Vote no on levy | Letter
Published 1:30 am Friday, April 17, 2026
Think twice before just voting yes on yet another levy lid lift.
When San Juan County seeks funding above an existing budget, the first solution proposed is another levy lid lift. School levy, hospital levy, EMS levy, Fire District levy, Library levy. Doing without it is framed in urgent, drastic terms. It almost sounds as if Sheriff, EMS, hospital, and all county services will shut down without a YES vote. This is not true. Sold as a small monthly increase for property owners and a panacea for all islanders neglects to mention the long term impact such permanent taxes have on everyone. Affordability is already at a crisis level. Most permanent residents cannot find affordable housing for either purchase or rent. Often renters believe a levy lid lift “only impacts property owners” so voting in favor of it shouldn’t impact them as renters. Wrong. Property owners cannot simply absorb lid lift after lid lift as the county seeks to expand the revenue base. The cost to the property owner is simply passed along to renters in the form of higher rent. How many more empty storefronts and restaurants do we need as businesses are forced to leave due to constantly rising rents? Jeremy Nash wrote an excellent explanation of the levy lid lift trap in The San Juan Islander. It can be viewed here: https://sanjuanislander.com/jeremy-nash-the-levy-lid-lift-trap-how-property-taxes-quietly-undermine-san-juan-islands-affordability/.
This should be required reading for all voters.
David Jenkins, San Juan Island
