PORT TOWNSEND — The city will hold an informational forum to discuss its property tax levy ballot measure at 7 p.m. on Oct. 12 at the Port Townsend Community Center.
The date, decided Wednesday, is one day before ballots go in the mail to voters, asking them to “lift” the levy lid by $1 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.
And while a question-and-answer session will be held, city officials will field only questions in writing, the city committee that developed the forum decided.
At the forum, City Manager David Timmons is expected to outline the current budget situation and explain the reasons behind the City Council’s proposal to increase the property tax.
The city faces a projected budget deficit of $770,000 next fiscal year.
After Timmons’ presentation, the question-and-answer session will follow.
The ballot measure needs a simple majority approval of voters. If passed it would increase the city’s tax rate by 53 percent by adding a extra $1 to the current property tax rate.
That means that an owner of a $200,000 property would pay an additional $200 annually.
General election ballot
The “levy lift” proposal will be decided in the Nov. 2 general election.
The council scheduled the forum the day before the ballot mailing to allow the city manager to attend the discussion.
Timmons, who left for a monthlong professional exchange trip to Croatia, returns on the weekend before the forum.
The city’s budget and finance committee that planned the forum decided to host a strictly informational session with the facts presented by city officials.
City Council members, prohibited by state regulations from advocating for or against a measure during the official forums, will comprise a quorum, but not meet officially.
