MI Weekly

    A weekly update from the City of Mercer Island


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 Calendar
(For event details, visit the City's online calendar or click on a specific event)

Apr 4

Apr 7


Apr 10

Apr 11



Apr 19

MAYOR
Debbie Bertlin
 
DEPUTY MAYOR 
 
COUNCILMEMBERS 


Volunteer Opportunities 

Address
9611 SE 36th Street
Mercer Island, WA 98040

Phone
206.275.7600


Fax
206.275.7663


Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30am to 5:00pm



Donations Requested 

The Mercer Island Food Pantry relies on your non-perishable food donations to keep the shelves stocked year-round.
Click for more info.
Apr 4, 2018 | Vol. 13 | No. 14
Town_Hall Telephone Town Hall Summary
Click here to listen to the entire 1-hour recording
Did you miss our live Telephone Town Hall last week on Tuesday night, March 27? We had 82 people registered online in advance of the event, and a total of 304 residents join the conversation about the City's financial challenges, and how to balance the upcoming budget. Lots of great questions came in via webcast and telephone, and City staff answered as many as they could in the allotted time.

We recorded the event: now you can listen to the entire one-hour community meeting on our City YouTube Channel
During the evening, various polling questions (non-scientific) were posed, and the results are summarized here.  A transcript of all audience questions asked and answered is available too.

More information here: www.mercergov.org/FinancialChallenges
Tax_ReliefTax Relief for Senior Citizens
Click for more information on senior exemptions
As new, higher property tax bills have begun arriving in mailboxes from the King County Assessor, our community has asked how low-income seniors in particular would be impacted.  

The good news is that King County offers a tax relief program to qualifying seniors who meet the age, income and other requirements. The program places a freeze on the assessed value of their home, and additionally may offer either a "full" (60%) or "partial" (35%) reduction on their property taxes. Currently, 109 Mercer Island residents take advantage of this program, with 100 receiving a 35-60% reduction of their property taxes on top of having their assessed value frozen.

For the City of Mercer Island, this does not mean a reduction in property tax revenue; the total amount the City is authorized to collect in a given year is simply spread over the remaining households on the Island.  

Qualifying low-income seniors can also receive additional property tax relief in the form of exemption from what are called "excess" (i.e. bond) levies.  Currently, the City of Mercer Island doesn't have any excess levies, but the Mercer Island School District does.  The City also offers its own discount program to low-income residents on their water bill, which allows 42 Islanders - mostly seniors- to see a 75% reduction on most portions of their water bill.  

If the City Council decides to move forward later this year with an operating and/or capital "levy lid lift" to maintain current City service levels, qualifying seniors would continue to benefit from having their property values frozen and taking the full or partial exemptions they already are entitled to. 

For more information about the senior exemption program, visit the the King County webpage
Mercer Island Goes Green
Leap_for_GreenLeap for Green Sustainability Fair Ten Days Away
Click for event details
Mercer Island's Leap for Green sustainability fair started back in 2008, to celebrate Earth Day (April 22) by promoting environmental practices and activities for kids and adults, and to raise general awareness of local sustainability resources. 


This year's theme is  On The Move - getting around the Island and the region more sustainably.  We'll have live entertainment and music from Yaamba Marimba and The Bus Boys, transit information and light rail updates, electric bike demos, alternative-fuel vehicles, arts and crafts, educational activities (gardening, planting and composting), various sustainability vendors and booths, giveaways, and of course, several food carts. We'll also have information from our partners Lyft and Uber, who are helping the City launch a rideshare pilot program, starting just after Earth Day on April 23.
Youth_VolunteeringRegister Now for Summer Youth Volunteer Programs
Click to learn more about youth volunteer opportunities
The City's Youth and Family Services Department (MIYFS) offers two popular summer volunteer opportunities for Mercer Island students in Grade 6 and above.  The middle school Summer Volunteer Program (SVP) is open to current 6th and 7th grade students, and the Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere (VOICE) program is open to current 8th through 11th grade students. 
 
Both programs provide students the opportunity to raise their social awareness by working directly with populations in need around the greater Seattle area, while volunteering alongside their peers.  The SVP and VOICE projects available are plentiful and diverse, providing a chance to: cook a meal at a homeless shelter, tutor a child in need, participate in recreational activities with people living with disabilities, build a hiking trail in Snoqualmie, and many other options.
 
Each program runs from June 18 to August 10, and registration closes on Friday, April 20 at 5:00pm More information and online registration available here .  Contact  Tambi Cork, Youth Development Program Coordinator at MIYFS, or call (206) 275-7755
Code_RedJoin the City's Emergency Alerting System
Click to sign up now for official 
City of Mercer Island alerts
In 2016, the City joined a new emergency alerting system in partnership with King County, using a vendor that serves hundreds of other cities nationwide (Code Red).

ALERT King County allows Mercer Island residents to receive important information about major emergencies via telephone, text, and email based on their Island address. 

Sign up today! Registration is free and confidential.

The service will not be used for minor events, only major incidents or emergencies such as: earthquakes, evacuations, large and damaging winter storms, large landslides, boil-water advisories, etc.

If you don't have a landline telephone any more, it is ESPECIALLY important that you register your cellphone number, or the City will have no way of calling/texting you in major emergencies! 

 

  
For questions and comments on the MI Weekly, contact
Sustainability & Communications Manager Ross Freeman at

ross.freeman@mercergov.org or 206.275.7662.