No benefit from new port tax

Posted

The Port wants you to pay $15 million for neglected maintenance and repair of its facilities. They expected to take $15 million without a vote, but 2,000 people petitioned and put Proposition 1 on the ballot. They already collect $1 million in taxes every year, and now they want more? Why has maintenance been neglected? The Port has known for years that roofs and air handlers need replacing and that jetties disintegrate. Why isn’t there funding for repairs? Is it because the Port’s rents and fees have been below market, and because its expenses were so high that it never could set anything aside? Taxpayers won’t see any benefit from this tax. It won’t provide any new services or any new tax revenues. This is a reverse Robin Hood tax. Everyone pays, but the few beneficiaries are those businesses and boaters in the Port who pay less than market rates. And these aren’t poor folk, either. Even then, an IDD Levy is the wrong tool for the job. The law is clear. IDD Levies can only be used two ways: 1) Building new infrastructure as identified in a Comprehensive Scheme or 2) Debt retirement if any funds are left over. Maintenance and repairs just don’t qualify in either category. So there you have it: Everyone would pay a tax that would benefit a few who are not poor and even then the IDD Levy is the wrong tool for the job.

Please join me in voting No on Proposition 1.

David Neuenschwander
Quilcene