And last, but not least: If you have a Port Package that is having issues, please go to SeatacNoise.Info

How to attend meetings and provide Public Comment

City Council Meetings are scheduled for Thursdays at 6:00PM at City Hall 21630 11th Avenue S., Suite #C Des Moines WA 98198. They can also be viewed live on Comcast Channel 21/321 or on the City’s YouTube channel. Committee Meetings are either at 4:00PM or 5:00PM, also on Thursdays.

There are three ways to provide Public Comment:

In person: Show up a few minutes before the meeting and sign the sheet. Public Comment is usually conducted at the beginning of the meeting.
By e-mail: All e-mails sent to citycouncil@desmoineswa.gov are considered public comment. They are instantly available to all members of the City Council and the City Clerk who includes them into the record of public comments at the next meeting.
By US Mail: Attn: City Clerk Office, 21630 11th Avenue S., Des Moines WA 98198 no later than 4:00 p.m. day of the meeting. Please provide us with your first and last name and the city in which you live.

All letters or e-mails requesting a specific action are referred by the City Clerk to the appropriate City department.

If you would like a follow up from me, personally please indicate that or call me (206) 878-0578.

The Clerk does not read e-mails to the Council in full; only the subject line. However, we do see them as soon as you send them. Your comments are added to the Agenda Packet available on the City web site following each meeting.

How to view public comments, correspondence and meeting materials

The City publishes a meeting agenda on the Friday (six days) before city council meetings. On the day after the meeting (Friday) the City updates that same file with all the slide presentations, the correspondence, and a list of the people who signed up to give public comment at the meeting. Currently, there is no button on the web site that says Show me the meeting comments for xx/xx/xxxx. You just have to know that this is the procedure. Below is a recipe to get you there.

Go to www.desmoineswa.gov
Once there, hover over Your Government and then click Council Meeting Center. (Or, you can skip Step #1 and just click on Council Meeting Center.)
Select the meeting date you’re interested in from the Schedule Of Meetings calendar.
Click on Regular Meeting for the meeting date you want. In this case, December 1, 2022.
Click the Agenda Packet link under “Print Verson”.
You can also select a meeting using the list near the top. You can also use the left and right arrows to select older meetings.
Once the agenda packet loads, there are two links we’re interested in:
- Correspondence to view all e-mails received by the City Council since the last meeting.
- Comments From The Public to view a list of the people who spoke in-person at the meeting.