HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report Letter to the Board
Accounting 509-962-7502 • Elections 509-962-7503 • Recording 509-962-7504 • Licensing 509-962-7505
•www.co.kittitas.wa.us/auditor•
Jerald V. Pettit
Kittitas County Auditor
205 West 5th – Suite 105
Ellensburg, WA 98926
509-962-7504 Fax 509-962-7687
November 20, 2020
Airport Leases – Fire Assessment
As the Auditor’s office assumed the billing of the Airport Leases in August 2020, we
noticed that in the contracts there is language referring to a Fire Assessment.
The information we received from Public Works is they were billing $1.50 per lease per
month (on most leases) and remitting these funds to Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue
(KVFR). Starting August 1, we put this money in a trust account, as we needed to
complete research on the issue.
The research concluded that the lessees at the Airport who had buildings were already
paying taxes on their building to the KVFR and the assessment was double taxation.
On November 12, 2020, we had a web meeting with John Sinclair, KVFR Fire Chief,
Commissioner Cory Wright, Auditor Jerry Pettit, Prosecutor Greg Zempel, Ken
Grannan, Airport Coordinator and Judy Pless, Budget & Finance Manager, at the
conclusion of the meeting, Prosecutor Zempel, stated we needed to inform the Board of
County Commissioners and request the Board to authorize the refund to the
lessee’s on the funds we have received and are currently in trust and to stop
billing for the fire assessment. Funds that have been collected and remitted to
KVFR, will be analyzed and determined the refund.
Included with this summary are the documents (the attached documents (#3, #4and #5
are for Airport Storage for our audit trail)
#1 Agreement dated February 16, 1982
#3 Tax Sifter Airport Storage tax information
#4 Airport Storage Lease
#5 Tax Sifter Airport Storage Parcel information
We will work with the prosecutor and airport personnel to see about the modification of
the existing leases. Currently airport personnel are working with the prosecutor for
language in the new leases.