The Senate Bill SB 5329 allowing for exempt wells and returning control to pre Hirst Case levels stalls in house… May have no action this year.
One of the Key players in the Futurewise case was playing his Saxophone at a Lynden Venue on March 30th… Eric Hirst of Bellingham and member of Futurewise whose name the Exempt Well Case has been tagged with and Steve Kelly played on Thursday
Meanwhile in a report to a legislative Representative the Whatcom County Assessor reports that nearly 2300 properties may be devalued up to 70% because of the decision. An Additional 1170 properties may be devalued up to 30%.
And while the saxophones play and the State House delays it will be more likely that the County will lose $152 to $186 Million Dollars in Property Valuation. And of course, taxes collected MUST NOT go down so the rest of the burden for Schools, County, EMS, and other services will fall to the rest of us to pick up the slack to make up to $2.2 Million in Tax Collections. The Supreme Court will have effectively increased the taxes for most of us in Whatcom County and Statewide with this poorly thought out decision.
And while the Saxophone Concert continues the Whatcom County Council will depend only on a resolution to the state last November to fight for the taxpayers of the County.
As Jim McKinney of Common Threads NorthWest Puts it:
“The real story is the County Council’s failure to plan effectively, and then succumbing to fabricated and unscientific environmental hysteria to achieve political objectives at the expense of their constituents. Where is that article? Shame on the Herald for failing to report for the people they serve.”
For further Information on the Bill and the Hearing Click Here
For a comprehensive look at the Assessor’s Report Click Here
[…] development plans in Washington State) has devalued vast tracts of land throughout Washington. We reported on it here. The court, in effect, Reallocated property tax collections in a multi billion dollar land grab […]
We have in Jim M Kinney a voice of common sense sadly lacking in the councils and courts of Washington State. How much extra tax are Mr. and Mrs Joe Soap of Whatcom County willing to surrender to replace the devaluations? Why not tell the council how much more you are willing to part with to support their flawed decision? There are no more golden geese left to skin.