Sequim School Board maps property tax levy request

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, November 8, 2005

PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

SEQUIM — A divided Sequim School District board proposed a property tax levy Monday night that would increase local funding slightly over four years but keeps local revenues at about the same ratio to state funding — a ratio that’s lower than many other districts across the state.

School Board members voted 3-1 to approve the levy proposal, which will go before voters Feb. 7. The district’s current two-year levy expires at the end of 2006.

The proposal calls for a 7 percent increase in revenue collected locally in 2007, to $2.8 million.

The amount collected would increase 5 percent per year afterward for a 2010 collection of $3.2 million.

The estimated levy in 2007 would be 83 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Because of rising property values, that rate is forecast to decline a cent a year to 80 cents per $1,000 in 2010.

Board member Walter Johnson voted against the plan, arguing that the levy wouldn’t collect enough to meet district needs.