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Sports | Charger boys, girls prepare for league play [10]
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014
Council approves budget, property tax hike BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
City property taxes will go up 5.5 percent next year as the Kent City Council unanimously approved its 2015-16 biennial budget.
The council voted 7-0 on Tuesday night to adopt an $81 million general fund budget for 2015 that includes the controversial property tax increase but no business and occupation (B&O) tax increase and no vehicle
license tab fee. Prior to the budget vote, the council voted 6-1 to approve the property tax increase that goes beyond the 1 percent state cap by using what’s called banked capacity. Councilman Les Thomas
voted against the tax jump. “Last month it was told to us that we had a little bit of excess (in reserve funds) of around 15 percent and it’s been our goal [ more BUDGET page 4 ]
City to lobby state for property tax limit lift BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
It is time for the Legislature to raise the 1 percent annual limit on property tax increases, the Kent City Council says. The council asked city staff to add that item to a list of priorities of what Kent officials want from the Legislature, which opens its 2015 session on Jan. 12. “The 1 percent cap on property tax increases is an artificial limit that doesn’t reflect inflation,” Councilman Dennis Higgins said at a council workshop last month. “I would prefer to see it indexed with inflation which I think honors the spirit of the Tim Eyman initiative that the voters passed. I would like to see it listed because it’s fundamental I think to getting the city budget to be more sustainable.” Eyman, who has led several initiatives for lower taxes and [ more LIMIT page 4 ]
House call Rapper Ginuwine performs on stage at the ShoWare Center last Friday as part of HOT 103.7’s HOT House Party that included Bobby Brown, Tony! Toni! Toné!, and Rob Base. Ginuwine’s half-hour set had crowds on their feet. The radio
station brought in the old school lineup of artists to help celebrate its one-year anniversary. ROSS COYLE, Kent Reporter
PROJECT FEAST REACHES OUT TO THE COMMUNITY Mom knew what she meant. She took a pinch of this and a bunch of that – and the food always turned out perfectly. But that doesn’t measure up in a commercial kitchen, where cooks follow a recipe to ensure the food consistently tastes the same day in and day out – and just as the chef, like Mom, intended. Students in Project Feast’s six-week Commercial Kitchen Basics Program are learning how to hold true to Mom’s recipe by getting it in writing so they can [ more PROJECT page 13 ]
[ more INPUT page 9 ]
BY DEAN A. RADFORD
DEAN A. RADFORD, Tukwila Reporter
BY ROSS COYLE rcoyle@kentreporter.com
Inviting community input on the Kent School District’s search for a new superintendent revealed a number of things about the district from what it does well to what it could do better. The five- to six-person focus groups provided input from teachers to parents to community members. It is part of the process to help the district search for a successor to Edward Lee Vargas who resigned his position in October. While the groups praised the
dradford@tukwilareporter.com
Susana Ramirez, left, of Kent prepares her Mole Verde, as classmate Angelica Hernandez looks on in the Project Feast kitchen-basics class at the Tukwila Community Center.
Groups weigh in on search for next superintendent