A Battery-Powered Future for the Guemes Island Ferry

Did You Know Skagit County is planning a shiny new battery storage facility at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal to power an all-electric ferry for the Guemes Island route. Yep, we’re talking about swapping out the diesel-chugging M/V Guemes for a greener, quieter ride across the Guemes Channel. But what does this mean for our environment […]

The Escalating Cost of Living in Anacortes: 2015 – 2025

Did you know that Anacortes with a population of approximately 16,189 as of 2015 and 18,270 as of 2025, has seen sharp increases in property taxes, utility fees and cost of building homes from 2015 to 2025? We have discussed property taxes in previous blogs. This blog will focus on utilities fees and cost of […]

Challenging the Anacortes Budget Planning Process

Did you know that the Anacortes City Budget went up by 44% in 2022 and has maintained that level since then? During the period 2015 to 2021, the city budgets remained relatively stable. However, in 2022 Anacortes increased its budget by a whopping 44% and it has continued to increase since then (Chart 1). Why […]

Anacortes City Budget

Did You Know Anacortes revises its budget four times a year during its quarterly budget amendment process?  Citizens in Anacortes have raised concerns over the city’s 2025 proposed budget.  Comments have been submitted at the City Council meetings during budget planning sessions.  At the end of 2024, the City Council approved a $124 Million budget […]