Town Council holds line on taxes

For the second year in a row, the La Conner Town Council voted unanimously on Tuesday not to increase its share of property taxes collected from local landowners in 2016.

Under state law, most public agencies are limited to increasing their tax revenue by one percent per year – that is not a limit on individual property owners’ tax bill increases; it is a limit on the revenue the taxing entity can take in.

For 2016 the town has budgeted to levy $304,000 in property taxes. This year, since there was no 1 percent raise last year, that taxing ability was “banked” and the town could have raised its levy by 2 percent.

The unused taxing capacity for 2016 will be banked, and should the town need to pull in more money later, its taxing capacity will continue to grow over the years.

This year 931 homes within the La Conner School district were taken off the county tax rolls as a result of a federal court decision. That caused much of the tax burden to fall to the remaining taxpayers – many of whom saw their property tax bills jump by more than 20 percent this year.

At Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, there was little discussion about holding the line on taxes. Mayor Ramon Hayes is spearheading a lobbying campaign to ease the tax disparity caused by the court ruling.

Next month the council is expected to adopt its $5.8 million, 2016 operating budget, which is more than $300,000 smaller than the 2015 budget. Town Administrator John Doyle said several planned projects have been scaled back to rein in costs.

In the coming year people will notice construction on the south end of town as the Conner Waterfront Park and the adjacent roadway, Conner Way is developed. Also, the town plans work on the storm drainage pump station on Caledonia Street.