February 2018
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School offers construction levy, page 5
Fire district to offer house calls, page 6
ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14
FREE
Golf course getting ready to re-open, page 9
Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
A good reason to go south this winter ...
s High wind and tides made for an interesting morning at Maple Beach on Sunday, January 22. Gusts of wind exceeding 50 mph were reported at YVR. Lines down caused power outages all while fallen trees and blowing branches conspired to make travel around the Point problematical. For more photos, turn to page 12. Photo by Stephen Fowler
Expect to get pounded with taxes, says county assessor B y P a t G r u bb Property owners should expect a sizable jump in their 2018 tax bill that will arrive in their mailboxes around mid-February. Much of the increase can be attributed to the state legislature’s decision to hike the state education levy to comply with Washington State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision requiring the state to fully fund basic K-12 education. “The state has decided to pound every-
one with a huge increase this year,” county assessor Keith Willnauer said, advising that state education taxes will increase from $2.23 to $3.20 per $1,000 assessed value. A house valued at $250,000 will see an extra $242 added to their property tax bill. There will be other increases heaped on, he added, such as a 37 percent increase in the county flood control levy and increases by other local taxing districts. Willnauer was the featured speaker at the Point Roberts Taxpayers Association’s
AGM on January 10 at the community center on Gulf Road. Taxpayers can expect some relief in 2019 as the state claws back some taxing authority from local school districts in what’s referred to as a tax swap. How much relief is not known for certain. Willnauer discussed the relationship between property assessments and property tax bills. “Each of you are going to pay a share of government costs based upon the value of your property. If your property
Lack of money means no new playground at park By Meg Olson Delays and higher than expected costs will mean a later opening for the boardwalk at Lighthouse Marine Park and the elimination of plans for new playground equipment. “The boardwalk repairs consumed most of the budget,” said Rod Lamb, design and development supervisor with Whatcom County Park and Recreation. “The available funding couldn’t support
that and the playground,” he added. In 2015, $250,000 was budgeted for replacing the rotten decking on a portion of the boardwalk while eliminating a portion of the structure. Plans included putting in at-grade picnic areas under existing covered areas, and adding in a new play structure close to the boardwalk and demolishing the disintegrating old play area. Lamb said when construction crews removed the old boardwalk they found problems in the substructure that required
reengineering for how posts were secured to concrete piers supporting the deck. The contract to complete the boardwalk was extended and is now set to be completed in March. The increased costs for the boardwalk replacement were partly due to the needed improvements to the substructure, Lamb said, but were also due to escalating construction costs since the project was (See Parks, page 3)
value goes up relative to other properties, then your property tax will go up. It’s a shift in the burden,” he said. “My problem,” he added, “is [everyone’s] going to see [their] property taxes go way up,” due to the increases by various taxing districts. Willnauer said it’s not the assessment that is behind the tax burden, it’s the tax levy that results from spending decisions (See Taxes, page 2)
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Inside
Church ............................................. 11 Classifieds ......................................... 16 Coming Up ....................................... 15 Crossings .......................................... 13 Obituary ........................................... 18 Opinion ............................................... 4 Seniors, library, sheriff’s ................. 18 Tides ................................................... 8