The City of Snohomish is proposing a 10-year extension of its Transportation Benefit District sales tax with the Proposition 1 ballot measure in the August primary election.
This will be a referendum on City Hall’s priorities in spending and revenue sources.
Here are the pertinent facts:
1. Snohomish residential real estate property taxes increased 8 percent this year, among the highest in the county.
2. The overall sales tax rate when purchasing a vehicle in the city is now 9.5 percent and is expected to go higher with Sound Transit expanding its taxing district boundaries. (Prior to the TBD in 2011, the sales tax rate was 8.6 percent.)
3. The city’s glossy-print quarterly magazine has been losing $40,000 a year.
4. The city gives developers in the Pilchuck District tax breaks in the form of property tax exemptions; and now the mayor’s 13-member Midtown Planning Task Force recently recommended more incentives for developers and building owners in the midtown area.
5. The mayor’s pet project — the Second Street Corridor makeover — is estimated to cost more than $24 million in three phases over the next 10 years. His plan eliminates center left-turn lanes which will push crosstown traffic into the residential areas around Third and Fourth streets.
6. The new Weddings Events Center at 105 Cedar Avenue requires a city operations manager, making it problematic to ever break-even without General Fund subsidies.
In conclusion, if developers can get huge tax breaks, surely the average Snohomish resident deserves a little 0.2 percent TBD sales tax break.
The voters can send a message to City Hall by rejecting Proposition 1 in August.
Morgan Davis
Snohomish
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