Well, the 'Economic Slowdown" did not go around the city of Sequim, as Sequim home owners might have hoped for. Sequim City struggles to make ends meet just like the rest of the nation. The big question is where to get the money from for improvements of streets, parks, public transportation, police etc.
Financial means for education seems to be taken care of after a recent vote for Sequim Schools where 61% of Sequim residents voted for a higher property tax for Sequim home owners to generate some extra money for Sequim education. The votes included Sequim residents who don't own a home and won't be affected by the higher taxes, at least not at first glance. Eventually, home owners who rent out a second home will try to get some money back from their tenants by raising their rent!
We were actually quite happy when we noticed that our high Sequim property tax had gone down for 2010 but that 'saving's evaporated with the recent vote approval for raising the taxes for schools which meant another $200 more property tax on a Sequim estimated home value of $250,000. Quite a steep raise, we think.
Still there remains the question where to get the money from for keeping Sequim's infrastructure updated and in good shape. Well, the solution seems to be very easy, at least according to a consultant the City of Sequim hired. The 'magic word' is introducing 'impact fees' to new home owners and builders. If the City of Sequim approves the new impact fees, then new Sequim home owners will have to pay an additional $9036, whether they build a new home for $1million or $200,000! The new impact fees would cover Sequim town's future expenses for improvements of infrustructure, parks, transportation, general government and police.
This will be a tough decision to be made by the City Council and Sequim City's new manager Steven Burkett. Naturally, the new impact fees find strong opponents among Sequim builders and realtors. Imagine in 2005 about 190 new building permits were issued for Sequim and area, whereas in 2009, it was only 11 building permits. Sequim builders and realtors believe that those steep impact fees in a slowed-down economy, will have further negative effects and might turn off potential home builders from building in Sequim. The Sequim consultant argues that better parks and infrastructure will attract new home builders to Sequim. What do you think?
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2 comments:
The taxes are still significantly less than Texas. Property taxes on a $250K home here run close to $7000/yr, most of which goes to the schools. But we don't have the excise tax or impact fees, and sales tax is 8 1/8%.
Our lot in Sequim is technically outside the city limits, so I am curious if the proposed impact fees will impact us when we build. We dodged the big water hookup fee as it has already paid by a previous owner, so we were hoping the septic tank would be the only big bill...other than the house :)
-Chris
Thanks Chris for your comment on our 'What's new for homeowners in Sequim?' post.
Well, and I thought our Sequim property taxes are high! Looks like Texas is asking its homeowners much more money. Good reason to move to Sequim.
You are very lucky that the lot owner got the water connection when he did. Looks like you are connected to Sequim City water and don't need to build an extra well when building your house. That's a big plus because digging a new well in the area has become a big expense new home builders need to take into account.
We were also lucky that we built our new Sequim home before the connecting fees for sewer + water doubled.
Impact fees for new home owners will be another time publicly discussed, either tonight or next week. The final decision will be made by the City of Sequim on 3/22/10!
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