Sam Fletcher reports from the Oak Harbor City Council meeting of Tue., May 21, 2024 for the Whidbey News-Times.
Following a thorough discussion, members of the Oak Harbor City Council ditched plans to adopt a business and occupation tax that would have funded additional Oak Harbor police staff and other city services.
The police department had requested four more officers so that another person would be patrolling the streets all hours of the day, one for each of the four shifts. In addition, the department requested a drug detective and a part-time receptionist.
The suggested B&O tax would only affect businesses grossing over $1 million a year; the rate would be 0.002. The tax would generate about $1.3 million a year.
An officer costs the city about $113,000 a year, including benefits.
They Said It
“As a business owner myself, I understand the importance of a balanced budget,” Mayor Ronnie Wright said at a council meeting. “As a vibrant community, we have several programs and initiatives the community is requesting, and we have to identify the ways to fund these going forward.”
…Some council members, while showing reluctant support, pondered the need. Councilmember Bryan Stucky said the city continually ranks among the state’s safest cities.…
At a recent workshop, Councilmember Jim Woessner asked, “Do any of us really feel unsafe?”
…Another option is to set the tax to affect the 27 Oak Harbor businesses that gross over $5 million. The consumer would likely not be affected by this option, said Councilmember Bryan Stucky.…
“I don’t like it,” Councilmember Shane Hoffmire said. “I don’t like increasing a tax to handle our basic obligations to our citizenry. However, very few things that I vote for have the opportunity to save someone’s life, and we do desperately need more officers.”
Councilmember Eric Marshall said businesses could choose to move to surrounding areas.
“The issue I have is putting public safety on the backs of so many businesses,” he said. “We’ve talked a number of times about affordable housing, how are we going to make housing affordable. If we make it more expensive to do business here, how are we going to do business here?”
