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Record of Proceedings

Auburn City Council Special Meeting – October 12, 2026

City Council — Monday, October 12, 2026
BodyAuburn, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:47

Good evening.

0:48

We will call the Auburn City Council special meeting for Monday, October 12, 2026 to order.

0:56

And this meeting will be held both in person and virtually.

Speaker 2

1:04

Deputy Mayor Tracy Taylor.

Speaker 3

1:05

Here.

Speaker 2

1:06

Councilmember Amher.

Speaker 3

1:07

Here.

Speaker 2

1:07

Councilmember Baldwin.

Speaker 3

1:09

Here.

Speaker 2

1:10

Council Mr.

1:10

Lot?

1:11

Here.

1:11

Councilmember Rakes.

1:14

Here.

1:14

Councilmember Sturgis.

1:16

Here.

1:16

Councilmember Clinton Taylor.

Speaker 1

1:18

Here.

Speaker 4

1:20

Wonderful.

Speaker 1

1:21

Okay.

1:22

We are going to allow for public comment tonight.

1:25

This is the place on the agenda where the public is invited to speak to the city council on any issue.

1:31

Sean, did we receive any written comments?

1:34

No, Your Honor.

1:35

Okay.

1:36

And did we have do we have anyone online or anyone that has requested additional consideration?

1:42

No, Your Honor.

1:43

Okay.

1:43

We will open it up to in person.

1:46

Is there anyone in the room that would like to provide public comment?

Unassigned speaker

1:51

Is

Speaker 1

1:51

there anyone in the room that would like to provide public comment?

1:55

All right.

1:59

And we will move to ordinances.

2:02

Ordinance number 7042 and ordinance amending sections 3.60.010 and 3.60.020 of the Auburn City Code to authorize an additional 100th of 1% sales and use tax for assisting children and their families in accordance with section 202, Chapter 221 Laws of 2026 codified as RCW 82.14.542 providing for a severability and establishing an effective date.

Speaker 3

2:50

A second.01% sales tax dedicated to the services that assist children's and their family.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

And in Director Thomas's calculation, that would mean roughly 75 to 85,000 that we would not be receiving for that first quarter of collection.

Speaker 1

5:10

And so I did not feel that we could in good conscience allow that to happen when the needs are so great in our community.

5:22

I'm not saying that the county doesn't do good work with the funds, but I think if this tax is going to be enacted, then we should be able to have the benefit of that money being collected and returned to our city.

5:38

Councilmember Baldwin.

Speaker 5

5:40

Thank you, Mayor.

5:41

Do you have any background on when King County Council began evaluating this proposal?

5:48

Or evaluating the measure that they have now passed?

Speaker 1

5:52

I do not.

5:53

I don't believe it was on anyone's radar except within the last week or so when they passed it

Unassigned speaker

5:59

at

Speaker 1

6:00

their council meeting.

6:01

It may have been in their packet in advance, but it was not common knowledge.

6:08

Anyone else?

6:08

Councilmember Baldwin?

Speaker 5

6:10

Thank you, Mayor.

6:14

For them to pass this sales tax that will affect everyone residing within King County and be applicable to our residents here in Auburn.

6:26

It does indicate, as you had mentioned, that it's meant to provide emergency services and shelter for women and families.

6:36

Is that correct?

Speaker 1

6:37

That is correct.

6:38

Well, that is part of the use for child care perenatal support services before school and after school based youth services that address mental, social, behavioral, and physical health, workforce capacity building, and shelter and rental assistance and client transportation.

6:59

Councilmember Baldwin.

Speaker 5

7:01

And so then just to be sure, for the portion of that that would come to Auburn if we pass this.

7:24

That was what I expected.

7:26

Thank you for confirming.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████45%
Summary of Proceedings

Auburn City Council Special Meeting – October 12, 2026

The Auburn City Council held a special meeting on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, with virtual participation options. The sole agenda item was Ordinance No. 7042, which authorizes an additional one hundredth of one percent (0.01%) sales and use tax to assist children and families, as enabled by state law and previously adopted by King County. Mayor Nancy Backus presided, and all seven councilmembers were present. The meeting was adjourned at 5:39 PM.

Public Comments

No members of the public provided oral or written comments.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance No. 7042: Mayor Backus explained that the Washington State Legislature allowed counties to collect the tax, and King County adopted it earlier in October 2026. To receive Auburn’s share, the city must adopt the ordinance. She stated she could not in good conscience allow the county to retain the portion collected from Auburn residents, which Director of Finance Jamie Thomas estimated at $75,000–$85,000 for the first quarter, given the great needs in the community. Council discussion covered allowed uses (emergency shelter, childcare, prenatal support, before/after school youth services, workforce capacity building, rental assistance), whether funds would support new or existing services, and how allocations would be determined. Councilmember Baldwin asked about the timeline of King County’s consideration and the budget process; the Mayor replied that King County’s action was not widely known until recently and that spending plans would be brought back to council. Councilmember Lott asked about the proportion of funds going to direct services versus overhead. The Mayor indicated that further decisions would be made via a budget amendment.

Key Outcomes

  • Deputy Mayor Tracy Taylor moved, and Councilmember Hanan Amer seconded, to approve Ordinance No. 7042. The council voted unanimously (7-0) to approve.
  • Future allocation of the tax revenue will be presented to the council for discussion, likely through a budget amendment to the current biennial budget.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. We will call the Auburn City Council special meeting for Monday, October 12, 2026 to order. And this meeting will be held both in person and virtually. Deputy Mayor Tracy Taylor. Here. Councilmember Amher. Here. Councilmember Baldwin. Here. Council Mr. Lot? Here. Councilmember Rakes. Here. Councilmember Sturgis. Here. Councilmember Clinton Taylor. Here. Wonderful. Okay. We are going to allow for public comment tonight. This is the place on the agenda where the public is invited to speak to the city council on any issue. Sean, did we receive any written comments? No, Your Honor. Okay. And did we have do we have anyone online or anyone that has requested additional consideration? No, Your Honor. Okay. We will open it up to in person. Is there anyone in the room that would like to provide public comment? Is there anyone in the room that would like to provide public comment? All right. And we will move to ordinances. Ordinance number 7042 and ordinance amending sections 3.60.010 and 3.60.020 of the Auburn City Code to authorize an additional 100th of 1% sales and use tax for assisting children and their families in accordance with section 202, Chapter 221 Laws of 2026 codified as RCW 82.14.542 providing for a severability and establishing an effective date. A second.01% sales tax dedicated to the services that assist children's and their family. And in Director Thomas's calculation, that would mean roughly 75 to 85,000 that we would not be receiving for that first quarter of collection. And so I did not feel that we could in good conscience allow that to happen when the needs are so great in our community. I'm not saying that the county doesn't do good work with the funds, but I think if this tax is going to be enacted, then we should be able to have the benefit of that money being collected and returned to our city. Councilmember Baldwin. Thank you, Mayor. Do you have any background on when King County Council began evaluating this proposal? Or evaluating the measure that they have now passed? I do not. I don't believe it was on anyone's radar except within the last week or so when they passed it at their council meeting. It may have been in their packet in advance, but it was not common knowledge. Anyone else? Councilmember Baldwin?

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