Here’s what the average Puyallup family will pay for the city’s new police station

Puyallup is getting a new public safety building.

The Puyallup City Council unanimously approved a lease for a new police station Tuesday and to increase the city’s cable franchise fee. The council also approved first reading of an ordinance that increases rates for private utility taxes. Those measures are part of the city’s plan to fund the project.

The city will lease space in the Benaroya Business & Technology Center at 1015 39th Ave. SE. The criminal investigation division, emergency operation center and other police divisions will reside there, The News Tribune reported in July.

Voters rejected proposals to building a new public safety building three times. The last proposal was on the November ballot. About 51.6 percent of voters were against it and about 48.4 percent were for it. It needed 60 percent to pass.

Now, the city has abandoned plans to build a new facility, and will go ahead with the lease, instead.

The plan is also to renovate the current public safety building at 311 W. Pioneer Ave. Part of it will turn into a police substation, and some spaces will turn into a nursing/phlebotomy room and programming classroom, among other things. The jail will also remain there downtown.

Council member Dean Johnson said at the Aug. 20 City Council meeting that the old building is an antiquated “tool” that police officers have had to use for years. Council member Ned Witting made a similar comment.

The old building has a leaky roof and sewer that backs up, among other problems, the city has said.

“When I look at the current station … I see that it is not offering dignity and respect to our officers and the professional staff that … are working day in and day out within that current building,” council member Lauren Adler said at the meeting.

Council member Julie Door was not present at the meeting.

What will the cost be for the average Puyallup family?

The 30-year lease for the space in the Benaroya building will cost $114.5 million. That does not include the cost of renovating the current public safety building.

City spokesperson Eric Johnson wrote in an email to The News Tribune Aug. 22 that it will cost $5.3 million to remodel the current building, and that the city will use “Tier III” funds. Those funds act like a savings account that the city has slowly contributed to for future projects.

The city would have paid over $149.6 million over 30 years if it built a new public safety building, The News Tribune reported.

Under the plan voters rejected in November, the average owner of a $500,000 home in Puyallup would have paid $15 per month in property taxes to build a new public safety building.

Agenda documents from the city’s Aug. 20 meeting make it look like the average family will pay about that much each month in various taxes and fees to pay for the new lease.

For example, a family of four may see an $11 increase in their private utility rates starting next year, and the owner of a $491,000 home will see a $3 dollar property tax increase. Residents can also expect to see a fee increase on their Comcast bill.

Johnson said comparing those costs to the $15 figure doesn’t give the full picture.

“The project that went before voters in November 2023 is a very different project than this one,” Johnson said. “... That building had a different size, cost, layout, and location. A similar sized building to the one we are leasing would have cost us $149 million over a 30 year period. That comes out to about $18 more per month in property taxes in that scenario. Instead, we are leasing this building at a significantly less cost long term.”

Looking at it that way, Johnson argues: “The lease option not only saves the city $35 million over a 30 year period, it also saves residents roughly $15 per month in property tax increases.”

What fees and taxes are increasing for Puyallup families?

Beginning January 2025, the Comcast Cable franchise fee will increase from 3.4 percent to 5 percent in Puyallup. City Finance Director Barbara Lopez said at the July 16 City Council meeting that this affects cable companies.

City Manager Steve Kirkelie said at the Aug. 20 meeting that the cable franchise fee is placed on cable companies that use the city’s public rights of way. Most cities in Pierce County already charge a 5 percent fee, he said. This fee increase will supply the project with about $190,000 a year.

When asked if residents will pay that via increased Comcast bills, Eric Johnson said that Comcast historically passes down rate increases to its customers. He said it is difficult to determine how much of an increase customers will pay per month because the rate is based on Comcast’s gross revenues.

Also beginning next year, the rate for private utilities such as electricity, natural gas, telephone, cable and garbage may increase from 4.2 percent to 6 percent to held fund the project. This would cost about $11 per month for a family of four, Lopez said at the July 16 meeting. The council is expected to take a final vote on that increase Aug. 27.

Kirkelie said at the Aug. 20 meeting that increasing the private utility rate to 6 percent will move it up to the “industry standard,” and that it will supply the project with about $1.7 million per year.

Eric Johnson said the city also plans to levy $730,000 of its banked property tax capacity. This means an average homeowner of a $491,000 home would see a $3 increase per month in property taxes over 30 years. Residents would see that take effect next year, he said.

Kirkelie said at the Aug. 20 meeting that other proposals to help pay for the project, including reductions to the city’s general fund budget, will come sometime in October.

When asked about what sort of reductions the city is considering, Eric Johnson said the city is looking to reduce expenses by $512,281 through eliminating positions that have not been filled.

The city’s economic development manager position is one of those.

Asked about that, Mayor Jim Kastama told The News Tribune that that position would be a “very difficult thing to not have” in the city. The position works closely with businesses and plays a role in creating employment opportunities, among other things.

“It is possible that that will be a position that we look at holding off on, but it may not be because that is a position where, if you invest, you get a return,” Kastama said.

‘We have been looking for every efficiency possible.’

When asked what he wants families to know about the cost increases they will see to fund the project, Kastama said the current public safety building is an issue that cannot be ignored.

“We have been looking for every efficiency possible. I’m very confident that ... this is one of the best investments we can ever make in Puyallup,” Kastama said.

The service levels the police will offer in the leased building will remain high, Kastama said.

Eric Johnson told The News Tribune in July that the city is still deciding what to do with the land where it had originally planned to build a new public safety building, at 600 39th Ave. SE.

Officers won’t move into the leased building immediately.

“We anticipate moving into the building at the end of 2025. That all depends on how long it takes to do the tenant improvements for the building. Renovation of the current building is expected to begin around the same time,” Johnson said.

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