Free Republic

Homeowners expecting to save $2,000 on their school property taxes should brace for a bit of sticker shock. According to figures from the county’s tax assessor, the best the average homeowner in the county can expect in savings thanks to the recently passed school tax relief laws is $544 during the next three years. “I think it is a bit disingenuous to tell people they will be saving $2,000,” said Cheryl Johnson, the Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector. “We will definitely pay less because of the new law, but I don’t want people to be deceived about saving $2,000.” The $2,000...

t will cost more than $11 billion to pay for the 14-mile monorail Green Line project and the debt to finance it, according to documents made public yesterday. That's more than triple what Sound Transit will pay for construction and debt service for its 14-mile light rail line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila. The total also is more than five times the construction tab alone for the monorail, a ratio that troubles state Treasurer Mike Murphy. "You've got to be kidding me," Murphy said yesterday. "That's ludicrous." He said the typical principal and interest payments on a state project amount...