Contributed by Richard Fralick
Levy Lid Lift Straw Vote Results
When: August 6, 2009
Where: Orcas Island Fire Hall
Who: Citizens who gathered for a Town Hall Meeting with Orcas Island Council Members, Auditor and County Administrator
What: Straw Vote on Levy Lid Lift
How: Straw Ballots were distributed to attendees. They were given 4 choices
Vote for NO new property taxes
Vote for permanent property tax increase of 10-15 cents/$1000
Vote for temporary property tax increase of 10-15 cents/$1000
Other: If they voted for a property tax increase they were asked to circle the rate they could support.
Total Ballots Collected: 85
NO new Property Taxes: 42 Votes (49%)
Comments on No ballots indicate that the citizens were not convinced that the county had, indeed, cut all the “Fat.”
10% (4) of those voting No indicated that they are open to a levy lift for specific use such as the creation of an emergency fund or reserve fund.
YES for some kind of Levy Lift Option: 43 Votes (51%)
Breakdown of those voting YES were as follows:
21% (9) of those voting Yes voted for a permanent levy of 15 cents/$1000.
79% (34) of those voting Yes voted for a temporary levy lift of 10 or 15 cents/$1000
54% (19) of those voting for a temporary levy lift indicated approval of a levy lift only under certain conditions:
29% (10) would limit the tax to 10 cents.
25% (9) would restrict use of the collected tax. Such restrictions include using the tax to create an emergency/reserve fund, limiting the duration of the tax and/or asking that the lift be limited to less than 10 cents/$1000.
Analysis and Conclusions:
The straw ballot was not designed to be a scientific study. It was designed to record the sentiments of those attending the town hall meeting. A cursory look would indicate that the sentiments of the audience in the room were split almost 50/50 with 49% voting NO and 51% voting YES (to some kind of levy lift).
Comments on the ballots, however, indicate that more than half of those voting for a temporary levy lift lid would do so only under certain restrictive conditions such as limiting the tax to 10 cents or less, limiting the duration of the tax to 3 years and/or restricting tax use to the creation of an emergency/reserve fund.
