Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout47 21 cs ,tip,\c$ COUNTY OF JEFFERSON State of Washington In the Matter of Supporting KPTZ' } Request for Statutory Relief from } RESOLUTION NO. 47 21 Leaseholder Excise Tax } WHEREAS, radio station KPTZ(FM 91.9) is the only primary broadcast outlet in Jefferson County, and WHEREAS, in full compliance with its local, non-commercial Federal Communications Commission broadcast license, KPTZ provides education, information and entertainment programming, and WHEREAS, in accordance with a local broadcast agreement, which includes Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend, KPTZ also provides emergency broadcasting services to the region in collaboration with the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, and WHEREAS, in an effort to improve functionality and ensure that KPTZ continues to provide essential services to the county, station listeners contributed nearly $1,000,000 in 2018 to build a new studio at Fort Worden, and WHERAS, construction of the new studio is nearly complete and final steps for the move are in process, and WHEREAS, KPTZ has been informed by the Washington State Department of Revenue that once in the new studio,the station will be subject to an annual assessment of Washington State Leaseholder Excise Tax (LET) at market rate for the improved facilities, and WHEREAS, as a small, listener supported and volunteer operated community radio station, the LET assessment would be an undue hardship and negatively impact community service, and WHEREAS, numerous non-profit, business and service organizations have been granted statutory relief from LET resulting from amendments to RCW 84.36, the LET enabling legislation, and WHEREAS, KPTZ is currently working with local legislators and proposing an amendment to RCW 84.36 to enable radio stations with the following characteristics exempt from LET: • FCC non-commercial licenses and partnership with the local Emergency Management Department • Serving counties with a population of less than 50,000 • Licensed in cities with populations less than 20,000 • Transmission capacity under 3,000 watts • At least 85% of programming produced locally WHEREAS, a bill with the narrow conditions outlined above would limit eligibility to no more than five radio stations in Washington, and WHEREAS, if the bill were to be enacted, the loss of revenue to the state would be negligible, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners hereby declares our support for legislation that would enable KPTZ to be permanently exempt from Leaseholder Excise Tax. ' of APPROVED AND ADOPTED this day of 4144,1.6/— , 2021. SEAL::: JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Ka De Chair 4 q" rY r .'l g o erton, Member ATTEST: .\\L di Eisenhour, Member 1161rolynJ0- C 1t/lrGallaway, CMC Clerk of the Board ywyd JEFFERSON COUNTY as rx5-eo BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Cliff Moore,Director,WSU Jefferson County Extension DATE: August 2,2021 RE: KPTZ Legislative Request STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Extension Director Cliff Moore will update the Board about a legislative request KPTZ will make to seek statutory exemption from Washington State Leaseholder Excise Tax (LET) and the station's request for a resolution from the County supporting that request. ANALYSIS: KPTZ is the only primary broadcast outlet in the County and its FCC license specifies that in addition to educational, information and entertainment programming, the station also provides emergency broadcasting services to the region in collaboration with the County Department of Emergency Management. In 2018, KPTZ listeners contributed nearly $1,000,000 to build a new studio for the station at Fort Worden which will enable an even better service to the community. Construction is now nearly complete and KPTA has entered into a 19-year lease with the Fort Worden Foundation and Public Development Authority (FWPDA). As KPTZ prepared to move, they were advised by the Department of Revenue that the station will be assessed Washington State Leaseholder Excise Tax. This came as a considerable surprise to the station, especially when none of the 15 other FWPDA tenants has this obligation. Department of Revenue staff have noted that while many other types of organizations have statutorily allowed exemptions to LET, an organization like KPTZ does not. Organizations such as day-care centers, churches, cemeteries, libraries, orphanages and medical research facilities were not exempt from LET in the original enabling legislation, but a later amendment to RCW 84.36 did provide the exemption. KPTZ will be working with our local legislative delegation and asking that they consider sponsoring legislation that would make a small, non-commercial public radio station exempt from LET. Recognizing that such an exemption would have a modest impact to state and county revenue, a bill could be narrowly crafted so that the impact would be limited and the benefit accrue to only a small class of stations which, like KPTZ, operate on a very small, listener- supported budget and provide essential services to a largely rural community. FISCAL IMPACT: Although estimates vary, it is expected that the amount of LET that KPTZ would be responsible for would be in the range of$3,000 to $3,500 annually. While this is a modest amount, as a listener-supported, non-commercial public radio station, even this modest amount would be a hardship for the station. With a carefully constructed bill, it is doubtful that more than five similar stations state-wide would be eligible for the exemption. As a result, the total loss of revenue to the state would be negligible and would have no real impact on county funding from the state. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board pass a Motion adopting the resolution as presented by early September so that it can be included with information provided to our local legislative delegation in preparation for the 2022 session. REVIE ED BY: Mark McCa , Interim County Adm. rator Date