Sam Low's eNewsletter
 Snohomish County Council
3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609
Everett, Washington 98201
8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building
Phone: 425-388-3494
E-Mail: Sam.Low@snoco.org
Darcy Cheesman, Legislative Aide
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Property Taxes
I hope 2018 is off to a great start for you. Property tax statements were mailed out in February. All of us faced
an increase due to our overall property values in Snohomish County going up as
well as the new levy tax regarding state funding of education. I have included a link to our county
assessor’s page that
provides information regarding the changes to the state school levy. As you are probably aware the state
legislature is looking at options for property tax relief. I am very supportive of property tax relief
to our citizens and it needs to be done correctly. Property taxes are a huge expense for our residents,
which is why we as a county council voted in November to pass a 0% increase for
the 2018 county budget.
Tourism
In
February I was able to attend some tourism meetings throughout the county. I am particularly interested in the unique
tourism landscape we have in the 5th district. I attended an agriculture tourism conference
and learned about new opportunities for our east county farmers to use their
property to promote tourism, bring attention to agriculture and still preserve
the land for future generations.
This month I will be joining my fellow councilmembers in DC
to advocate for Snohomish County needs.
Top of my list will be our transportation issues. I am committed to finding comprehensive alternatives
to our transportation issues in East County.
I have been speaking with the Port of Everett, Everett and East County
cities on how we can think outside of the box regarding east/west
connections. We cannot wait around for
WSDOT to consider Snohomish County and East County to be a priority. I want to look at out of the box solutions
that can be addressed on a local level through local and private
partnerships. I do not see tolling of
the US 2 trestle as a viable solution to our transportation concerns. We need to consider new connections and
roadways to address our current and future residents. We are on pace to add an additional 250,000 people
in Snohomish County. This is an issue we need to address now – not later.
On April
2nd the County Council will be holding its' nighttime meeting at 6pm at Brightwater
in the Maltby area. At 7pm I will
hosting a Town Hall event where the community is invited to ask questions about
county government. I have invited all of
our county-wide elected officials, county department heads and the 1st
district state representatives to join me at this meeting. I encourage you to come out and
participate.
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