Let me start off with this quote from the recent Mirror article about Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell’s statement regarding fiscal soundness and his responsibility as a longtime member of the City Council and now mayor, ” In my second term, I’m shifting my focus to revenue sustainability and aligning our budget priorities to correct a structural imbalance that has been in place long before I was elected.”

What’s not palatable about this statement is his obfuscation of responsibility in his prior position as a City Council member for a lot of years. Remember, he is the person directly responsible for pushing the notion that Federal Way needed a strong mayor government.

Ferrell’s statements sound ambiguous at best, $22 million coming from charges to service, which are mainly permit fees businesses, developers and residents will be paying.

Another $18 million is projected to come from other financing sources, which Ferrell described as transfers of real estate excise tax funds or transfers from the general fund.

Other revenue sources include sales tax at $15 million, utility tax at $12.3 million (lawsuit), $12.2 million from intergovernmental, and property tax revenue at $11million.

Takeaways from the article: “In order to offset the shortfall , the council authorized a utility tax on Lakehaven at 7.75 percent, which the city is now facing a lawsuit from.”

What are the costs to the citizens of Federal Way?

If this was a recipe for tonight’s soup, I would have to toss it out the window.

Norma Blanchard

Federal Way