The Vashon Health Care District commissioners passed a $1.95 million levy and budget for 2022 at their Nov. 17 meeting.

The new levy, up less than $5,000 from the 2021 levy, includes a new levy rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on properties. In comparison, the 2021 levy, collected 58 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Because Vashon’s assessed value has increased significantly, the taxes property owners pay to the district will see little change. Some islanders may pay slightly higher or lower property taxes to the district depending on the type of property they own.

The budget anticipates $2.04 million in revenues and $1.73 million in expenses. The difference is budgeted to pay down a loan the district received in January 2020 from King County to pay its expenses before it could collect property taxes.

The district’s largest 2022 expense is its subsidy to Sea Mar to operate the Sunrise Ridge clinic. The subsidy has not changed and has remained the same as 2021’s at $1.5 million.

The other significant source of revenue for the district is $91,000 paid to the district by Sea Mar for the rent on the Sunrise Ridge clinic building. The district then passes on payments to Sunrise Ridge Health Services, as the district leases the building from Sunrise Ridge.

The remainder of the district’s expenses, subtracting clinic rent, will go towards administrative expenses. This totals $137,000, which is up about $4,000 from the 2021 budget. Most of those funds are allocated to salary, benefits and payroll taxes for the district’s two part-time employees.

Commissioner Eric Pryne stressed that the new levy will not affect the tax collections of other island districts.

For instance, in 2021, the Vashon Park District experienced funding woes when higher levies than expected were passed by the Health Care and Fire Districts. However, new legislation was passed in April that prevents this same thing from happening in 2022.

According to the Washington state Constitution, property taxpayers cannot pay more than 1%, or $10, per $1,000 of their assessed property value in regular-levy property taxes.

Of the $10, up to $5.90 is set aside for cities, counties and most special purpose districts. If their levies, in aggregate, exceed $5.90, the tax collections of districts given the lowest priority in law are trimmed until the limit is reached, a process known as “pro-rationing.”

That’s what happened to the Vashon Park District in 2021. However, a bill was passed by the Legislature in April that moves the district out of the $5.90 structure.