The Port of Coupeville will be holding a special meeting Friday after learning previous action taken in regard to tenant leases at Greenbank Farm was not legal.
During an Sept. 21 special meeting, the board of commissioners agreed to keep tenant lease rates the same and cover the $13,000 in leasehold taxes just for 2016. Leases would be renegotiated for 2017 and beyond. Each tenant at Greenbank Farm is required to pay a 12.84 percent leasehold tax.
That action was not legal, according to port staff.
“Department of Revenue says the leasee has to show they paid the tax,” said David Day, executive director for the port. “The passing and wording of that motion is just not feasible.”
After learning of the issue and doing some further research, board chair Marshall Bronson called for a special meeting 10 a.m. Friday at the Coupeville Masonic Lodge.
“I didn’t do the right thing,” Bronson said. “It is illegal for us to pay the leasehold tax.”
According to Day, one of two things could be decided at the special meeting. Either the board could decide to lower tenants’ base rates to accommodate the cost of them paying the leasehold tax or the board could decide to keep base rates the same and tack on the 12.84 percent tax.
Under current lease agreements, the Greenbank Farm Management Group is covering the cost of the leasehold tax out of funds generated at the farm. This fits within the parameters of the law, Day said, because the management group is the leasee at the farm and all the tenants hold subleases.
Bronson said the discussion of leases will be done in executive session, something that should have been done previously. The board discussed lease parameters in open meeting Sept. 21 at the pressure of the crowd.
Bronson said the discussion was had because he felt “cowed” by a specific person in the audience.
“I didn’t take charge,” Bronson said.
Also on the agenda for Friday’s meeting, the board will discuss alternate dates to extend the budget process and final filing of the 2016 budget under RCW 42.30.110.
“It’s hard to do the budget when you don’t know what money you’re going to have,” Bronson said.
