This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Ferry Committee

Support for Senate Bill 6354

Support for Senate Bill 6354

Skagit County is applying for a grant from the County Road Administrative Board (CRAB) to help pay for the proposed new Skagit County ferry serving the Anacortes/Guemes Island run.  One of the requirements to get the most money from CRAB is that the County must set up a ferry district which has the ability to raise funds up to a property tax limit of $0.75/$1000 of assessed value.

Skagit County, as part of its CRAB grant application, proposes a ferry district consisting of Guemes Island only and proposes the maximum property tax rate.  This is a difficult assessment for a number of reasons, but the recently introduced Washington state Senate Bill 6354 provides relief to the County from the requirement that it create a ferry taxing district. The bill summary statement explains that it “Provides that any county making a request for county ferry capital funds is not required to create a ferry district as a condition of eligibility for county road administration funding.”

As this bill provides more flexibility in county ferry funding, the Guemes Island Ferry Committee recommends supporting this legislation. Please consider contacting your state representatives to recommend that they support SB 6354.  Guemes Island is in the 40th State Legislative District and the representatives are:

Senator Kevin Ranker;  Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov

Representative Jeff Morris:  Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov

Representative Kris Lytton:  Krisitine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov

 

Or try calling the Legislative Hotline at 800-562-6000