Jessie Stensland reports from the Island County Commissioners meeting on Tue., Mar. 22, 2022:
Island County commissioners unanimously passed a sales tax increase Tuesday aimed at creating new affordable housing in the community.
The 0.1% sales tax, which means an extra 10 cents on a $100 purchase, will generate an estimated $1.1 million a year toward the program. The county’s overall sales tax is now 8.8%. Many other counties, including Skagit and Snohomish, have already adopted the tax.
A video recording of the meeting can be found at this link. Discussion of the sales tax increase begins at 47:11 and lasts for 38 minutes.
They Said It
Commissioner Janet St. Clair, a Democrat representing District 3, spoke about how she struggled with the sales tax proposal and went back and forth over whether to support it for a variety of reasons. She said, for example, that she was leery about passing another regressive tax increase.
“I literally was a no this weekend,” she said. “I have spent so much time in prayer over the issue.”
St. Clair said she did a “deep dive” to investigate and analyze the issue and ultimately decided to support it. She said the county needs a source of funding in order to leverage and match the complex array of grant opportunities from the state and federal government.
Commissioner Melanie Bacon, a Democrat representing District 1, said she was “highly in support” of the measure.
Commissioner Jill Johnson, a Republican representing District 2, spoke fervently in support of the tax measure. She pointed out that the lack of affordable housing has been a top concern among residents, government officials and business owners for years. Businesses in the community are struggling and even failing because of a dearth in the workforce due to the lack fo affordable housing.
“It is irresponsible for people to say this is our highest priority and then turn your back on it,” she said.
