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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10(360) 379-5047 (email: citycouncil@cityofpt.us) www.cityofpt.us October 2012 City of Port Townsend From Mayor David King - Pool, Parks and Prop 1 Memorial Field and the Recreation Center at the Community Center have benefitted greatly from Prop 1 funding and from volunteer work. On the other hand, the systems at the community pool are failing, largely due to age. City revenues (and taxpayers) bear the entire financial burden of these three facilities. Community members both in the City and in the County have been very clear in telling us that they want the pool to remain operational and the final report of the committee created to recommend a long term solution to funding parks and recreation includes the pool in its inventory of facilities to be jointly managed (http:// www.co.jefferson.wa.us/erprc/default.htm). I believe that all three facilities benefit both city and county residents, and that some form of sharing the burden for pool operations is in keeping with the agreement between the City and the County. We are currently working with the County to devise an equitable long-term arrangement for administration of all parks and rec- reational locations including the pool. How Much Have Our Taxes Grown? Recently I’ve been having discussions with a resident about the growth and use of tax reve- nues in our community. Comparing taxation over time is not a simple chore. Jurisdictions change how they organize accounts, monitor expenses and report taxes with each change in allocation or reporting making an apples to apples comparison with the past more difficult. (The state is imposing a new format for city budgets that, whatever its virtues for the future, will make our past data more difficult to access and use.) Analyzing the change of an individual property tax bill over time has the advantage of control- ling for the community’s growth whereas tracking gross receipts requires that to be considered. As I did a couple of months ago I’ve used my own property tax bills. I’ve made the value of my home equal to the $300,000 value we often use for these examples and then, using the appre- ciation of my own home’s value over time calculated the value of that $300,000 home in 2001. (Interestingly the assessed value of my home almost exactly doubled between 2001 and 2012 – it was worth 50.1109% in 2001 of its current assessed value. All I've done is replace the roof and the heat pump. The rest is aging gracefully along with the occupants.) The Jefferson County Assessor (http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/assessors/Default.asp) has been producing annual reports entitled “Value, Levy and Data for Tax Year ####” in the same format for many years. I find them clear, informative and extremely helpful. So I thought I'd look at the change in property tax over time. In order to highlight how the money is being spent (instead of just collected) I backed out the portions of the levy that are allocated to library and fire – which are normally combined in the “city or road” box on City property tax bills. And I have combined EMS and Fire Services to- gether because most of what we allocate for fire is actually used for emergency medical ser- vices. The upper table is a straight comparison without any adjustment for inflation. It shows that in 2012 I am paying 144% of what I paid in 2001, an increase of 44%. In the lower table I have adjusted the 2001 tax amounts by applying 30% for inflation, which is from the consumer price index for the period. That reduces the overall increase to 11%. Caveats include that the CPI may not be the right tool for calculating present values for all purposes. Some commodities and services have inflated much more and a few less. The average price of gas was $1.47 in 2001. Don’t get me started on health care cost escala- tion. Bear in mind this is for my house only and other properties may have different histo- ries depending on their assessments. Using these two dates ignores the complexity of the period in between. Of particular inter- est is the chart on page 3 of the assessor’s report for 2012 that tracks the value of new construction for the period, a reasonable measure of economic activity generally. In 2011 it was half what it was in 1998, and only a bit more than a quarter of what it was in 2005, a bell curve that probably better reflects the roller coaster ride of personal incomes for the period (at least it does mine). With the library and emergency services reported sepa- rately the City still has seen the largest increase – 119%. Even so, that 10% of my total bill is all that is allocated from my property tax to pay for pools, parks, police, debt service, etc.