PORT TOWNSEND — A City Council majority has voted to call for a Feb. 6 special election to give voters the chance to accept or reject raising the tax on electrical energy and telephone businesses to 10 percent.
State law requires a vote if the city wishes to increase the tax beyond 6 percent, which it is now.
If approved, the tax would show up on utility bills.
The tax increase would support public safety, parks, city facilities, streets and library services.
Voter approval of increasing the utility tax from the existing 6 percent to 10 percent would secure about $400,000 in additional revenue, said City Manager David Timmons.
The council also approved during a first reading more than $1 million in tax increases in city utility rates to relieve flagging revenues and pay for five new city staff positions as part of a $24.2 million 2007 city budget.
In a string of actions late Thursday night, the council approved on first reading the budget, plus the package of water, sewer, garbage and stormwater utility rate increases that would boost each utility bill in the city by an average of $10.03 a month.
The council will give the budget a second reading at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the fire station, 701 Harrison St.
Two positions reinstated
Should the Feb. 6 special election measure pass, the city would also reinstate its parks manager and a librarian position.
Timmons said approvals would give the city a long-term revenue stream to meet fast-rising demands for police services — calls for service have increased by 30 percent in the past year — and to help support a library that has the highest per capita use in the state.
Council approval of the utility tax increases allows the city to hire three new police officers and a maintenance position for facilities and another staffer for stormwater infrastructure maintenance, he said.
The utility tax would not place a burden on property owners, but instead on users, many of which are property tax-exempt, such as Jefferson County and the Port of Port Townsend, Timmons said.
