MOSES LAKE — How to provide city services – possibly raising taxes, possibly reducing some of those services, or both, or looking for other options – was the subject of a sometimes-contentious Moses Lake City Council special meeting Tuesday.

Council members are considering service cuts and asking residents to approve or reject possible tax proposals, or find other places to cut, or find other ways to raise money or shift operation of some city services to other entities, in light of deficits in the city’s general fund. It pays for many city operations, from the Moses Lake Police Department to the Larson Recreation Center.

Council Member Joel Graves said it’s a challenging situation regardless.

“We can’t complain, because we signed up for this, but these are hard decisions that we have to make,” Graves said.

City Manager Rob Karlinsey and staff members presented two options for the council’s consideration, one that included a property tax “levy lid lift,” which would revise the levy rate. That would have to be approved by city voters. The council also has the option of a yearly 1% increase in the property tax levy rate. That is done with a council vote.

A one-tenth of one percent increase in the city sales tax, which would go to a public vote, is another option. That would be dedicated to public safety. Karlinsey said money raised would be spent on the Moses Lake Police Department’s patrol and investigations divisions. The final option is a one-tenth of one percent sales tax increase dedicated to cultural services. A public vote would be required for that, too.

Council members did not like the idea of a levy lid lift or property tax increases in general. The idea of raising property taxes drew vehement objection from Council Member Victor Lombardi.

“I’m here to say, that should be the last resort. There’s no way that anybody can tell me that this city is running so efficiently right now that we have to do that,” he said.

Lombardi said his experience on the west side was that tax increases, although each one was small, eventually made cities unaffordable.

“I’m sorry if I’m raising my voice, but I’ve come from there, and I’ve seen how they run these cities into the ground,” he said.

Karlinsey and city staff provided a second option, which did not include property tax increases but did include a public safety sales tax option. That would require changes in city services, with shifting operation of the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center to an outside entity as an example. Council members said they preferred that option to raising property taxes.

Council members are using a framework suggested by Karlinsey, which ranks city services in three categories: core services, which the city is required to provide; basic services, which cities don’t have to provide but usually do; and enhanced services, which in some cities are provided by other entities.

The museum, the Larson Recreation Center, Larson ice rink, overall recreation programs and the Surf ‘n Slide water park were identified as enhanced services in earlier discussions. One of the options was to transfer operation of some services currently administered by the city to outside entities. The idea of transferring, or possibly closing, those programs prompted protests from six people during the public comment period.

The speakers said that options like the museum and Larson Rec Center are attractive not only to current residents but also people considering moving to town. Terry Troutman teaches yoga at the rec center and said it provides opportunities that might otherwise be unaffordable for her students.

Council member Mark Fancher said that while he agrees they’re positive programs, the problem is paying for them.

“It’s no different than any facilities that get built by anybody. When you add a new facility – even green grass (in) our parks – there’s an additional expense, and lots of times, no new revenue,” Fancher said.

While cultural amenities are important, it’s also important to keep city spending within sustainable limits, Fancher said.

“I also have a responsibility, fiscally, to figure out how to do this,” he said.

Council Member David Skaug said some programs seem to be underutilized.

“My challenge to people who do use the facility would be to encourage other people to use facilities and to increase whatever revenues are available. But it’s going to come through usage,” Skaug said.

The city would still have to keep paying for the Larson Rec Center even if it was closed, Skaug said, so that’s not an option for him.

Mayor Dustin Swartz said whatever the worth of individual programs, finances are the decisive factor.

“I’m in a business where I do competitive bidding. At the end of the day in that, the lowest number wins the job. So cost is king,” Swartz said. “That is what that implies, and that is no different here. We only take in so many dollars per year that we can count on.”

The council must focus on what’s sustainable, he said.

“It’s irresponsible to budget based on the best-case scenario,” he said.

    A participant rides through the course at a bike rodeo at the Larson ice rink. Operation of the ice rink and the Larson Recreation Center is among the city operations under review by the Moses Lake City Council as it works on eliminating a general fund budget deficit.