- everything except the library and EJFR. Finally, what really stands out for me from this analysis is how poorly our local schools have fared during the period. With inflation applied they’re only receiving 64% of what they used to in 2001. 2001 2012 Assessed Value $150,333 $300,000 Rates Tax Rates Tax of 2001 County 1.92144 $288.86 1.45350 $436.05 151% Cons. Futures 0.06250 $9.40 0.04237 $12.71 135% Port 0.24867 $37.38 0.17812 $53.44 143% PUD 0.15175 $22.81 0.11441 $34.32 150% City 0.59211 $89.01 0.84414 $253.24 284% Library 0.77522 $116.54 0.65240 $195.72 168% State 3.11868 $468.84 2.32777 $698.33 149% School District 3.41213 $512.96 1.42663 $427.99 83% EMS+Fire 1.36097 $204.60 1.49355 $448.07 219% Hospital 0.50530 $75.96 0.22798 $68.39 90% Total 12.14877 $1,826.36 8.76087 $2,628.26 144% 2001 w. Inflation 2012 Assessed Value $150,333 $300,000 Rates Tax Rates Tax of 2001 County 1.92144 $375.51 1.45350 $436.05 116% Cons. Futures 0.06250 $12.21 0.04237 $12.71 104% Port 0.24867 $48.60 0.17812 $53.44 110% PUD 0.15175 $29.66 0.11441 $34.32 116% City 0.59211 $115.72 0.84414 $253.24 219% Library 0.77522 $151.50 0.65240 $195.72 129% State 3.11868 $609.49 2.32777 $698.33 115% School District 3.41213 $666.84 1.42663 $427.99 64% EMS+Fire 1.36097 $265.98 1.49355 $448.07 168% Hospital 0.50530 $98.75 0.22798 $68.39 69% Total 12.14877 $2,374.27 8.76087 $2,628.26 111% PT Shorts presents "Irish Ghost Stories” Saturday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m. PT Shorts will pre- sent “Irish Ghost Stories,” directed by Amy E. Sousa, at the Pope Marine Building, Water and Madi- son, Port Townsend. Free admission. PT Shorts is sponsored by the PT Arts Commission and a grant from Humanities Washington. More info on PT Shorts at www.keycitypublictheatre.org. Sister City Program Turns 10 Port Townsend’s Sister City, Ichikawa, Japan, is visiting Port Townsend October 24-26 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Sister City Agreement. On October 24, 2002 the City of Port Townsend signed a Sister City Agree- ment with the City of Ichikawa. Since that time there have been exchanges of both student groups through the school and adults through the City program. For more information about the homestay or Sister City program please visit the City website at http:// www.cityofpt.us/sistercity.htm. To learn how you can participate or get more information about the program or our Sister City’s visit in October, please contact Cath- erine McNabb at 379-5089 or email at cmcnabb@cityofpt.us. P.E.G. ACCESS COORDINATING COMMITTEE The City is seeking applications from residents of the City to serve on the P.E.G. Access Coordinating Committee. P.E.G. is the City’s local public, educational and governmental television station. The Committee is entrusted with the responsibilities of researching, advising and making recommendations to the City Council re- garding P.E.G. access policies. At this time there are two openings, one for a “community at large” member (no technical expertise required) and one for a video professional. Call 379-5083 to request an application form or download the form at http://www.cityofpt.us/user/image/ declarationofinterest.pdf. City of Port Townsend (360) 379-5047 (email: citycouncil@cityofpt.us) www.cityofpt.us October 2012 Port Townsend Public Library Events October 6, 6 p.m. at the Cotton Building - Surfing: Art-Culture-History featuring local visual artists and writers. October 8, 10:30 a.m. to Noon at the Library Learning Center - Part 1 Science, Show, and Share! A homeschool workshop for students and parents that will be followed up on November 5 with Part 2 Show and Share! October 13, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. - Friends of the Library Used Book Sale at the Uptown Community Center October 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Library Learning Center - An evening with author Charlotte Gill. She will present her memoir Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe. October 28, 2 p.m. at the Mt. View Commons Gym - Halloween/Harvest Celebration for the Whole Family! Come join us for a fun Sunday afternoon of family friendly “Spooky Magic.” Costumes are encouraged. Career Development Workforce Programs The Port Townsend Public Library Foundation is happy to announce the receipt of a $2000 grant from US Bancorp Foundation to support the Library’s free Transition Yourself job workshop series to be held Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 from 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. The Library received a $5000 grant from the Washington State Library with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to continue its free jobs re-tooling program (known as Encore) for older workers ages 50 to 69 who anticipate re-entering the employment market. Participants will gain more knowledge about incorporating