Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Lake Forest Park need to raise money with Prop 1?

Property taxes are a crucial source of revenue for the city’s general fund and the city uses that money to provide services to residents. To keep up with rising costs, the city has already made cuts and reduced services to keep spending low. However, in just the last 4 years, inflation in our area has increased by 24% and prices are continuing to rise rapidly. This makes the city about $700,000 short each year. State law limits the city to a 1% property tax increase without a vote by its residents, but that amount (about $34,500) is not nearly enough. Prop 1 asks the residents of LFP to raise their property taxes enough to make up the gap. Note that this is a temporary levy lid lift that will expire after 6 years.

How will the revenues from Prop 1 be spent?

The levy proposition passed by the council requires that all revenue be spent on public safety. Below is a list from the city’s website of how the levy revenue will be spent.

How revenues from Lake Forest Park prop 1 will be spent

Prop 1 says the funds raised will be spent on public safety services. Why did the city decide to only focus on public safety services?

The decision was based on a survey that was sent to every LFP household in November 2024. Maintaining our police department to ensure public safety and security was identified as the highest priority of LFP residents completing the survey. Here is a link to the complete survey results.

How much money will Prop 1 raise?

Revenues from Prop 1 will be approximately $1.2M for each of the next six years.

How much will Prop 1 cost property owners?

Prop 1’s temporary levy lid lift would be an increase of 24 cents per $1,000 valuation. The average LFP house has a valuation of $910,000 which would be an annual increase of $218.40 or $18.20 per month.

Here’s a link to calculate your own home using the city's levy lid lift calculator.

I’ve heard that this levy will increase my property taxes by 33%! That sounds horrendous!

Be careful about what numbers people use to make these claims. The city only receives 7.7% of your total property tax dollars. The true increase to your property tax bill due to this public safety levy lid lift is closer to 2.5%. The “33% increase in property taxes” comes from considering ONLY the city’s portion of your property tax bill.

How long will the property tax increase last?

Prop 1 will expire after 6 years, then the property tax rate will go back down as if Prop 1 never existed.

How can people on fixed incomes afford to live in LFP when property taxes keep going up?

Seniors, disabled persons, and disabled veterans can apply for tax exemptions and deferrals. Basic qualifications:

Own the home you live in
At least age 61 or disabled by December 31 of the preceding year
Max household income of $84,000

Learn more about this on the King County Property Tax exemption site.

Were all the City Councilmembers in favor of a temporary levy lid lift?

Yes! All the councilmembers supported the decision of a temporary levy lid lift, though there were differing opinions as to the exact amount of increase. Ultimately, a majority of the council felt that $0.24/$1000 was the appropriate rate in order to pay for the significant increases in public safety costs and avoid drawing down on one-time general fund revenues that we won’t get back.

Check out the full council discussion starting around the 45 minute mark: July 10 2025 council meeting

I’ve heard that the city has reserve funds. Why can’t they just use that money to cover the gap?

It's true that the city does have a decent general fund balance (reserves) this year of around $9M (they're required to maintain a minimum of $2M), HOWEVER, most of that money came from one-time sources and from the city being frugal since the pandemic (e.g., implementing spending freezes, putting projects on hold, and staff furloughs). As tempting as it may seem to spend the reserve funds now, that money won't be replenished, so it should be saved for truly dire conditions and emergencies and other unforeseeable needs that come up - and those will come up. But when it comes to maintaining regular public safety services, the costs are rapidly increasing and far exceed the city's annual income, so that's why we need to vote YES on Prop 1 to fill that gap and keep our city safe and in a financially strong position.

The city has plenty of revenue from traffic cameras. Why do they need this levy too?

State law is clear that traffic camera revenue can only be spent on road and pedestrian safety improvements. The city can spend it to build more sidewalks or walkways, which is a worthwhile goal. But it can’t be used to fund 911 dispatch, crisis response services, and Police Department salaries and equipment.

The city is wasting its money on expensive consultants. If they tightened their budget, they wouldn’t need this levy.

