Council passes 0.1% public safety tax, bringing sales tax rate to 10.7%

Edit: Due to a calculation error, the Council will interview three additional candidates for the Position 6 vacancy, interviewing a total of 11 candidates Jan. 20, the City announced Thursday morning. The additional candidates are: Dorina Katro, Abdullahi Abdullahi and Brandon Molina. The rankings MLN previously reported are incorrect. Updated rankings will be posted in a future article. 

Key takeaways: 

• The Council unanimously approved a 0.1% public safety enhancement sales tax, authorized under Washington House Bill 2015. The tax is estimated to generate an additional $3 million annually. 

• The top eight candidates for the vacant Position 6 council seat were announced. 

• The Council reelected Councilmember Nick Coelho as Council president and selected Councilmember Derica Escamilla as vice president. 

Lynnwood’s sales tax now sits at 10.7%, tied with Edmonds as the highest in the state after the Lynnwood City Council approved a 0.1% public safety enhancement sales tax Monday. This follows a series of tax and fee increases approved by Council in recent months in an effort to address a $3.8 million City budget shortfall for 2025-26. 

Councilmembers also selected new councilmember leadership, discussed meeting scheduling and revealed the top eight ranking candidates to fill the Position 6 vacancy. Additionally, Councilmember Isabel Mata introduced a draft resolution calling for law enforcement accountability in light of recent events involving U.S. immigration enforcement officers. 

Public safety tax

The council unanimously approved the tax, which will take effect April 1 following a state-mandated 45-day notice period. Authorized under House Bill 2015, the tax is expected to generate up to $275,000 a month – about $1.9 million for the remainder of 2026 and roughly $3 million annually thereafter, Finance Director Michelle Meyer said.

Lynnwood had the highest sales tax in Washington for about 24 hours, until the Edmonds City Council Tuesday night approved a 0.1% Transportation Benefit District tax, putting the cities at a tie with a 10.7% rate. 

Passing the tax does not automatically reduce the city’s 2026 general fund deficit, Meyer said. The council must still decide how to allocate the revenue, whether to restore previously cut services or expand public safety programs.

Lynnwood is operating under reduced services after 2025 revenues fell more than $20 million short of projections. Former Mayor Christine Frizzell authorized more than $12 million in citywide cuts, with the police department absorbing $6 million in reductions in its $62 million biennial budget.

While the grant doesn’t have to go directly to police, Police Chief Cole Langdon Monday said the department is operating at “unsustainable levels,” with more than 20 vacancies. While one-time funds will allow the department to “just barely” make it through 2026, he warned of a “financial cliff” in 2027.

“There’s going to be some tough discussions we need to have as a group,” Langdon said.

In November, the council approved a 23% property tax levy increase, along with hikes to utility taxes and fees, followed by increases to business and permit fees in December. State law limits cities’ ability to raise revenue without voter approval, making the public safety tax one of the fastest ways to secure recurring funds, Meyer said.

“This is not the solution for the overall budget, but it is a long-term solution for our community,” Councilmember Derica Escamilla said Monday. “It’s a piece of the puzzle.” 

Councilmember Robert Leutwyler acknowledged the complexity of the City’s fiscal crisis, noting that the city’s financial challenges predate recent budget shortfalls. 

“These problems did not start in 2025,” he said. “I think we could trace it back much, much further, and it obviously won’t be solved at the end of 2026. We’re going to be chipping away at it for a much longer period of time.”

How does the tax work? House Bill 2015 created two public safety funding tools: a three-year, $100 million statewide grant program administered by the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC), and a 0.1% local sales and use tax adopted at the discretion of city councils.

Authorized uses include police staffing, domestic violence services, public defense, diversion programs, behavioral health and substance use treatment, homelessness services and mental health crisis response.

To collect the tax, police departments must meet the grant’s eligibility requirements, though they aren’t required to apply for or receive grant funding. Langdon said Lynnwood meets most requirements and expects full compliance by February, with a six-month grace period if needed.

The requirements include adherence to state policies, including use-of-force policies and the Keep Washington Working Act, and mandated training including gender-based violence and crisis intervention. Langdon said the department is finalizing policy language with police unions and working with the State Attorney General’s Office. The full list of requirements is listed on the CJTC website. 

Roughly 20 Washington jurisdictions, including Edmonds, Mount Vernon and several in King County, applied for the grant and are collecting the tax, according to the commission. None have yet been awarded grant funding.

Police department staffing:  Langdon said the department’s staffing goal is about 80 officers – a level he said would adequately meet community demand. Current staffing shortages have driven overtime costs “through the roof” and leave the department strained when officers take leave, he said.

