Letter writer didn’t understand levy process

Published 10:52 am Thursday, February 28, 2008

Your issue of Feb. 1 carried a letter from me urging support for an Edmonds School District Technology/Capital Levy that will be on the May 20, 2008, ballot. I stated that this levy is not only urgently needed, it would also result in taxes being lower than the taxes that were collected from the 2004 Technology/Capital Levy.

Your issue of Feb. 15 has a response from Judy Stead questioning the accuracy of what I wrote. The 2004 levy was for a total of $44.1 million: $9.9 million collected in 2005, $10.6 million in 2006, $11.4 million in 2007, and $12.2 million in 2008. I don’t know the source of the numbers Judy used in her letter, because this tax is not listed on taxpayers’ property tax statements.

Hopefully the May levy will pass; it will collect $31.5 million over the period 2009 thru 2012. That’s 28.6 percent less than the current levy of $44.1 million. Judy’s, as well as other property owners, taxes for those four years will therefore drop. And the $31.5 million levy will not increase as a result of properties increasing in value. The tax rate is inversely proportional to property values (which is always the case) — as property values rise above projections, the tax rate will come down to limit the levy to the $31.5 million approved by the voters.

Please do not decide to vote against this levy because you’re afraid that it will increase your taxes above the current amount. It will not; they will decrease.

Ron Wambolt

Edmonds City Councilmember