EVERETT, Wash. — Snohomish County is the fastest growing county in the state with about 830,000 people and the Port of Everett wants to grow with it.
During Washington state's primary election on Aug. 6, voters will decide whether to expand the port's boundary to include most of Snohomish County.
The Port of Everett supports 40,000 jobs across the county and contributes $433 million to state and local taxes. That, however, is a fraction of what port officials believe it could be contributing.
"It's really about the future," said Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber. "What does the future need?"
Lefeber believes the future needs an expanded port.
Currently, about 110,000 people, mostly in and around Everett, are paying into the port's taxing district. That's out of a county with some 830,000 people.
Voters are being asked to expand the port's boundaries to include all of Snohomish County, except for the cities of Edmonds and Woodway, which are already part of the Port of Edmonds.
Voters will decide whether to pay an additional 18.8 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in property taxes. For the average home in Snohomish County, assessed at $550,000, it works out to about $103 a year.
"Ports create jobs. We promote jobs, recreation, environmental programs. That's what we do. We need to be able to provide those resources to other parts of the county. Right now we can't," said Lefeber.
But opponents, like Mountlake Terrace attorney Ron Steingold, argue the port is being too vague about what it would do with all that additional money.
"They don't have any specific plan for how they're going to use it," Steingold said.
He worries the port won't stop at the current taxation level.
"They can increase the tax to 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and go even higher if they do bonds," said Steingold. "This is a tax that doesn't go away. It will only get worse."
The money would be used for environmental cleanups, public access to waterways, tourism and improvements to the transportation network. The money cannot be used for salaries or operations.
The port is not committing to any particular projects, right now, because officials want to seek input from each community about their needs, according to Lefeber.
Supporters say for every dollar the port invests, it yields nearly $8 for the community's economy.