COUPEVILLE: Port maintains IDD levy rate [VIDEO] (WNT)

Luisa Loi reports from the Port of Coupeville board meeting of Wed., Nov. 8, 2023 for the Whidbey News-Times.

Last Wednesday, the Port of Coupeville Board of Commissioners voted to maintain the Industrial Development District — or “IDD” — levy rate for the 2024 tax year.

Last year, the levy amount was $1.460 million and it will remain the same this year. The port will continue to collect $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value on taxable property in the district. The port has been using the 2021 tax rate as a base, and began collecting the money in 2022. The maximum amount that the port can collect per year is based on a single tax year so that it doesn’t go up.

They Said It

The money, according to Executive Director Chris Michalopoulos, will fund projects included in the Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements, which was updated the same day.

Michalopoulos said the port has over $12 million in projects and the levy, over its lifetime, will only bring about $7.5 million. Therefore, the port will seek grants to pay for the remaining projects.

“We don’t have enough money even with the tax levy to get all the things that we need to get done, but we’ll get all the important things done with that money,” he said.