PORT TOWNSEND — City leaders have been trying to improve Port Townsend’s financial standing, and several steps have been taken to do that, the city’s top financial officer said Monday.
“We haven’t been sitting back and doing nothing,” Finance Director Michael Legarsky told about 50 people attending Monday’s Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon at The Commons in Fort Worden State Park.
Legarsky spoke on behalf of City Manager David Timmons, who was originally scheduled to speak to the chamber but was away at a conference.
Monday’s presentation highlighted the city’s reasons for a proposed levy “lift” that would increase the property tax rate from $1.95 to $2.95 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
The measure, listed as Port Townsend Proposition 1 on the ballot, goes to city voters in the Nov. 2 general election.
(An unrelated Jefferson County Proposition 1, a proposed sales tax increase for emergency services, also appears on the ballot.)
The city’s proposed tax rate increase would raise an owner’s annual tax bill by $200 for a property valued at $200,000.
Cordial business audience
City officials faced a contentious public forum a week ago, but business owners attending Monday’s chamber luncheon were more cordial, asking only a few questions.
