Assessor's Office

Taxes collected for dike maintenance and drainage maintenance are not a regular levied tax and thus fall outside of the statutory 1% limit. The total maintenance budget for one of these districts is dispersed among property owner by either total acreage or total market value.

CWA = Clean Water Assessment

The goal of Skagit County's Clean Water (Shellfish Protection) Program is to address and deal with non-point pollution. Special attention is paid to reducing fecal coliform pollution in Samish Bay. In 1994, as a result of bacterial pollution, the Washington State Health Department closed parts of Samish Bay to recreational and commercial shellfish harvesting. The Bay was so polluted that shellfish harvested from this area were poisonous to people. To remedy this, the county was required to come up with a program that would reduce contamination. CWA funds are also used for educating the public, cleaning up failing septic systems, salmon habitat monitoring and restoration, controlling storm water pollution, and water quality monitoring at 40 different sites throughout the county.

CODU = County Drainage Utility

The goal of Skagit County's Drainage Utility (CODU) is to address storm water and drainage problems. Often the source of a drainage problem is from surface water or runoff that has traveled from other parts of the County. Many water-related projects, ranging from construction of pump stations and piping to tide gates and ditching systems are eligible for Drainage Utility funding. Other eligible projects may deal with increased storm water runoff from developed areas and the impacts of the increased runoff.
State law mandates that funds collected by the Drainage Utility can only be spent on facilities to correct drainage concerns. The funds cannot be spent on any other type of project. The Drainage Utility does not address water quality related problems or needs, or habitat restoration projects, except within the context of a specific Drainage Utility project. If, for example, drainage problems require the replacement of a culvert under a road, it is acceptable to replace the culvert with one that allows fish passage, but if the sole reason to replace a culvert is to allow fish passage, Drainage Utility funds cannot be spent on the project.