Kent Mayor Dana Ralph announced Monday, Aug. 17, she will not send Proposition A to the Kent City Council to possibly refer to the voters on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.<\/p>\n
If approved, Proposition A would have added 30 police officers and support staff to the Kent Police Department. The King County Elections deadline for submitting ballot measures was Aug. 4.<\/p>\n
“Despite polling indicating voter support for the levy, I can’t in good faith ask Kent residents to raise their taxes during this challenging time,” Ralph said. “Families are struggling with basic things like utility bills – asking them to pay more during a global health pandemic isn’t what is best for our most vulnerable.<\/p>\n
“Instead, I will continue to work with the community to find ways to improve our public safety, sense of community and fulfill the city’s responsibilities within the budget we already have.”<\/p>\n
In July 2019, Ralph and then Council President Bill Boyce canceled a potential November 2019 measure at the last moment because the mayor said the timing wasn’t right. Ralph wanted the council to consider a property tax levy lid lift. A levy lid lift requires voter approval and allows a taxing district (in this case the city) to exceed the 1 percent limit on annual property tax collections for a period of up to six years.<\/p>\n
Police Chief Rafael Padilla told a Kent Chamber of Commerce crowd in October that voters could expect to see a ballot measure in 2020 to hire more officers. Ralph still had indicated support for such a measure that would increase the number of officers to about 195 from the current 165.<\/p>\n
Voters rejected in April 2018 by 57 to 43 percent a hike in utility taxes to 8 percent from 6 percent to pay for more officers. That would have brought in about $4.5 million a year to hire 23 more officers. The city levies a fee on electric, natural gas, cable and phone bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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