Entries in Wenatchee (12)

Thursday
May172012

Wenatchee’s Credit Rating Downgraded… again… 

Moody's Investor's Service has downgraded Wenatchee's bond rating this week because Wenatchee has declined to loan $1M to the Greater Wenatchee PFD to cover its upcoming interest payments. This downgrade comes despite Wenatchee's recent sales tax increases which were in part meant to raise revenue necessary to refinance the PFD debt and avoid such downgrades.

Hopefully the City of Wenatchee can reign in its spending to match revenues so as to avoid further detrimental credit rating downgrades.

More information can be found at the Wenatchee World.

Thursday
May102012

Central Washington Hospital Bond Rating Downgraded

According to the Wenatchee World, bond rating agencies Moody's and Fitch have downgraded Central Washington Hospital's bond rating. The revised ratings are Moody's Baaa3 and Fitch BBB-. These ratings are the lowest category for "moderate-risk" bonds.

Although Central Washington Hospital says that it doesn't anticipate taking on additional bond debt over the next 5 years, this downgrade is certainly a concern for the future of both Central Washington Hospital and greater north central Washington as a whole.

Tuesday
Apr242012

Greater Wenatchee PFD Voters Approve 0.1% Sales Tax Increase 

As of now, the city of Wenatchee has imposed a 0.2% sales tax and all nine PFD jurisdictions have also imposed (by vote of the people) an additional 0.1% sales tax. The 0.1% sales tax increase was passed with 64.54% in favor and 35.46% against. Wenatchee's effective sales tax rate is now 8.3% and East Wenatchee's rate is now 8.2%. For those keeping score at home, this is a contrast with Washington State's average rate of 8.80%.

For my previous discussion of the Greater Wenatchee PFD sales tax issues, check here.

Wednesday
Apr182012

Washington’s Balanced Budget Requirement

Washington State's Legislature has passed a bill (SB 6636) which implements on Washington State a balanced budget requirement that requires that all Washington State spending be sustainable over a 4 year period. This is a statutory protection.

The Washington Policy Center has more analysis here, and the balanced budget requirement doesn't take effect until the 2017-2019 budget.

 

Tuesday
Apr102012

Washington State B&O Tax Credits

Washington State has recently reinstated the "Motion Picture Competitiveness Program." This program offers a B&O tax credit to Washingtonians that contribute to a Washington motion picture competitiveness program. The credit is limited to the lesser of $1M or 100% of the contributions made by the person to a program during a calendar year. The motion picture competitiveness programs are designed to help bring film production to Washington State. The definition of a "motion picture" includes all types of video delivery including the internet.

The bill as passed can be found here.