Enumclaw residents will see some adjustments to their local city fees and taxes.
As elected officials and city staff pound out next year’s budget, some increases to the city’s natural gas fees have been made, and next year, the city will be collecting 1% more in property taxes.
Enumclaw is also adjusting its transportation and park impact fees for developers to construct, maintain, and improve local amenities.
Finally, adjustments have been made to prices at the local pool, though those are minimal.
UTILITY RATES
Natural gas utility fees are the fees most affected by next year’s budget.
First, the Enumclaw City Council put into effect rate increases for this month, starting Nov. 1.
Natural gas customers will see an increase in their monthly service charge for their November bill from $11.92 to $13.15, and a per-therm charge increase of 88 cents to 93 cents.
The city council also approved a 5% increase in the monthly services charge in 2026 and 2027.
This increases the service charge to $13.80 next year, and $14.50 the following year.
With the average residential customer using about 634 therms per year, the average 2026 annual bill could come out to about $751 — a $50 increase from the previous year.
Solid waste fee increases are far more minimal, increasing bin fees by 4%.
For residential customers, that’s roughly a $2 increase per bin.
PROPERTY TAX
The city of Enumclaw has the chance every year to increase its collection of property taxes by 1% (or the Implicit Price Deflator, whichever is less).
However, the city had forgone that increase from 2014 to 2023, and only started collecting additional property taxes again starting in 2024 as the city was working to avoid budget deficits.
This year’s tax levy rate was $1.10 per $1,000 in assessed property value (APV), making the annual bill on a $600,000 home about $660.
That tax rate will be decreasing this year to $1.07, as home values rose in the Enumclaw Plateau area by an average of 6% last year.
This means in order to collect 1% more in taxes, the tax rate has to decrease to compensate — but property owners are likely to still see an increase in their property taxes.
With an average 4.6% APV increase, a $600,000 home last year is now valued at $628,800.
Factoring in the new $1.07 local property tax rate, the annual bill comes out to $672, a $17 increase.
The total tax collection, factoring in increased APV and increased construction, increases from $3,119,194 to $3,226,224.
The city of Enumclaw will vote on the potential tax increase during its Nov. 24 meeting.
IMPACT FEES
When developers build houses in Enumclaw, they’re required to pay impact fees — funds that are used by the city to directly construct or improve amenities that are affected by an increasing population.
The idea here, as is so often said, is to have growth pay for growth.
Previously, a single family unit development paid a $3,239 transportation impact fee, and a $1.209 park fee.
These have increases to $4,491 and $2,200 respectively.
Multi-dwelling unit transportation impact fees increased from $2,123 to $2,437, and park impact fees from $801 to $1,474.
This additional revenue can be used for various projects like constructing a sidewalk from McHugh Avenue to Thunder Mountain Middle School, installing a signal or roundabout at SR 169 and Kibler Avenue, constructing a playground and basketball court at Elk Meadows, and improve Mahler park with a bridge, interpretive signs, and trail maintenance.
POOL RATES
Pool usage fees for numerous — if not all — services and programs will be increasing between 3% and 3.5% next year.
The most affected fees are for the one-year adult and one-year family splash pass; the former is increasing from $368 to $379, and the latter $736 to $758.
Other fee increases for other programs and services range between cents and a couple dollars.
These fee increases were recommended by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee.
