Snohomish County Council News - Sam Low, District 5

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News from Sam Low

NOVEMBER 2019

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

Budget 2020

On November 12, 2019, following months of budget analysis and deliberations, the Snohomish County Council passed a 2020 operating budget without a general property tax levy increase for year 2020. It was also the first $1 billion budget in Snohomish County history.

Some highlights of the adopted budget include the following;

$1.6 million added to the County’s rainy day fund which is $600,000 more than the amount proposed by the Executive;
Fully funded the Prosecuting Attorney’s Justice Initiative to make streets safer;
0% general property tax levy increase; • $300,000 set aside to implement potential Law & Justice pending results of the Law & Justice study;
Trimmed expenditures including overtime requests, delayed hiring of certain FTEs, removed drone purchase and training.

I am proud of the budget we passed. Through collaboration and with a hardworking team we were able to work through this budget efficiently while not raising the County’s general property tax levy which is a very important issue to myself and to the residents of my district. I’m pleased that we could achieve that goal while still fully funding the Prosecuting Attorney's Justice Initiative to address the '2 gram rule' are of great importance to both public safety and the overall health of our community.

Agritourism with Greater Seattle Partners

City of Snohomish Councilmember Jason Sanders and I invited Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) out to see our incredible Agritourism farmers in the Snohomish Valley this last month.

Bob's Corn Maze

GSP is a public-private economic development corporation that works to ensure every person in our region has an opportunity to prosper.

Stocker Farms

We wanted to show GSP how our farmers are working to maintain the reality that farming in the county is a viable way to make a living. We toured three farms and GSP was greatly impressed with each farm and the unique experience each one had to offer.

Thomas Family Farms

Monroe High School Advanced Manufacturing Lab

Photo of instructor at manufacturing lab

In September, Monroe High School opened its’ Advanced Manufacturing Lab. This lab exposes students to hands-on learning with the Boeing Core Plus curriculum as well as students doing Robotic work.

I was able to take a tour of the lab along with Representative Shelley Kloba and Executive Dave Somers. It is great to see and experience the innovation taking place in our schools.

Open Space Taxation Program

This month I voted for protecting our open spaces from development.

The Washington State Legislature passed the Open Space Taxation Act in 1970 in order to support the maintenance, preservation, conservation and overall existence of open space lands for agriculture, forestry, natural resources, and scenic beauty.

The act allows property owners to have certain agricultural, forest, and open space lands valued at their current use for property taxation purposes rather than at their highest and best use (e.g. as developable residential land) as is typically the case with property assessments. This reduction in assessed value reduces the annual property tax bill for properties enrolled in the program, providing an incentive for the landowner to keep the land as open space. The forgone property tax obligations are shifted to other property owners within a given taxing district. Nine of the ten properties approved are located within my district.

Focus on Farming

Photograph of Nurturing Your Future podium at farming event

Focus on FARMING is a county sponsored event that features 24 great workshop classes, with six industry tracks, presented by some of the top experts in the country. This is a wonderful workshop that provides valuable information for our Snohomish County Farmers. The tracks this year included:

New and Beginning Farmers
Livestock Production
Business of Farming
Agritourism
Industrial Hemp Production
Flower Farming

This year’s key note speaker focused on mental health issues affecting our farmers. I am a huge supporter of our farmers and I am so proud of the work Snohomish County does to keep farming viable in our community.

43rd Street Open House

Snohomish County Public Works will host an open house to gather public input on the 43^rd Ave SE/Sunset Road project.

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5.

Where: Willis Tucker Community Park, 6705 Puget Park Drive, Snohomish, WA 98296.

The meeting will take place in the Gary Weikel room activity center.

Snohomish County Household Hazardous Waste Facility

Household hazardous wastes (HHW) are household products that contain potentially hazardous ingredients that require special care when disposing of them. HHWs are products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients, such as oil-based paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides. Improper disposal of HHWs can pollute the environment and pose a threat to human health.

The Snohomish County HHW facility is free to residential customers, with the exception of latex based paint. For loads larger than 40 gallons call prior to arrival. Conditionally exempt small quantity generator businesses may use the facility for a fee, and by appointment only. Call for fees and more information.

Location: 3434 McDougall Avenue, Everett, WA 98201

Hours of Operation:

Sunday through Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday through Saturday: 7:30AM - 4:00PM

The following items are accepted at the County's Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Station: