Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Whitman County commissioners Monday set a hearing on the intent to adopt state house bill 1406, passed May 9, to take part of the tax collected in the county to be used for affordable housing.
The held back state sales and use tax could amount to $100,000 - $115,000 per year.
The hearing is Sept. 3 at 11:15 a.m.
The program would take a credit against the state sales tax of 6.5 percent – which would amount to the county holding back .0146 percent – to create this fund.
“Just a hold back of tax money kept in the county,” said Commissioner Dean Kinzer. “That’s what we like to see.”
The bill sets the program for the next 20 years.
The parameters for how the money is to be used include acquiring property or buildings, rehabilitating existing buildings, constructing new housing and/or operation and maintenance costs of new housing.
Kinzer indicated the county would likely work with the Community Action Center on how to spend the first year’s money.
Commissioner Michael Largent expressed concern it might be an unfunded mandate in the end.
“We spent quite a bit of time looking for any traps in the bill,” said Largent. “I’m a little skeptical of the state’s long-term commitment.”
He explained his concern of the state, in the future, possibly adding an additional qualifying local tax or new obligations for the use of the money.
Commissioner Kinzer also serves on the state’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board, for which he attended his first meeting in June.
What did he think?
“We don’t have any challenges compared to the coast,” Kinzer said. “(But) it’s a much wider-spread issue than I thought.”
The advisory board meets quarterly; its next meeting is in September.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)