ML Council approves tax rate hike, considers budget

MEDICAL LAKE — The Medical Lake City Council approved two city-wide tax increases and held a preliminary budget hearing during its regular bi-monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Without discussion or debate, the City Council quickly passed two property tax increases totaling 5 percent that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The first, a 4 percent increase, tapped into the city’s available 8.04 percent “banked levy capacity” — tax increases the city has opted not to use since 1985 that allows it to raise taxes beyond the state’s 1 percent per-year levy cap limit.

The increase will add an additio...