Grant County does better with sales tax revenue
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 6 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 30, 2020 1:00 AM
EPHRATA — With three-quarters of 2020 in the rear-view mirror, Grant County is collecting more sales tax than it did in the same period last year. But the county government’s income picture is not all sunny.
Grant County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant said sales tax collections are 12 percent higher in the first nine months of 2020 than they were in the first nine months of 2019.
Also, the real estate excise tax, collected on real estate sales, is 9 percent higher through the first nine months of 2020 than the same period in 2019.
The county government’s increased revenue from sales and real estate taxes has helped offset a revenue decline from the cancellation of the concert season at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The county collects a fee on tickets and other sales at the Gorge. Pheasant estimated the lack of a concert season will cost the county about $1.4 million.
“We have a big hole to fill,” he said.
Property tax revenues are slightly lower than the budget projection, he said. More county residents have been paying their property taxes on time in 2020, so the county has collected less in interest and penalties on delinquent accounts.
With historically low interest rates available these days, the county’s investment fund is generating less than the budget projections. Pheasant said it has been a struggle to find investments that yield sufficient return.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.