In 2001 Washington voters approved a statewide initiative that restricted annual property tax levy increases to 1% WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. That has been state law for the last 24 years. This removed the ability of our county to increase our taxes by exorbitant amounts without voter approval.
This is also why you see so many ballots asking for your approval to increase your taxes. These are called a LEVY LID LIFT. The LID being the 1% limit, and the LIFT is the removal of the 1% restriction when voters themselves approve it.
Ten years ago, I proposed that we should add this same protection from tax increases to our County Charter. At the time, the councilors thought this was redundant since it was already state law. What most didn’t realize was that organizations like the Washington Association of Counties were already lobbying the legislature to remove the 1% limit.
Fast forward to 2025, and our legislature came very close to doing exactly that.
This is why I, again, would propose that we add this PROTECTION FROM PROPERTY TAX INCREASES to our County Charter, because the Legislature may chose to remove it next time, and the citizens of Clark County can be protected.