Word on the street (OK, on my gravel road) is that if the Public Hospital District (PHD) proposal passes, property taxes will rise by 30 percent. Another erroneous claim is that the PHD will raise property taxes 43 percent in two years. The reality is that property taxes for many DID rise in 2018, but that was due to increases in assessed property values and new taxes to support education.

Here’s the truth: the maximum increase above the 2018 tax levels due to the PHD would be about 9.5 percent when figured at the highest rate Commissioners may levy independently. See: madronavoices.com/phd-fact-accordion/. Click “How much have taxes changed over the year?”

At the maximum rate (75 cents per $1,000 assessed value), the tax on a $475,000 home would be a dollar a day. At 60 cents, the cost would be $285 per year. Most commissioner candidates anticipate that the levy would be less than the 75 cents per $1,000 maximum. That expense to homeowners could be offset by savings from residents not needing to travel to the mainland for every primary care doctor’s visit they or their children need.

Please vote YES to establish a Public Hospital District, and mail your ballot by Monday, April 23, or place it in the ballot box in the senior center parking lot by 8 p.m. on April 24.

Tom Eversole

Orcas Island