October 23, 2014- Vol 6, Issue 44
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If you hear music on Saturday, it's the return of Sumner's own Sunset Festival of Bands. This unique event provides mentoring for performing high school marching band and color guard students while the public gets to enjoy a day of family entertainment, including the Seattle Seahawks' Drum Line, Blue Thunder. At Sunset Chev Stadium, g ates open at 8:30 am and performances begin at 9:00 am. Kids under 5 FREE! Seniors, Students, Military and First Responders: $5 Adults: $10 More information here |
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Mayor's Update: Someone Else Paying Your Taxes
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I thought that headline might interest a few of you!
I have good news: other people are helping to pay $400 of your taxes each year to the City of Sumner. I'd better explain more. As we review the budget, on Monday night, we went over sources of revenue for the City. These include property taxes (although we're a small sliver of what you pay to the Auditor), sales tax revenue, taxes on utilities and phones, etc.
Interestingly enough, the week before, we received a list of New Per Capita Retail Sales Rankings For Washington State Cities. Sumner came in pretty high at Number 16 with $28,270. That means that our retail businesses are selling goods that value $28,270 for each and every one of us who live in Sumner. Why do we care? Because retail sales are taxed. When someone buys something in Sumner, it's taxed 8.8%, which means that $28,270 in sales generates $2,487.76 in sales tax revenue. Of course Sumner doesn't get all of that. The City gets 16% of sales tax revenue and the rest goes to the State, County, etc. So of that $2,487.76 in tax revenue, the City receives $398.04. So that's almost $400 that goes to help pay for services such as police and roads that we, as citizens, enjoy.
I know this can sound confusing, but the nice thing about sales tax is that unlike property tax or utility tax, the sales tax is often paid by those who don't live here. So, when your friends come to Sumner to buy a car or a piece of furniture, they're helping to bring money into the City for police, parks, roads, events, etc. that you would otherwise have to pay. For example, a lot of our sales tax revenue in Sumner comes from car sales. So in reality, "tiny overhead Sumner" is slogan that's good for those who buy a car as well as those who live here. I don't know about you, but I like that deal.
Like everyone else, I don't always like paying taxes, but I understand their need and rely on the services that are funded by taxes. The best deal is when other people are helping to fund our services for us!
Mayor Dave Enslow
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Remember, the Trail Opening Celebration is Thursday, October 23, starting at 2 pm. Hope to see you there (with rain gear)!
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You may have noticed some changes to the Sumner Pierce County Library parking lot. While Sumner loves trees and just earned a special award from the Arbor Day Foundation, these trees were becoming a hazard. Their branches were reaching down onto cars and pedestrians while their roots were pushing up, buckling the pavement and walkways. Thank you for your patience while we clean up from the old trees, repair the damage, and find more pedestrian-friendly varieties of trees.
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Speaking of trees, many are starting to change color, and leaves are starting to fall. Please rake leaves up and either compost or dispose of them in your yard waste. Please don't blow them into the street. That seemingly easy route clogs storm drains, creating dangerous street flooding and clogs the street sweeper, which has limited capacity for leaves.
To give you some extra help in disposing of leaves, next week, DM Disposal will allow its Sumner customers to put out extra garbage, yard waste (including leaves) and even an appliance for no extra charge. Coupons were mailed this week, so watch your mailbox and maybe shake a branch or two to encourage a few more leaves to drop this week.
If you haven't seen your coupons and you are a DM Disposal customer within the Sumner city limits, you can print coupons from a PDF here.
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The Annual Sunset Bowl is coming up October 24, when Sumner plays Bonney Lake in Sunset Stadium. In addition to football, there will be "foodbowl" going on in the parking lot. Sumner is competing with Bonney Lake to see who can bring the most food for each of our food banks. It's easy to participate--just bring food to the parking lot on game night and be sure to put it in SUMNER'S truck. At the end of the night, the city with the most food collected (by weight), wins! Of course, everybody wins as local families in both communities get much needed food!
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Public Notices
| Do you want to receive by email all land-use public notices that the City of Sumner sends out? If yes, send your email to niomik@ci.sumner.wa.us to add your name to the list!
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