DARRINGTON — When you don’t have much, there’s not much to lose.
As with many rural towns in Washington, Darrington operates its government at a minimum level, clerk-treasurer Lyla Boyd said.
Residents have basic services such as water, cemetery, police and parks, but volunteers do the heavy lifting when it comes to other services such as the fire protection and community events, including the town’s memorial dinners and food bank.
So even in this current economic downturn, the town doesn’t plan to cut services or employees in order to balance its $1.9 million 2009 budget, Boyd said.
Taxes and fees are up just slightly, however, she said.
The council recently raised the town’s basic water fee by $5 a month to $24, which is still well below the national average for rural communities, Boyd said. The fee increase gives the town an extra $2,500 to operate its water system.
The council also voted to raise the town’s property tax levy by 1 percent. That’s an extra $4.40 a year paid by each property owner, but it adds up to about $2,286 for the town coffers, Boyd said.
The 2009 budget includes a $450,000 community development block grant that is earmarked to repair and replace water lines in town. Much of what Darrington does comes courtesy of such grants, and the water-line improvements are the only big project planned for next year, Boyd said.
The budget also includes a $300,000 contract with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office for police protection.
Because Darrington has only a handful of retail businesses, sales tax revenues come from the state based on the number of people in town, Boyd said. The sales tax revenue to Darrington averages about $100,000, but the town is sure to see some decrease in that revenue, she said. Construction and home sales have virtually stopped in Darrington, so real estate excise tax revenues also will be down, she said.
“That’s not a crisis for us now because we have no big capital projects planned,” Boyd said. “If we do experience any shortfalls, we may not do as much park maintenance as we would like.”
That includes making no improvements to the new Darrington Sauk River Park, a property acquired through the county that gives the community access to the river, Boyd said.
The timber industry, as people in Darrington knew it, is gone forever and the revenue options are limited, but the town has always lived with modest budgets without a lot of extras, Mayor Joyce Jones said.
“Grant monies are drying up and we can’t afford much. The good news, though, is that we’re not losing any city employees and we have great volunteers in this town,” Jones said. “When timber was king, we had more people — and all of their equipment — to help do special projects, but that spirit hasn’t left us.”
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
For more info
More information about Darrington’s 2009 budget is available at Town Hall, 1005 Cascade St., or by calling 360-436-1131.
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