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