Enumclaw residents want to drive over well-maintained streets, place a high value on police protection and aren’t particularly keen on the notion of increased property taxes.
Those are some of the conclusions drawn from a recent, 10-question survey conducted by the city, an online effort that drew 119 responses. The survey was taken on the city’s website and had been advertised in The Courier-Herald and in city utility bills; additionally, it had been pitched at Rotary and Chamber of Commerce meetings.
Strong sentiment for law enforcement was shown in several responses. When asked to rate various city services, 84 percent listed police as “very important.” The No. 2 response was utilities, followed by street and sidewalk maintenance.
Getting the most votes in the “not important” category was financial support for outside agencies like Arts Alive! and the chamber.
Asked if there are city services they would pay extra for, 58 percent of the respondents identified police. Thirty-nine percent said they would pay more to keep street and sidewalks at current levels.
Another dollars-and-cents question addressed the cash city residents have previously paid in support of fire services. The entire firefighting operation has now been annexed into Fire District 28, so city officials must decide what to do with the money formerly spent on fire services.
Seventy percent said some, or all, of the money should be used to support existing city services, while 30 percent said the money should be returned to taxpayers in the form of a property tax rollback.That option would amount to $222 annually on property valued at $250,000.
If the city keeps the money previously allocated to fire protection, it should go toward police services, according to 65 percent of the respondents. Fifty percent said some should go to streets and sidewalks; 43 percent identified the senior center as a recipient and an equal number indicated parks and trail maintenance should receive some of the money.
Noting that allocations for the public library have been whittled significantly in recent years, the survey asked what alternative funding measures might be supported.
Annexing to the King County Library System, a proposal that has floated about for a couple of years, was favored by 65.5 percent of those completing the survey. Funding the library through the city budget was supported by 21 percent, while maintaining the library with a property tax increase earned the rest of the vote.
Asked which city services they would be willing to see reduced or eliminated, 87 percent cited support of outside agencies, 50 percent listed the library and 44 percent noted parks and recreation programming.
In keeping with the findings of other questions, only 7 percent said they could favor a reduction in street and sidewalk maintenance and just 3.4 percent listed police as an area that could be reduced.
There are various ways a city can generate additional money and the survey asked respondents for their views. Under the heading of “very supportive,” 40 percent favored increased user fees for parks programming and 34 percent supported increased fees for things like planning, building permits and inspections. Forty-three percent said they were “not supportive” of a citywide property tax increase.
Nearly 71 percent of those taking the survey identified themselves as an Enumclaw resident. Slightly more than 19 percent live outside the city limits, 5 percent own a business in town and another 5 percent work in Enumclaw.
