Support Kent roads and parks, vote yes on Prop 1

I am a resident and a business owner in Kent. I am also the president of the Kent Chamber of Commerce.

I support Proposition 1, Kent’s parks and streets levy. I also want to rebut some of the misstatements and errors presented by those against the levy.

One argument is that the business community is not willing to pay their fair share to maintain the roads. Business leaders recently proposed a B&O tax which would raise 5 million dollars per year based on the city of Kent income projections. The specifics of the proposal were discussed in a recent Kent Reporter article and is also available from the Kent Chamber of Commerce.

When the B&O ordinance was first brought before the full City Council the ordinance was defeated, not because some council members were “in the pocket” of the Kent Chamber of Commerce but because the ordinance was drawn up the day before the City Council meeting and council members did not have time to review the ordinance prior to being asked to vote. The council did act on two recommendations of the Kent Chamber. One was to conduct an efficiency study to determine if there were savings to be found by changing some of the operational processes.

In addition, we asked that the council take the time to meet with local businesses to discuss options for additional revenue from the Kent business community. After several weeks of meetings, the proposal mentioned above was released. While the Kent Chamber is opposed to the use of a B&O tax to raise revenues, we reluctantly agreed this was the most viable option given the immediate needs of the city. Also in the proposal are guidelines for implementation of such a tax.

One other point that seems to be forgotten is that businesses in the city also pay property taxes. Forty percent of the revenue raised by the levy will come from business-owned property.

Those opposed also tried to compare the property tax rates of Bellevue and Kent. If you compare houses in the two cities the $300,000 home in Kent would have a value of $675,000 in Bellevue, according to the home value index. Therefore the total tax on similar homes in like neighborhoods would be greater in Bellevue than in Kent, $6,525 per year vs. $3,969. Granted the tax rate is less in Bellevue, but this is a product of a more robust retail economy in Bellevue which results in greater sales tax revenues. Greater sales tax revenues mean less dependence on the property tax.

In this tough economy, it is difficult to consider voting for additional taxes even if the rate is only $0.37 cents per $1,000 dollars of assessed value. But maintaining our streets for safe and easy travel and keeping our parks open and safe for all of us to enjoy is critical to having a vibrant city. If those services deteriorate, so will our current property values.

And when we vote to raise our taxes, we want to make sure that the money is spent wisely and on the projects that were promised.

The parks and streets citizens committees came up with a specific list of projects. Those are the projects that will be covered in this levy. If you go to the City of Kent website you will find a list of all of the projects. It’s likely you will find one in your neighborhood that you have been wishing would be completed.

I urge you to vote for Kent Proposition 1, the parks and streets levy.

– Ken Sharp