October 2023
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Quaack, quaack, page 6
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Head of state, page 8
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ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14 Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
No wackies here ... School, park and fire district seeking voter approval B y P a t G r u bb This year and next appear to be the season of levy increases for local taxpayers. This November voters will be asked to approve increased levies for the parks and the fire district while next February’s special school election, they’ll be asked to approve the school district’s request for a maintenance and operations levy along with a bond issue. The Point Roberts fire district is looking to have voters approve a levy lid lift raising the current levy from $0.693 per $1,000 to $1.1434. The district has approved a 10-year infrastructure and capital facilities plan which the increased levy is designed to fund along with increased costs of regular business as well as improved services. The district has been holding regular informational meetings; the next one is scheduled for Sunday, October 22 at 1 p.m. To pass, 50 percent of voters (plus one vote) need to approve. The parks district has taken a different tack from the usual approach to increasing a levy. Typically, taxing districts determine what its annual budget should be and the tax rate follows from that number. In simple terms, the total property value of a district is divided by the budget which results in a tax rate that can be applied against individual properties. The parks board decided that the district would ask for the same tax rate that it did for the 2018 tax year, $0.215 per $1,000 valuation. Back in 2018, the district’s total property value was $603,725,718. Since then, the total valuation has increased to $935,096,021 so that same tax rate that brought in $129,801 in 2018 will now bring in $201,048, a figure not reflected in the current year budget. One thing to note is, in 2018, taxpayers were also paying $35,000 for a Go Bond which has since expired. For the six-year levy to pass it requires at least 60 percent approval by voters. A town hall to discuss the levy will be held Sunday, October 8 at 2 p.m. (See Coming (See Levies, page 2
s While they may not go by the original name of Wackie Walkers, the Point Roberts Walkers still manage to have a good time while getting in the miles and the exercise and camaraderie they crave. Here they are, out and about on September 12. Photo by Erin Kelly
Q&A with fire chief Christopher Carleton B y P a t G r u bb Point Roberts fire chief Christopher Carleton has been with the department since 2010 and has been fire chief since 2012. During the same time, he has also worked full-time as a paramedic with the Ferndale fire department. Much of his time lately has been spent working on the district’s capital facilities plan and ways to finance current and upcoming expenses of the fire district. APB: Why is the fire district seeking a levy lift at this time? CC: Last year we were only able to put away $11,000 into our capital facilities
plan (CFP). In 2018, we developed our first CFP and we updated that from 2023 through 2036. In doing that, we realized we have $4 million in CF needs and that doesn’t include our regular costs. Meeting with our various consultants, we examined different funding possibilities and decided to stay with a straight levy. We are a debtfree agency and we intend to stay that way. The commissioners decided to go with a 45¢ levy which would put us in an advantageous position. Our goal is to put away $300,000 a year in order to start overcoming those challenges of infrastructure needs. We don’t have the savings with (See Chief, page 6)
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Church ............................................. 10 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 14 Crossings ............................................ 7 Obituaries ......................................... 12 Opinion ............................................... 4 Sheriffs, Library ............................... 13 Tides ................................................. 11