Port of Everett boundary expansion bid is just a tax grab

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Here we go again! Another pseudo-government tax authority deciding that the golden goose (your property taxes) needs further plucking!

The Port of Everett has run out of projects down at the waterfront, so it is proposing to expand their empire, raise taxes on much of the remaining county residents and then figure out how to spend it on a laundry list of new projects (“Survey asks: Should Port of Everett expand its boundaries,” The Herald, Nov. 1).

What world and economy do these port commissioners live in?

Property taxes have risen at a torrid pace in the last several years due to real estate inflation and annual tax increases from all governmental bodies and taxing districts (state, county, city, schools, Sound Transit, fire districts, libraries, drainage districts, etc., etc.).

Housing inflation, property tax and interest rate increases have put homeownership (and rental homes) out of reach for many families. Recent data show that this is one of the major reasons for the homelessness crisis in our cities, county and throughout our state.

Inflation on everything else Snohomish County citizens use and consume are at generational highs, creating problems for families trying to figure out how to manage their family budget.

This is a very bad time to “pile on” to that burden with new taxes that do not appear to have a clear and specific benefit to all citizens in the county. We need to solve our existing problems before we increase taxes on property owners to pay for new, undefined projects.

Please contact your Snohomish County Council representative and tell them to stop this tax-increase boondoggle before it gets started; this tax increase should not be allowed to appear on an upcoming ballot!

You can find your representative at the following link: snohomishcountywa.gov/172/County-Council.

Joe Sutton

Lake Stevens