||| FROM RICHARD GROUT |||
If you haven’t returned your ballot yet, please read this carefully.
The mini–voters pamphlet that came with your ballot says the proposed county levy is 85 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s technically true—but it’s also misleading. This is not an 85-cent increase. 54 cents of that amount is simply a renewal of what we’re already paying. The actual increase is 31 cents per thousand. That distinction matters.
I keep hearing, “The county should live within its means.” That sounds reasonable—until you look at the reality. State law caps property tax growth at 1% per year, while inflation has been running 3% to 7%. That gap isn’t theoretical—it’s a slow, steady erosion of basic services. You can’t keep cutting year after year and still expect the same level of service. At some point, things break.
If this levy fails, the cuts won’t be abstract. They will be real, visible, and felt across the community. Public services will shrink. Programs people rely on will disappear. Even longstanding community traditions—like the county fair—will likely be on the chopping block.
No one is pretending 31 cents is nothing. It adds up, especially right now. But it’s a far cry from the 85-cent increase some are claiming, and it’s the difference between maintaining a functional county and watching it steadily decline.
Before you cast your ballot, take a hard look at what’s actually being proposed—and what’s at risk if it fails.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
I don’t think anyone is looking at the .85 figure and having a problem with the nominal value. I think people are looking at county which spends two to three times what similar counties spend, on a full pay/benefit 32 hour work week, and saying enough is enough.
That, as the eloquent Mr. Foo has illuminated is the problem. The County wants it’s activist budgets maintained,.
They have tied this to essential services, including some necessary social programs, which run well, yet they tell us that withour this levy things go sideways.
Cut the budget of activisim programs only.
The value to support our essential services is easy and undisputed. The rest of it is wants not needs.
Fail this want list and get back to needs.
Not everyone agrees on the exact border between wants and needs. That’s the point of the vote.
This is a rural county with an exceptionally expensive real estate market which we value as supporting our local economy. Left out are those who have to find housing here … to work for the county, for us. The maligned four-day-week is no sweetheart deal. It says, “Go out and earn your raise somewhere else on Fridays.”
Furthermore, the assumption that landowners suffer from rising costs (while also gaining from rising real estate values) the county should not be allowed to increase taxes to anywhere near inflation makes little sense.
.I strongly support this levy and hope you will vote for it.
A decade ago, the county budget for 2016 was $63.7 million. Today, for 2026 it is $156.4 million
Our budget has massively outpaced inflation over the last ten years. If our budget was simply keeping up with inflation, the 2026 budget today would be $87.7 million. Even adjusted for population growth, the conclusion is clear. We have a massive spending problem and it is taking its toll on residents.
As far as our county employees having to “moonlight on Fridays” because they are underpaid, all I can say is county employee salaries are a matter of public record. Those of us in the private sector or running small businesses here may find that statement a bit amusing.