PORT ANGELES — Clallam County government will eschew a 1-percent property tax increase that local governments and junior taxing districts are allowed by law.
Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach voted Tuesday for no change to the general purpose or road fund property tax levies for Clallam County in 2016.
Commissioner Mike Chapman voted no, saying he favored a 1-percent increase on both levies to pay for essential services and to maintain reserves.
The amount of the general purpose property tax levy for Clallam County will remain $10.2 million.
The road fund levy amount is $6.9 million.
Commissioners voted on the levies after the second of two public hearings on the 2016 budget Tuesday night.
Vote on Tuesday
Instead of voting on the budget, commissioners agreed to wait to take action until their business meeting next Tuesday.
Chapman suggested the delay because County Administrator Jim Jones had made some minor adjustments to the budget between hearings.
“Jim can dot all the Is and cross all the Ts and let the new numbers get out and sit for a week,” Chapman said.
All three commissioners indicated that they would vote in favor of the budget, which spends $36.8 million in the general fund for day-to-day operations and collects $33.8 million in revenue.
The $3 million draw on reserves to balance the budget leaves $9.2 million, or 25 percent of total spending, in the bank.
“I’m very comfortable with our level of planned expenditures,” said McEntire, board chairman.
“I’m very comfortable with where we plan to be at the end of next year. So, therefore, I’m comfortable with the property tax levies as we’ve adopted them.”
Sale tax cut
The budget maintains a 0.2-percent sales tax cut that commissioners approved in April.
“Hopefully, we’ll see a continuing economic improvement, slow as it may be,” McEntire said.
McEntire cited U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis statistics that indicate little change in both median household income and per capita income in Clallam County since the beginning of the recession.
He noted that there was no cost of living adjustment for social security or federal retirement plans this year.
“Those things indicate to me that it’s advisable, and maybe even necessary, that we not take the 1 percent,” McEntire said.
“That has informed my thinking about the level of property taxation.”
Peach predicted that the local economy will continue to rebound, but at a slower rate than urban centers like Seattle.
“I’m actually fairly bullish on what we’re going to see in terms of the increase in our industry, with a fair amount of money that is going to draw interest and what we’re going to be able to draw in terms of sales tax revenue.” Peach said.
All but $869,083 of the projected reserve balance in the county budget is restricted by policy.
Chapman said the challenge for next year’s board will be to identify a level of service that the county can sustain.
“I don’t think the public’s asking us to cut services,” he said.
Chapman added: “If the organization could go through three or four years without major budget changes, it probably would be very helpful.”
“It’s been pretty rough,” Chapman said of the recession years.
“It should be a little more stable coming out, but we’re still not quite there.”
Meanwhile, McEntire defended the board’s transparency after Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis commented on the proposed budget by email Tuesday.
Barkhuis objected to the budget on procedural and substantive grounds, alleging a “lack of transparency” and a “lack of notice.”
“I take exception to the comments earlier about the lack of transparency,” McEntire said.
“I think to the contrary, we have had discussions, extensive discussions, for several months leading up to the preparation of the budget.”
Citing an undisclosed medical condition, Barkhuis did not attend budget meetings specific to her department or the entire county this year.
“Everyone, I hope, has been able to have their questions answered,” McEntire said.
“They might not have liked the answer, but at least they were able to get an explanation.”
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
