45th District Democrats to consider taking a position on King County Proposition #1 (public safety) at April meeting

At our upcoming meeting on April 1st, the 45th District Democrats will consider taking a position on King County Proposition #1, which is a levy lid lift placed on the April special election ballot by the King County Council. This proposition would slightly raise property taxes to allow the county to purchase new radio equipment for first responders. The current system is aging and in need of replacement. The ballot title is as follows:

Proposition No. 1
Regular Property Tax Levy for Emergency Public Safety Radio Network Replacement Project

The King County Council passed Ordinance 17993 concerning funding for a new, upgraded regional emergency radio network. This proposition would provide funding to replace the current aging emergency radio network used for dispatching and communicating with police, fire and other first responders. The proposition would fund capital and transition costs as defined in Ordinance 17993 and would authorize King County to levy an additional regular property tax of $0.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for nine years with collection beginning in 2016. The 2015 levy amount would be used to compute limitations under Chapter 84.55 RCW for the eight succeeding years.

The website for the campaign urging a yes vote can be found here.