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Health & Fitness

Do You Find Levy Math Confusing

Math can be so baffling, which I guess is why we constantly fret about how American schools compare with those in other countries.  Have you ever noticed that just when you think you have a handle on that math problem, words or coincidences crop up that all of a sudden create confusion and knock you back down to that place where you're convinced that you'll never be able to understand it? Take the proposed new levy for example.

According to what I read in the Patch, the levy would generate $12.5 million a year over four years and it would add about $1.40 per $1,000 assessed value to the property tax rate.  The confusion begins immediately.  Is that $1.40 per $1,000 each year or is that the total over the four-year period.  Yeah, I know, I need to read the proposal in its entirety if I stand a snowball's chance at understanding it. But that's the rub--we don't take the time to do that.  I've read some who claim this is a 50% tax rate increase (is it $50M or 50%--or both) another called it a 60% increase, and another tried to explain that the tax rate increase only affects that portion of your property taxes that go toward schools.  As a matter of fact, in the online available Legislative Guide to Washington State Property Taxes one can read that, “54 percent, of all property tax revenue collected both by the state and local governments are collected in support of K-12 education, with the state’s share being distributed entirely to public schools.”  Seems like one person was onto some of the truth.

I don't fully understand the property tax rates in Washington, but looking at real estate that's for sale it appears that it is somewhere around 1% give or take.  I have noticed that you get charged more if you're by the water, less if you have an obstruction, and less than that if you're buried without a view.  That said, if 1% is about the rate (which amounts to $10.00 per $1,000) how does adding $1.40 per $1,000 get one to a 50% or 60% increase.  Let’s just take half of that since only 54% of it goes to schools—so about $5.00 per $1,000--$1.40 still doesn’t get one to a 50% or 60% increase, does it?  Like I said when I started, math can be so baffling.

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For some reason, this reminds me of another time when I was a lot younger and wanted to buy my first house.  I was looking through the newspaper and was excited to discover that the median price of houses located within commuting distance to my work was within reach of my income.  I could hardly contain my excitement waiting for the weekend to come in anticipation of picking out my first home.  Unfortunately, once I got there I realized that the “average” cost of a home in a neighborhood I’d want to live in was about $200K more than the “median” cost of all homes for sale in the county. 

Getting a quality education and owning a home—each an integral part of the American Dream we all want for ourselves and for our children.  But when it comes time to making decisions about these things we need to take some time to actually understand the terms and do the calculations for ourselves—what does the levy actually provide and what would the levy actually cost one.  If you struggle with the math like I do, get help—go visit your local public school math teacher who I’m sure knows the difference between mean, mode, and median and can calculate the actual percentage increase to your property tax.  After you find out what the real facts are—make an informed decision and make that decision count by voting.

Find out what's happening in Gig Harborwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dwight S. Wilson is an aerospace engineer, freelance writer, and part-time Gig Harbor resident.


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