South Whidbey port commissioners revise tax scheme

Published 11:18 am Thursday, June 12, 2008

Port of South Whidbey commissioners may be asking for less money from voters in November.

At Wednesday’s port meeting, commissioners told port staff to draft a resolution calling for a property tax increase of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value over a 20-year period.

The new proposal marks a 5-cent reduction from the one proposed a month ago. Previously, port commissioners had considered tripling the property tax levy to 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Port commissioners have said a tax hike is needed to pay for renovations to the Langley Marina.

Last night, port commissioners reviewed five new options for increasing the number of slips at the marina. Cost estimates ranged from $7.7 million to $9 million.

After three hours, port commissioners tabled any decision on the design until their engineering consultant reviews the top two options.