SEQUIM — Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce President Bertha Cooper says the chamber supports the proposed school levy that will go before voters up to Feb. 7.
“If we don’t have strong schools, we don’t have strong businesses,” Cooper said.
Cooper made her comments Tuesday at John Wayne Marina during a chamber luncheon appearance by Sequim School District Superintendent Garn Christensen.
Christensen said the new levy request is not a bump, but rather a 7 percent adjusted cost-of-living increase for the school district’s maintenance and operation renewal levy.
“[School board members] did not bump this levy at all,” Christensen said.
“They just added a small increase” in line with the increased cost of living.
Levy expires at end of year
The current $2.6 million levy, which is a property tax, makes up 12 percent of the district’s revenue and expires at the end of 2006.
If approved by voters in the all-mail election ending Feb. 7, the replacement levy would increase levy revenue by 200,000 to $2.8 million in 2007, and by about 5 percent every year through 2010.
Although the overall levy amount is increasing, the amount a homeowner pays per $1,000 of a home’s value will decrease because of increasing property values and construction occurring within the district’s boundaries.
In 2005, taxpayers were paying 98 cents for every $1,000 of a home’s value, meaning a homeowner with a house valued at $300,000 paid $294.
In 2007, the levy rate is estimated to drop to 83 cents, or about $249 a year for a home valued at $300,000.
The levy rate is projected to decrease by 1 cent every year afterward through 2010.
