PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County veterans assistance fund will get a cost-of-living increase for the first time in decades.

The Board of County Commissioners passed the increase during their meeting on Monday.

“There really hadn’t been any cost-of-living increase for them since the mid-’90s,” said John Hamilton, the chair of the Jefferson County Veterans Advisory Board (JCVAB).

The fund comes from a property tax line item and costs county property owners $2 to $3 a year, depending on the value of their properties, Hamilton said.

“That brings in an estimated cost of $53,000 a year,” Hamilton said.

The money is distributed to Jefferson County residents with incomes of less than 200 percent of the poverty level, Hamilton said.

The fund allows JCVAB to distribute grocery vouchers, re

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