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Board questions proposal to reduce boat and RV personal-property tax rate
Summary
A staff-recommended change to apply the airplane personal-property tax rate to boats and RVs drew objections from several supervisors concerned about a last-minute reduction; Treasurer/assessor staff said most boat accounts are very low-value and the change would reduce staff time for low-dollar assessments.
Board members debated a proposed change to the personal-property tax treatment of boats and recreational vehicles that would apply the airplane tax rate (a fraction of a cent per $100) instead of the current mobile-home/motor-home rate. Mr. Maybach, who proposed the change, said the county has a large number of very low-value accounts and the change would reduce staff time spent on low-dollar assessments.
"We actually have 2,460 accounts that are 75¢ or less," Mr. Maybach said, arguing that most are small craft registered through wildlife agencies and that few accounts generate substantial revenue. Several supervisors pushed back, saying the change effectively preserves billing work while eliminating revenue and that they preferred exploring a threshold or floor rather than last-minute rate changes.
One supervisor moved to amend the budget to remove the proposed change for boats and RVs until it could be better understood; the motion failed for lack of a second. The board later adopted the FY27 budget package that included the rate change as presented.
