Summary of the March General Meeting

[Mari]

Hello Highland Neighbors!

We had an excellent meeting last night. Mark your calendars for our next meeting on Wednesday, May 21 also at 7pm at the Maintenance Center.

First to present was Tom Chriest and Maria Mikulak about fixing the lack of water pressure experienced by some Highland residents.

Our second speaker, Michael Olsen, helped us understand the property tax system.  The amount is decided by a “budget based” tax system. Most of the revenue from property tax goes to schools.

From Tom and Maria:

Highlands Water Pressure Update 

At the 3/19 meeting, Tom Chriest from the City Public Works Department presented an update on the water pressure. So far, as of mid-March, the City and their consultant, RHD Entreprises, has completed 40 in-home assessments. The final deadline for assessment sign-ups is March 31^st. If you are interested, sign up using this link. Next steps are for the consultant to finalize their reports which will be shared with each resident. The reports will have recommendations for how to improve water pressure. The City will use the results of these reports to inform a rebate program available to residents who participated in the assessments. Final eligibility criteria and more information on the program will be shared with Highlands residents once all the assessments are complete. The goal is for the program to be up and running before peak demand season this summer. For the latest information, check the City website at www.kirklandwa.gov/highlandswater. 

From Michael Olsen:

Property tax levy

•       Washington’s property tax system unique in the United States

•       “Budget-Based” property tax

•       This means that cities and other taxing districts, as part of their annual budget process, must first establish the total dollar amount of property tax revenue they wish to generate for the upcoming year

•       Cities and other taxing districts establish the total dollar amount of property tax revenue for the upcoming year (subject to several restrictions)

•       Once the total dollar amount is established, the county assessor calculates the levy rate:

•       The rate that each property owner must pay

•       Levy Amount  The Levy – total amount that the agency receives

•       Levy Rate: Amount individual property owner pays, dollar amount per $1,000 of assessed valuation