David Goldman, presenter for Oak Harbor’s "Let's Talk Finance" video, outlined how Washington’s destination‑based sales tax works and how multiple local and state levies affect the city’s revenue stream.

Goldman said Washington taxes purchases where buyers receive goods or services and that the sales tax generally applies to most retail sales and certain retail services such as construction and contractor repairs. "In Washington, sales tax is based on the specific destination where the buyer receives the goods or services," he said.

The presenter identified four primary factors that influence sales tax collections: local, regional or national economic conditions; state mandates or initiatives that change taxable goods or redirect revenue; local land‑use decisions such as zoning and density that shape taxable activity; and economic development efforts that attract or retain businesses.

Goldman listed four sales‑tax revenue streams that flow to the city: the general sales tax (including the first and second half‑cent levies), the transportation benefit district (TBD) sales tax, the county criminal justice sales tax, and a lodging sales tax (the latter to be covered in a separate video). He said that with the adoption of certain county and state levies the effective sales‑tax rate in Oak Harbor will be 9.3% by April 2026. "With the passage of the county .2% tax and the adoption of the 2025 criminal justice tax by April 2026, the effective sales tax in Oak Harbor will be 9.3%," Goldman said.

On local revenue shares and recent totals, Goldman gave several figures. He described general sales tax revenue as unrestricted and used for the general fund, saying the city received $10,250,000 in the last biennial period and projects $10,850,000 for the current biennial. He said the city "keeps 85% of the revenues" under the state split as stated in the video.

Regarding the TBD tax approved by voters in November 2019, Goldman said first collections began in April 2020. He said revenues from the TBD are restricted to transportation projects identified in the city’s capital improvement plan and the Streetsaver pavement management system, and cited $2,410,000 received in the last biennial and $2,530,000 projected for the current biennial.

On the county criminal justice sales tax, Goldman said the county adopted the initial levy years ago and that Oak Harbor receives about a quarter of those collections; he said a little under $1,000,000 was received in the last biennial and $1,020,000 is projected for the current biennial, compared with a police budget of just under $20,000,000 for the same period.

Goldman also listed potential additional local options that have not been enacted: two that would require voter approval (a 0.1% city public safety sales tax and a 0.1% cultural access sales tax, with counties able to adopt up to 0.3% public safety), and two that do not require voter approval (an additional 0.1% available to the TBD and a 0.1% criminal justice tax that the state adopted in 2025 through House Bill 2015). He directed viewers to the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) revenue guide at mrsc.org for more information.

The video ends by inviting viewers to send finance questions to financequestions@oakharbor.org.

The figures and percentage allocations are reported as stated in the video; some phrasing in the recording about precise percentage splits was unclear and is reported here as described by the presenter rather than independently verified.