The Port Townsend City Council voted unanimously Aug. 21 in favor of a proposed levy to tax property in all of Jefferson County to provide funding for very low-income and low-income …
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The Port Townsend City Council voted unanimously Aug. 21 in favor of a proposed levy to tax property in all of Jefferson County to provide funding for very low-income and low-income housing.
Jefferson County commissioners adopted Resolution No. 35-17 on July 31, which declared an emergency in regard to the availability in affordable housing in the county.
The two-part resolution also allowed for a ballot measure, Proposition 1, asking voters to approve an additional property tax of 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for seven years to raise funds dedicated to low-income housing.
The proposition also includes a 24 cent levy per $1,000 assessed value that would be dedicated to very low-income housing.
“Low income” is defined as those people making 80 percent or less of the area median income. A family of four people earning $51,500 or less would meet this definition.
“Very low income” is defined as making 50 percent or less of the area median income. A family of four people earning $29,000 or less would meet this definition.
The Home Opportunity Fund levy is on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
City Council member David Faber said a similar program in Bellingham has worked well.
“Bellingham managed to leverage their funds from the levy at a 5-to-1 rate, which is pretty incredible to my mind,” Faber said.
He ran their numbers and found the “per-unit cost that Bellingham was able to get down to, to generate housing, was $138,000, which is incredible,” Faber said.
“That shows how far these funds can go,” he said, adding that he hoped for similar results in Jefferson County.
If Jefferson County could match Bellingham’s per-unit costs, that could result in about 100 units of county housing, “which is a lot of units for our community,” he said.
The City Council also approved an ordinance that would give an advisory board the task of looking into affordable housing issues.
The Jefferson Healthcare board of commissioners is expected to discuss the possibility of endorsing the proposal at a Sept. 6 meeting.
