(9/5/2019: CAMAS, WA)
Are high Camas property taxes driving business out of and away from Camas?
Underwriters Laboratories, (UL) moved out of Camas about 5 miles down the road west, to Vancouver. According to the Camas Post-Record, the move to a smaller more efficient site would “help save money”.
Property taxes charged to UL grew from $224,579 in 2006, up to $283,638 in 2018. In the years 2016-2018, hefty tax interest and penalties were also charged. Camas property taxes from schools, city, county, and the port have grown dramatically, and are the highest in the county.
The Camas Post-Record wrote about the UL purchase, "The district is funding the UL purchase with dedicated impact fees designated to help accommodate student population growth in the school district, as well as state forest dollars... On Monday, the School Board unanimously approved issuing a $5.27 million, non-voted limited general obligation (LGO) bond to help finance the UL acquisition. The district’s underwriter sent the terms of the LGO bond to 52 lenders nationwide and JP Morgan Chase came back with the best offer — a 1.99 percent interest rate over a 10-year term, with the option of paying the loan off after June 1, 2022."
From the Camas Post Record:
"The former Camas home of Underwriters Laboratories — a consumer electronics testing and certification company now known as UL — will soon be a part of the Camas School District."
"The Camas School Board unanimously approved the $11.5 million purchase of the 57.6-acre property and 115,000-square-foot building at a Monday night board meeting..."
"In September 2018, the company announced it was moving to another location in east Vancouver and would sell the Camas property in the first quarter of 2019."
"Marc Mouser, the engineering manager at the Camas UL office, told the Post-Record last year that the move would help save money."
Read the entire article HERE:
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