SEATTLE — Seattleites will vote on whether to adopt the city’s biggest property tax increase on Election Day.
If voters approve Seattle’s Proposition 1, it would authorize an 8-year tax increase beginning in 2025 of “approximately $650 per $100,000 in assessed value, up to a maximum of $2,710 per $100,000 in assessed value, to fund transportation projects.”
The levy would fund safety and access projects on sidewalks, bridge maintenance, transit improvements, improved connections to the light rail, infrastructure modernization, and pollution reductions.
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The levy needs a majority of the vote to be approved.
The Seattle City Council unanimously approved the property tax increase and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the legislation shortly after.
The $1.55 billion, 8-year transportation levy would replace the expiring 2015 “Move Seattle” levy. The new transportation levy would increase the expiring levy rate by 70% on a median home.
The original proposal by the Seattle City Council focused on basic infrastructure. Harrell’s original levy proposal called for $1.35 billion.
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That amount was refined after public comment and after City Council Transportation Committee Chair Rob Saka added more to the proposal to get to the final amount.
Opponents of the levy have said the tax increase will only continue to negatively affect affordability in Seattle. Saka and other council members have suggested that public polling shows voters are willing to spend more money to get transportation improvements.
Saka’s proposal that was approved would invest the funding from the $1.55 billion transportation levy package in the following ways:
- $403 million in street maintenance and modernization
- $221 million in bridge infrastructure and safety
- $193 million in pedestrian safety
- $160.5 million in Vision Zero and school and neighborhood safety
- $151 million in improving transit corridors and connections
- $133.5 million for bicycle safety
- $100 million to install and maintain traffic signals and improve mobility
- $69 million to better address climate change, protect the environment, and increase our tree canopy
- $66.5 million to activate public spaces, neighborhoods, and business districts
- $45 million for economy-focused improvements to our freight transportation system
- $7.5 million for good governance, oversight, and property tax relief education
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. All ballots returned via mail must be postmarked by Nov. 5. Voters can also submit their ballot by using one of the 608 ballot drop boxes or voting centers across the state. Ballot drop boxes and voting centers are open until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Click here to see a full list of ballot drop boxes and voting centers in Washington state.
