||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||
San Juan County publishes examples that explain potential outcomes of the road levy. November’s ballots will include Resolution No. 20-2022 – a proposition to increase the county road levy to $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed value. The increase will be used to maintain roads and marine facilities, repair storm damage, and enhance roads for pedestrians and cyclists. Read the PDF version of the press release HERE.
How does the road levy lid lift impact the Road Fund over time?
Under our current road levy, the County may only collect 1% more than the previous year plus the amount of new construction.
Previous Year’s Total + 1% + New Construction = Total Funds Collected
If the permanent single-year lid lift passes, the levy lid bumps up more than 1% in the first year, and then that amount is used to calculate all future limitations. The following year, and all years to follow, revert to increasing by no more than 1% plus the amount of new construction.
Year 1 = New levy amount of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value = Total Funds Collected.
All years to follow = Previous Year’s Total + 1% + New Construction = Total Funds Collected
Read the PDF version of the press release HERE. Learn more about the proposed levy and use the interactive project map on the San Juan County Website.
This illustrative example should have included numbers for 2024 in the case where no levy lift passes. If you use the same $61,208 new construction cost as in the lower example, you get an increase of $6,592,180 in 2024 versus $6,526,911 in 2023. So the increase stays in effect, growing by at least 1 percent every year — and more if the construction costs increase.
The example says “one-time change”. It is a one time change which which stays in effect from year to year. The new yearly collection would be 11 million rather than an annual collection of 5 million. Those numbers can be altered by new construction and the 1% increase allowed by state law. Personally, I think the term “one-time” could easily be misunderstood to suggest that the rate would fall back to the previous collection amount after one year. It isn’t. If the levy passes, then we are always at the higher levy rate.
When the county calculated what it needed to accomplish everything on its list, it came up with a number and then calculated a rate which reflected that.
Then… assessments skyrocketed.
The county is looking at a $2.5 million dollar windfall of unexpected revenue which will become the basis going forward.
I fully support funding the critical needs to support our infrastructure and road department needs, but this is not that. This is Christmas in November. This increase has real and non-revocable impact on housing costs for those in our community who can least afford it. So much more than just roads is at stake.
Vote no, and let the County come back with a levy rate that makes sense and funds the work necessary.
Maybe we need to get the San Juan County advocate involved here, the counsel is just not hearing us. Vote NO. The press releases are just not helping.
The fact SJC has shifted and diverted more than $21 million from the road fund to the general fund in past 50 years comes into play here. Those money transfers were legal under state laws. Issue with that is the same can happen in future years. One current SJC Council member has indicated it would just be just theater for the SJC council to establish a policy to stop what essentially is a completely legal slush fund moving money from the roads funds to the general fund in future years.
This should be a topic of future public discussion regardless of the outcome of the road levy vote.