SHELTON — Mason County commissioners on Tuesday set a hearing for public comment on a voter proposition to increase the county property tax rate.
The commissioners are considering asking the voters for a property tax increase of 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Based on the assessor’s estimate, the tax increase could raise up to $3.4 million to bolster county revenues, Support Services Director Frank Pinter said.
The commissioners in a 2-1 vote last week approved more than $1.8 million in budget cuts to balance the county budget.
The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. at the commissioners’ chambers in the county administration building, 411 N. Fifth Street in Shelton.
“This is not a formalization of the proposition,” Pinter told the commissioners at their Tuesday night meeting. “It’s a notification of a hearing to discuss a draft document that the commission can vote on.”
Proposed is raising the tax levy “lid lift” to a rate of $1.77 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for collection in 2018.
The proposal would also increase the 2019-2023 levy amounts by the consumer price index inflation rate or 1 percent, whichever is higher. The proposal would authorize use of the 2023 levy amount as the base for computing levies in succeeding years.
In his statement at a commissioners’ hearing last week, Pinter said, “We have three converging issues of … dramatically increasing expenses, … continued flat or reducing revenues … and depletion or previous reserve balances.”
