This letter is addressed to all Islanders who believe that Democracy is a good way to govern. Democracy does not work unless the voters are fully informed before they vote. To that end , I make it habit of "looking under the hood” to see what a proposal offers and what it is going to cost. In 2022 I wrote to all islanders and demonstrated that the library was not being very transparent about the true ultimate costs to the taxpayers for the proposed new library. I expressed the information and my opinion to the then Director of the library. 60% of the voters said NO to the proposal.
I have recently written the ballot brochure CON argument against the proposed Library Levy lift. I will include it below. In order to accurately write the CON I requested the annual financial statements for the Library from 2019 to 2023 which included the separate ledger for 2022-2023 for the new library Building project. All of my figures in the CON are taken directly from the library financial statements.
On July 11, 2024 I installed signs that very simply stated the factual cost of the library’s proposed levy lift over the next 20 years. Before I came up with that very simple metric I consulted on a number of occasions with Paul Dossett (the previous County Assessor) to make sure of the accuracy of my sign. The only personal opinion is the last two words that express my opinion as well as most other islanders that I shared the financial data with.
While I was installing the signs I received mostly positive encouragement from drivers and the public that were passing by. Two individuals slowed to tell me that I was spreading ”misinformation”. I invited both of them to stop and discuss the basis for the sign. They quickly drove away.
The following is the financial basis for the sign.
(1) The current total property assessments for San Juan Island is $6,161,183,199. Multiply $6,161,183,199 by any tax rate to get the total tax/year. $6,161,183,199 X .16 equals $985,789.28. This is the additional amount that the Library levy would be in 2025 if passed with the proposed levy increase of .16 cents additional.
(2) The additional amount would be $82,149.10/month.
3) If the levy passes the total library tax/year in 2025 would be $1,578,909 plus $985,789.28 to equal a total of $2,549,069.13/year.
4) That is a monthly tax of $212,422.43.
5) The sign states that the cost to the taxpayers will be $20 million over 20 years. Actually the cost is higher than $20 million when you account for a 1% tax increase that compounds over 20 years.
I just thought that all of you should know what the cost of this library levy lift is. With this in mind, it is my wish that all of you vote.
Royce Meyerott
For more information: https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29419/2024-Tax-Year-Statement-of-Assessments
Library Levy Lift CON