LFP is small and the city doesn’t employ a large staff. Those staff are already working very hard to provide core city services. They simply don’t have the bandwidth to take on additional tasks that are required by the state. This requires the city to hire consultants to cover this additional necessary work that wouldn’t justify the cost of an additional full time position. Also note, many recent consultants have been fully paid for by grants, for example, the recent consultant to draft the climate chapter of the city’s comprehensive plan.

The majority of the city’s budget is for employee salaries. There simply isn’t that much fat to be trimmed without negatively impacting the quantity and quality of services the city provides to the public.

The city should just negotiate cheaper contracts for services. There’s no reason that jail or 911 dispatch costs should have risen this much.

The city doesn’t have much leverage to negotiate the rates for these services. In several cases, an agency that provided a relatively affordable service stopped providing that service. This resulted in the city needing to move to another provider. And even the cheapest alternative provider was significantly more expensive than the previous rate. And at the same time, it would be even more expensive for the city to provide jail or 911 dispatch services in house.

My home assessment went up a lot this year and will probably keep going up. Doesn’t that mean I’ll keep paying more for Prop 1 each time it goes up?

No. The total amount of taxes that the city collects each year from Prop 1 will be approximately $1.2 million regardless of what happens to your individual assessment. This is one of the most confusing parts of property taxes, so let's break it down.

How Property Tax Rates Actually Work:

The city determines how much total revenue is needed to come from Prop 1 and the tax rate is then set based on all property values combined. Over time, if property values go up across the city, the rate will automatically go down to keep the city's total revenue the same.

The Bottom Line:

Your assessment increase doesn't make Prop 1 more expensive
Prop 1 costs the same whether your home valuation goes up 2%, 20%, or whatever
The city collects $1.2M through Prop 1, spread across all properties proportionally

We already have police and 911 service. Why do we need more funding for public safety?

Yes, we have these services today, but they're currently being funded by drawing down our reserves - and that's not sustainable. Here's what's actually happening:

The Current Situation: Public safety costs have increased over $700,000 in just the last two years due to inflation and rising contract costs. Meanwhile, our revenue can only grow by $34,500 annually under state law (the 1% limit). The city is covering this gap by using one-time reserve funds.

Why Reserves Aren't the Answer: Think of reserves like your emergency savings account. Using them to pay recurring monthly bills means they won't be there when you really need them - like when the bomb cyclone hit and FEMA denied our reimbursement request. Reserves should be saved for true emergencies and unexpected crises, not ongoing operational costs that happen every single year.

Won’t funds from Prop 1 just free up other funds for different projects?

No, Prop 1 doesn't fund new services or free up money for other projects. It’s designed to fill the gap between what public safety actually costs and what the city can currently afford under the 1% revenue growth limit. Without Prop 1, the city has to keep drawing on reserves to cover these increased public safety costs.

Prop 1 proceeds are legally restricted to public safety expenditures and will be directed specifically to address the deficit created by dramatic increases in public safety costs - 911 dispatch (up 196%), jail space, court costs, and police services.

The Budget Reality:

Public safety costs increased over $700,000 in the last two years
City revenue can only grow $34,500 annually under state law
The city is currently covering this gap by draining reserves
Prop 1 stops the reserve drain and funds these services sustainably

Accountability: All city spending is public record and audited annually. You can review detailed budget documents and meeting minutes at the city website to see exactly how funds are allocated.

The Bottom Line: This isn't about expanding services or funding other projects - it's about sustainably paying for the public safety services we already have, so we can stop depleting our reserves.

What happens if Prop 1 doesn’t pass?

If Prop 1 fails, the city faces difficult choices:

Continue draining reserves - Eventually they run out, leaving us vulnerable to emergencies and unanticipated costs
Reduce public safety services - Fewer police hours, slower emergency response times
Contract with King County for police - This option has been very unpopular with residents who value our community-connected police department

What Prop 1 Does: Prop 1 stops the drain on reserves and funds public safety services sustainably for the next 6 years, keeping our financial position strong and our reserves available for actual emergencies.