The city of Renton is proposing to increase its planned revenue and expenditures in general fund’s 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Some of the more notable changes include more revenue from a property tax levy as well as an increase in spending due to several projects such as a property purchase to expand Cedar River Park.
At the Oct. 13 Renton Committee of the Whole meeting, Renton Finance Administrator Kari Roller gave a presentation on the proposed mid-biennial budget adjustments the council may adopt later this fall.
“Typically we do a mid-biennial budget just to gauge where we’re at with revenues. Since we set the biennium on a two-year period, we like to look at it halfway through to make sure that we are on track with revenues that we set in the budget,” Roller said.
Increases and decreases
Roller said they are proposing increasing the budget’s revenue by $19.5 million for the general fund for the 2025-26 budget. Roller said they have seen a 1.3 percent decrease in sales tax revenue, but an increase in revenue from service and car sales has helped to balance out the decrease. She said the business and occupation tax and the utility tax revenue has increased, as did the city’s investment earnings.
Other revenue increases in 2025 include $500K from gambling taxes, $500K from permit fees, and $400K from grants. Public safety sales taxes are expected to provide $3.5 million in 2026.
Decreases in revenue will be $750K in fines and penalties in 2025 and 2026, $200K in charges for services in 2026, and in leases, $50K in 2025 and $140K in 2026.
Roller said the city also will set the property tax levy for next year in this adjustment. The 2026 property tax levy will increase from $26,258,139 to $26,571,510, which Roller said is the increase of one percent allowed by the law. This will result in an estimated $5 tax increase for the median household. Roller said there might be slight changes before the adjustments are adopted on Oct. 27. She said the city of Renton receives nine cents for every dollar of taxes spent.
“I know that many of our residents have seen large increases, or have mentioned that they’ve seen large increases, for the past years, but those large increases are coming from increases in other taxing jurisdictions, not from the city,” Roller said.
Roller said the expenditures are proposed to increase by $22.1 million in the general fund in the adjustments. She said $13 million of the increase is for the property purchase near the community center to expand Cedar River Park. She said the increase also includes a $1.5 million increase to the transfer to the city’s reserves, which is required to sit at 12 percent of the general fund costs.
Roller said a $3.2 million increase is allocated to public safety from the new sales tax and they will be going to council in the beginning of next quarter to discuss the plan to spend that money.
The proposed elimination of the electronic home detention program would result in a $200K decrease in spending for the operational costs and about $380K for the two positions working in that department.
“We’re one of the last cities to have this program in house. This is not a program exclusive to government and there are private providers that are available for this program,” Roller said.
Other expenses
Total changes in staffing will create an expected $389.4K increase in expenses in 2026. Additional staff will include a code compliance manager, an assistant building official, a prosecuting attorney and a paralegal in 2026. An administrative secretary position will be replaced with an engineering position, the human services manager position will be changed to a director, and the museum manager position will change to a recreation supervisor.
Fund adjustments for capital include Legacy Square Phase 2, Oakesdale Avenue SW Construction, SW 43rd Street Improvements, Sound Transit Hawk Signal, Rainier Avenue/Oakesdale Surface Water Pump Station and Taxiway Alpha Rehabilitation Project. Roller said they are also proposing removing the special capital fund created in 2017 for the community center, increasing garbage disposal fees and budgeting more for the fleet fuel costs and repairs.
Fee changes include an increase to the golf course green fees, an increase to the fire impact fees for the Renton Regional Fire Authority and a decrease to zero for the school impact fees for the school system.
Roller said the next actions will be setting the property tax levy with King County and adopting budget legislation and a fee schedule, which is planned for the regular city council meeting on Nov. 3.
