PORT ANGELES – Clallam County Commissioners are considering a sales tax increase to pay for affordable housing.
Commissioners plan a hearing next month on the proposal to raise the sales tax one tenth of one percent.
Commissioner Randy Johnson has been working on the affordable housing issue. He says the revenue from the new tax wouldn’t entirely solve the needs for affordable housing, but could be coupled with other funding.
“You put them all together, again, it’s a sliver. It won’t solve all of our problems, but it certainly is a method to actually do something because I’ll tell you status quo is not an answer. Then on top of that, there are other things, you know, what else can we do? And of course, we’re looking at accessory dwelling units that are coming forward. That’s not the answer for everything but it’s certainly a piece of the puzzle and those are just examples of things that we’re all working on together. I underline together,” said Johnson.
If approved, the tax would generate about $1.5 million dollars a year.
The city of Port Angeles started collecting a similar increase two years ago. The state legislature passed a bill in 2019 allowing cities and counties to increase sales taxes a tenth of a percent for affordable housing.
County commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposal April 5th.