PORT ANGELES — Clallam County residents could get an itty-bitty break in their 2009 property taxes if Mike Chapman has his way.
Chapman, who has held no party affiliation since winning re-election as an independent candidate Nov. 4, still must persuade his colleagues, Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness, and Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles.
County government’s financial picture has brightened slightly in recent weeks, and Chapman on Monday proposed that it forgo the annual 1 percent increase in revenue it collects in property taxes.
That would amount to about $80,000 which, divided among about 37,500 households, would save each of them a little more than $2 during 2009.
Chapman said the idea began with County Administrator Jim Jones as Jones put finishing touches on the 2009 budget, but Port of Port Angeles commissioners already had relinquished their 1 percent raise for next year during a meeting last week.
County commissioners today will call for public hearings on the budget at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Dec. 2, after which they can adopt it.
Tax rollback feared
Jones said the county, which originally was thought to dip into reserves for $2.5 million to keep services and staff at current levels, will need only $1.9 million.
Governments in Washington state are limited to 1 percent increases in property tax collections by Initiative 747, a proposal of perennial tax opponent Tim Eyman.
Eyman’s latest campaign is an initiative to roll back property taxes by 25 percent, which Chapman said could cut Clallam County’s income by $2 million a year if voters approve the proposal.
Dropping the 1 percent hike could pay off politically if Eyman’s proposal makes it onto the ballot, Chapman said.
“It may be politically appropriate not to request an increase,” Jones said.
“This may help [to blunt Eyman’s effort],” Chapman said.
“These are tough times. People are hurting.”
Tharinger: ‘Surprised’
Tharinger, though, questioned the wisdom of relinquishing the 1 percent increase in the face of a 17 percent increase — most of it in wages and salaries — in the county’s 2009 budget.
“I’m just asking some questions,” Tharinger said, adding that Monday’s meeting was the first he’d heard of Jones and Chapman’s idea.
“I’m not making any decisions,” Tharinger said, “but I’m a little surprised.”
Chapman argued that the county will receive new revenue in fees that cities pay the county to jail their prisoners. Other new revenue is coming from Olympic National Park, he said.
But Tharinger countered that Clallam County — highly successful at winning federal and state grants — faces cutbacks of up to 25 percent in grant-funded programs like juvenile justice and salmon restoration.
Grants may vanish
“We’ve been very successful as a county at getting state and federal dollars,” he said, “but those dollars aren’t going to be around.”
Even if Tharinger and Doherty don’t join Chapman in forgoing the 1 percent cut, commissioners probably unanimously will hike the Local Government Initiative Fund that aids charitable agencies, especially in the West End.
While other cash-cramped governments will cut or eliminate their LGIF contributions, the county’s proposed budget increases its share from $62,300 in 2008 to an even $100,000.
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Reporter Jim Casey can be reached at 360-417-3538 or at jim.casey@peninsuladailynews.com.
