{"id":44250,"date":"2020-02-05T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T20:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/king-county-council-could-place-roads-levy-lift-on-2020-ballot\/"},"modified":"2020-02-10T16:46:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T00:46:51","slug":"king-county-council-could-place-roads-levy-lift-on-2020-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/king-county-council-could-place-roads-levy-lift-on-2020-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"King County Council could place roads levy lift on 2020 ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"
King County voters could be presented with a levy lid lift measure on either the August or November ballot this year in order to increase funding for roads and bridges in unincorporated parts of the county.<\/p>\n
The lid lift would raise the amount King County could collect to its statutory limit of $2.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Over the following six years, the measure would allow for inflationary growth to keep pace with needs. The current collection rate is $1.81 per $1,000.<\/p>\n
The proposed levy lid lift could raise some $164 million over eight years. The levy could increase taxes for a median home by about $224 a year and, if approved, would go into effect in January 2021. The King County Council will vote to approve or deny the ballot measure in the coming months.<\/p>\n
King County Department of Local Services Director John Taylor said the budget shortfall facing his department stems from structural problems.<\/p>\n
“The Roads Division are probably one of the biggest victims of that,” Taylor said at a Feb. 3 Local Services Committee meeting.<\/p>\n
While this would increase funding by about $22 million annually, it’s still less than what’s needed to fund the county’s Roads Department. Incorporations and annexations have steadily been chipping away at the county’s funding base. As neighborhoods are brought into surrounding cities, the annexations decrease the amount of taxes the county receives. Consequently, a smaller number of people living in unincorporated parts of the county end up footing the bill for much of its roads and bridges infrastructure.<\/p>\n