The "R" is for Regional, not 'rithmetic

In the previous entry, I noted that something important was missing from the Kitsap Sun editorial opinion endorsing the idea of higher property taxes for the Kitsap Regional Library:

The relevant information is missing from the opinion, i.e., by how much has the library's tax revenue increased in the past five years?

Why didn't the Kitsap Sun and the Kitsap Regional Library tell people the actual amount of the library's revenue increases?

It seems apparent that the extent of the increases would have been an inconvenient fact for people to consider when deciding whether KRL needs a property tax "lid lift":

The total increase in property tax revenue from 2001 through 2006 turns out to be 18.2 percent.

It seems obvious that an increase of only 1 percent a year could not result in an 18.2 percent increase in only five years.

The lowest increase occurred in 2003, when the KRL levy went up by 2.75 percent, and the highest was 2006, when it increased by 4.1 percent.

The average annual increase in KRL property tax revenues since 2001 has been 3.4 percent.

Now it all makes sense: If the KRL can fool the voters into believing that their revenue has increased by only 1 percent each year since 2001, they may find it easier to persuade the voters to approve a higher property tax. And, it appears they can count on the Kitsap Sun to go along with the game.