EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been corrected to reflect that budget forums will be held in Port Angeles, Forks and Sequim on Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, respectively.
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will spend a projected $1.2 million in general fund reserves next year to pay for tax breaks and wage increases that commissioners enacted this year.
Meanwhile, all major indicators at the local level show the economy is on the rebound, County Administrator Jim Jones told commissioners Tuesday.
“I really do believe that we have turned that corner,” Jones said after presenting a 2016 preliminary roll-up budget.
“I really do think we’re finally seeing the fruits of economic improvement across the board in all our things, in our sales tax, which is the closest indicator; in our property tax; in our foreclosure rates going down.
“Our permits are up in DCD [Department of Community Development], construction is up, everything’s up,” Jones added.
“And I anticipate we’ll continue to be up, and I think we’ll have a better year next year.”
Sales tax cut
Commissioners this year reduced the sales tax rate by 0.2 percentage points for purchases in unincorporated areas, from 8.4 percent to 8.2 percent.
The reduction will be in effect until further notice, they said then.
Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach said Tuesday they would not vote to raise, or restore, the sales tax in 2016, nor would they support taking the allowed 1 percent increase in the county property tax.
The board did not take a 1 percent property tax increase this year, breaking a longstanding tradition.
Commissioner Mike Chapman, who was absent Tuesday, has spoken in favor of tax relief for families and businesses in prior board meetings.
Restored workweek
On the expense side, Clallam County this year hired the equivalent of 3.5 full-time workers and restored a 40-hour workweek for hundreds of employees who were previously on 37.5-hour schedules.
“Better service to the public,” McEntire said of the move.
Together with cost-of-living raises that county workers received, salaries and benefits are projected to increase by more than $1 million to $24.3 million in 2016, according to a preliminary budget summary.
All told, projected revenues are $32.5 million and projected expenditures are $33.7 million in the county’s general fund for day-to-day operations.
Jones projected that Clallam County will begin 2016 with $12.2 million in general fund reserves. All but $2 million of that balance is restricted.
The preliminary roll-up budget does not include some $2.2 million in department head requests for general fund spending and $4.2 million in asks from other funds.
Jones and Budget Director Debi Cook will meet with department heads to review budget requests in the next two weeks.
After budget forums in Port Angeles, Forks and Sequim on Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, respectively, commissioners will meet with department heads in late October and early November.
The board will adopt a final budget after two public hearings in Port Angeles on Dec. 1.
McEntire said he was encouraged that the preliminary roll-up budget reflects an “increased level of economic activity.”
“I don’t know if we can take credit for it, but at least it’s an indication that we’re beginning to see a brighter day ahead, economically speaking,” McEntire said.
McEntire prepared a set of graphs depicting local economic trends, including a 12-year glance of Clallam Transit’s sales tax receipts, showing a steady rise since 2012 to a projected $6.5 million this year.
Jones and McEntire agreed that Clallam Transit sales tax is a good indicator of countywide economic activity because the tax rate is uniform across all jurisdictions.
Trends encouraging
“The trends are encouraging,” McEntire said.
“The last month, July, was the biggest month on record since this tax has been imposed.”
For the unincorporated county, sales tax collections for April, June, July and August were the highest they have ever been for those months in Clallam County history, Jones said.
McEntire said he is looking for ways to lower the property tax on certain types of property.
“I’m still interested in finding an answer to the question: Do we have the ability, when we levy property taxes, to eliminate the county levy on personal property and keep the tax levy on real property as a way of providing some specific help to businesses,” McEntire said.
“I’d still be interested in an answer to that.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
