Property Tax Increase Part Of New WA State Budget Proposal

OLYMPIA, WA - State legislators on Thursday released some details of the budget agreement that should prevent a state government shutdown on Friday night. The budget comes at the end of a third special legislative session, during which Republicans and Democrats negotiated how to fund basic state operations - and how to deal with a state Supreme Court order to fairly fund education.

Here are some details of the budget proposal released Thursday by lawmakers:

• The total 2018-19 biennial budget is project to be at least $43 billion
• State property tax will increase by about 82 cents to $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed value
• Local property taxes will stay in place, but will be capped at a $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value beginning in 2019
• Tax exemptions on bottled water and fuel extraction will go away
• Those increases will help pay for a $7.3 billion increase in education spending over four years
• Included in that education increase: the minimum teacher salary in Washington will start at $40,000 per year; teachers will get an automatic 10 percent increase after five years of service; and administrator pay will go up by about $33,000 on average

Gov. Jay Inslee has until midnight Friday to sign the budget or else the state government will partially shut down. The state has already begun preparing to close down some services; state parks might close on Friday unless the department is assured the budget will be signed.

Image via state of Washington