technology into their skills base, a better understanding of how to bundle past experience and wisdom into their job searches in today's changed labor market. For more information contact Nancesca Schroff, Program Coordinator at nschroff@cityofpt.us Safely and legally dispose of your unwanted and expired medications. The Port Townsend Police Department Drug Take-Back Program is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. at the Police Department, Mt. View Commons, 1925 Blaine St. Call 385-2322 with questions. Some items may be unacceptable. Walk to School Day October 3 The Port Townsend Non-Motorized Trans- portation Advisory Board is encouraging all local schools to participate in the local Walk to School Day. Walk to School Day is an international event that began in 1997. This activity encouraged a movement for year- round safe routes to school and has become an annual event in over 40 countries and 50 states. For more information contact: www.walkbiketoschool.org or Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Board member Lys Burden at 385-4881. Work With Me The Jefferson County Community Connectors Group will be holding their 1st annual “WORK WITH ME” Employer Breakfast, on Thursday, October 18 from 8-9 a.m. at Fort Worden Commons-Company Room A. Discover the power of employing people with developmental & other disabilities. To reserve your place at this invitation only “WORK WITH ME” breakfast event, please call Anna McEnery at 385-9410 or Bekka Bloom at 531-2640. National Mental Illness Awareness Week - Oct. 7-13 To help raise awareness about those struggling with mental illness, the local affiliate of NAMI (National Alli- ance on Mental Illness) will sponsor events throughout October: Monday, October 1 - Proclamations by City Council and County Commissioners Friday, October 5 - KPTZ radio interview with Phil Andrus and local NAMI Board members Sunday, October 14, 12 p.m.- free showing of Tem- ple Grandin at the Rose Theater. The true story of an autistic woman’s success. Saturday, October 27 - NAMI Walk in Kirkland bene- fiting the local NAMI affiliate. To walk, donate, or join the PT NAMI Strollers team, go to: www.namiwalks.org/washington Jefferson Healthcare Hospital Auxiliary Presents: Cornucopia of Fashion A fashion show and luncheon at the North- west Maritime Center on Thursday, October 25 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. All proceeds benefit the Jefferson Health- care Hospital. Admission is $40 per person. For reser- vations send your check payable to JHHA to 132 N. Lyter Ave., Port Townsend, WA 98368. Reservations must be received by October 15. Space is limited! If you have any questions, call Barbara at 385-0297. For a full schedule of events for the 30th Great Port Townsend Bay Apokalyptik Kinetic Skulpture Race on October 6 & 7 visit www.ptkineticrace.org Ride into Autumn with Jefferson Transit! Fall is upon us and it’s time to begin prepar- ing for winter! For many people, this sea- son’s To-Do list includes lawn aeration, leaf cleanup, and battening down the hatches for upcoming wind storms – but while taking care of your home and yard, don’t forget to take care of yourself as well! A Monthly Bus Pass can help you beat the winter blues while saving money and being green. Riding the bus is not just convenient trans- portation; it’s also a social activity and a great way to add a little extra exercise to your day, both important ways to keep your mood ele- vated when the cold weather arrives. A Monthly Bus Pass on Jefferson Transit is only $24 (or $36 for an Out-of-County Commuter Pass) and will help you ride into autumn with a smile! Visit www.jeffersontransit.com or call us at (360) 385- 4777 for more information. Port Townsend Main Street Girls’ Night Out “PAJAMA PARTY!” Thurs., Oct. 4, 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. October 4, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. - Come to Port Townsend for a day and night of female camaraderie and shopping fun for “Girls’ Night Out” sponsored by Jefferson Healthcare, the Port Townsend Main Street Program, OZONE Socks, and Participating Merchants. October 31, 4 p.m. - Downtown Trick or Treat and Costume Parade - At 3:45 p.m., children through 6th grade (accompanied by a parent) are invited to gather at Water & Adams Streets at the Bank of America Plaza under the clock to parade down Water Street and trick or treat on the way back. (Special thanks to the Port Townsend Police Dept., Bank of America, Kinetics High Priestess Janet Emery, the PT Main Street Promotion Committee and generous participating merchants.) For event details, visit www.ptmainstreet.org; follow the Port Townsend Main Street Program on Facebook and Twitter. Gallery Walk October 6, 5:30-8:00 p.m. Art galleries and venues downtown show local artists.