Blaine’s sales tax to raise 0.2 percent on January 1

Shoppers will pay an extra two tenths of 1 percent in sales tax in Blaine starting Monday, January 1. The increase will bring Blaine’s total sales tax rate to 8.7 percent, a result of a measure that was approved by 72 percent of voters during special election last April. City staff expect the tax to generate  $200,000  per  year in the next 10 years for fund transportation projects in Blaine.

In December, the Blaine City Council established a Transportation Benefit District, a special taxing district that is used solely to fund transportation projects for streets, sidewalks and trails.

The funds generated through the district will provide the city with a stable source of funding for  transportation projects and can be used to leverage state and federal grant funding. Only projects included on the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Program are eligible for grant assistance and funding derived from the Transportation Benefit District.

The city council adopted the program in June; it was sent to the Whatcom Council of Governments for     incorporation on the statewide Transportation Improvement Program in October. To learn more, visit bit.ly/2Bzjeos.