The immediate focus, he said, is filling the eight positions unfunded in 2025, a process that could take about 18 months. Filling all vacancies could take up to three years before new officers are fully trained and able to respond independently.

“That’s why we’ve been focusing this discussion on restoring public safety services,” Meyer said, noting that compliance with state requirements requires additional staff time even as the department operates with reduced funding.

However, Langdon said he remains optimistic. The department hired a police officer and a custodial officer Friday.

“People watch the news,” he said. “They see how this department treats its officers, how the community regards their officers … people see this as a place they want to come and work, and that’s a testament to everything that’s being done around here.” 

Learn more about the tax and the police department’s staffing challenges here. 

Position 6 vacancy

Note: This section was updated Thursday to remove incorrect rankings and add three additional candidates. 

The eight candidates for the Position 6 vacancy ranked highest by Councilmembers were revealed Monday night. The City on Thursday announced three additional qualifying candidates, due to an error in ranking. The Council will interview these candidates Jan. 20 and appoint a new councilmember Jan. 26. The appointee will replace George Hurst, who took office as Mayor Jan. 1. 

A total of 24 applicants applied for the position. Councilmembers individually ranked the candidates from most to least favored, with the top candidate receiving 24 points and the lowest receiving 1 point. 

Top 11 candidates: 

• Chelsea Wright
• Catherine Baylor
• Noel Baca
• Quinn Van Order
• Jacob Berger
• Han McDonald
• Paula Ferreria-Smith
• Richard Wright
• Dorina Katro
• Abdullahi Abdullahi
• Brandon Molina

The remaining 16 candidates will not move on to the next round: 

• Sasha Hanigan
• Caitlyn Andrews
• Maryyam Aburabie
• Kelly Clay
• Jeremy Ravetz
• Lanthanh Nguyen
• Jordan Simmons
• Trevor Carlson
• Raymond Mooney
• Ted Hikel
• Forrest Baum
• Michael Miller
• Abdullahi Abdullahi
• Cody Haight

Councilmembers’ updated ranking sheets will be provided in a later article.

Council leadership

At the beginning of each year, the Council elects a new Council president and vice president and a number of liaison positions. The president then appoints Councilmembers to the remaining liaison positions, determining who will represent the City on a number of commissions, boards and community groups. 

The Council re-elected Councilmember Nick Coelho as the president and selected Councilmember Escamilla as vice president. 

Elected liaison positions: 

• Alliance for Housing Affordability: 
  • Councilmember Isabel Mata
  • Councilmember David Parshall (alternate)

• Community Transit
  • Parshall

• Lynnwood Tourism Advisory Council
  • Mata
  • Parshall (alternate)

• Snohomish County 911 Board
  • Councilmember Bryce Owings
  • Chief Langdon

• Snohomish County Tomorrow
  • Mayor George Hurst
  • Parshall (alternate)

View the elected position preference sign-up sheet here. 

Appointed liaison positions (city):

• Arts Commission
  • Owings

• Finance Committee
  • Coelho 
  • Leutwyler 
  • Escamilla

• Chief’s Advisory Group
  • Parshall

• Disability Board
  • Mata 
  • Coelho 

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission 
  • Mata

• History and Heritage Board
  • Owings 

• Human Services Commission
  • Leutwyler

• Lynnwood Public Facilities District 
  • Parshall

• Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts 
  • Leutwyler

• Planning Commission 
  • Owings

• Veterans
  • Escamilla

• Youth Council
  • Escamilla 

View the appointed position preference sign-up sheet here. 

Other business: The Council also adopted its 2026 meeting calendar and scheduled the annual Council summit for Feb. 21. In addition, the Council moved its fourth Wednesday February work session from Feb. 18 to Feb 25. With Presidents Day Feb. 16, the Council meeting for that week is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17. City staff proposed moving the Wednesday meeting back a week to avoid having back-to-back meetings, City Assistant Administrator Julie Moore said. 

During new business, Councilmember Mata introduced a draft resolution aimed at protecting constitutional rights and ensuring law enforcement accountability in response to recent federal immigration enforcement actions. She said her proposal was prompted by the Jan. 7 death of Renee Nicole Good, a bystander fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

In her proposed ordinance, Mata suggested that Mayor George Hurst require that Lynnwood police officers are trained and prepared to intervene if they witness excessive or unlawful conduct from other law enforcement agencies.

“This is not simply about people observing law enforcement,” Mata said. “This is about federal agencies acting outside accepted legal and democratic norms and being used as instruments of intimidation under an administration that has shown open hostility to protest, dissent and constitutional limits on power.”

With backing from Councilmembers Escamilla and Leutwyler, the proposed resolution will be placed for discussion on a future meeting agenda. 

The meeting agenda and recording are available on the City’s website. 

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.