North Bend citizens have been asked to absorb a lot in the last year, so they shouldn’t have to suffer a property tax increase next year, argued Jonathan Rosen at the Nov. 15 City Council meeting.

Further, he said, city revenues have been increasing in the past year.

“We are keeping up with police and fire and we’re keeping up with payroll,” he said.

He was in the bare majority. The North Bend City Council voted 4-2 in favor of foregoing the 1 percent hike allowed by state law, and set the city’s property tax levy at $1,512,867 — for a total levy amount of $1,529,787, including new construction.

Councilman Martin Volken was opposed to a 0 percent increase, although he said he could see Rosen’s point.

“It’s attractive,” he said, particularly since the council approved a schedule of major sewer rate increases for city utility customers earlier this year. Citing that action, he said “… but I don’t want us to get into a position that we’re talking about deferred maintenance again.”

The 1 percent increase would result in $15,000 more in revenue to the city, he added, which is “a miniscule amount.”

Before voting on the 0 percent increase, the council also briefly discussed a levy amount of $1,544,916, which would have included the 1 percent increase plus the city’s “banked capacity” from previous years of not increasing the property tax levy.

This is the third year in a row that the city has opted not to increase property taxes on North Bend residents. Property tax revenue made up slightly more than 10 percent of city revenues in 2016. Utilities (26 percent), sales tax (16 percent), ULID assessments (13 percent) were other major components.

Another Valley city, Carnation, opted for a no increase, but the city of Snoqualmie voted in a 1 percent hike.