ELECTION 2017: November vote sought for retitled Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy

What is known right now as the Veterans and Human Services Levy will become the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy before voters around King County are asked to renew it this November. The announcement came today from County Executive Dow Constantine, noting that this is a one-of-a-kind program:

No other county in the United States has a voter-approved levy of the same scale or scope that is dedicated to serving veterans, active service members, and their families. For more than a decade, it has helped veterans succeed by connecting them with housing, employment and treatment.

So what exactly does/would the levy pay for? Here’s a three-page PDF fact sheet from the county. And here’s the summary of its cost:

The rate would be 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. For the owner of an average home in King County ā€“ currently about $450,000 ā€“ that would mean an increase of about $3 per month, going from $1.50 per month to $4.50 per month.

You can read the full announcement by going here.

29 Replies to "ELECTION 2017: November vote sought for retitled Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy"

  • Mark Schletty May 22, 2017 (1:20 pm)

    Despite its title, this levy is mostly pushed as something to help our veterans. While i strongly support this notion, and the Seniors and Human Services efforts, I have not been able to assertain how much of the money goes to veterans services and how much goes to the other areas, which are very broad. Despite the levies title, it really appears to be a giant slush fund. I no longer trust King County with a slush fund. I can’t justifiy a vote for a levy without specificity of the funds use, even if I support the general idea.

      • Mark Schletty May 23, 2017 (12:22 pm)

        Thanks for the link. Im not an accountant, but i question the reports numbers. The bottom line expenditures indicate a 50/50 split between veterans and the other programs (amazingly to the penny). But the line items add up differently, with about 1/4 to vets and the rest to the other programs. It just seems like creative bookkeeping to me, but i am not an accountant.

  • Celeste17 May 22, 2017 (1:43 pm)

    Why does everything have to be rolled into the property tax?  My bill already jumped because of sound transit and I can barely afford the tax as it is.  I don’t want to hurt vets or seniors but enough already.

  • rob May 22, 2017 (2:35 pm)

     a nickel here and a nickel there add up to a dollar a dollar here a dollar there adds up to a hundred dollars a hunderd dollars here well you get it 

  • anonyme May 22, 2017 (2:57 pm)

    How exactly will even higher property taxes help seniors stay in their homes?  As I read it, this is a doubling of the current levy rate.

    No.

    • West Seattle Hipster May 22, 2017 (3:23 pm)

      Ironic that they are raising taxes to “help seniors” but making their cost of living more expensive.

      Our local governments almost seems like an “Onion” article or an old episode of “Almost Live”. 

  • Rick May 22, 2017 (3:01 pm)

    I read this AM  about the WHO spending more on luxury travel then AIDS,TB and malaria combined.  I always thought they were a vital organization.  Guess we all need to do more homework before freely giving money to outfits with worthy sounding names.

  • jack May 22, 2017 (3:06 pm)

    while it is incremental and by itself not a lot when you roll it with everything else you end up with incremental creep which is killing middle class home owners

    I must say no more to property taxes…our leaders must find another way to fund everyone of their pet projects 

  • mikekey May 22, 2017 (3:43 pm)

    They can help this 70 year old senior by NOT raising my property taxes yet again.

  • XXX May 22, 2017 (4:13 pm)

    Agree… no to any property tax increases.

  • TheKing May 22, 2017 (4:40 pm)

    Other commenters said a backlash would happen after the current mayor went wild bombarding homeowners with taxes. Now a small levy comes up and people have had enough. Schools will get the bad end of the deal too. Good job Ed. 

  • bob May 22, 2017 (7:07 pm)

    vote no on every property tax.  so unfair.  

  • DH May 22, 2017 (9:18 pm)

    The electorate agreed that they wanted to be involved in deciding how taxes are spent by the decision to support the Tim Eyman initiatives and some other votes. These constant levys are the result of those choices. If you want to allow government to do its job by means other than sales and property taxes then vote for it. We pay less in taxes than most other places. State # 34 according to wallethub https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/ but 13th in state population. It’s not that bad! You know what the crime rate is going down too. http://www.areavibes.com/seattle-wa/west+seattle/crime/. Reality beats perception. How the money is spent is all online. Just look for it.

    • Canton May 22, 2017 (11:06 pm)

      We can’t compare our costs to other cities. That’s exactly what our politicians try to do. NYC pays this much for that, LA pays this much for that. THE only job our elected politicians have, is to find more funding. Lets hire folks, to do what we do, find ways to use what we have wisely. Since they are employed by us, spending transparently.

  • JanS May 22, 2017 (9:56 pm)

    I’m glad you all have a home with which to pay property taxes on. Divorce made me sell my home in 1997, have never been able to afford again, so lucky you !…and I have dealt with astronomical rent rates ever since…and yes, those rates include property taxes on property I don’t own. It’s damned tough being a senior(also a vet) in this economy…anyone else finding that out?  Will I vote for this?  Too early to make up my mind. Google is my friend, and I will do my research…not going to prematurely make up my mind. We don’t have a state/county/city income tax….if you pay no more property taxes, how will we pay for that pothole on 35th? Just things I think about…you will still use 35th, just don’t want to pay for it or anything else, so it seems. What a conundrum. Do you have better ideas than just saying “no”? I’m asking seriously…..the prices on things is NOT going to go down, ever…so what’s your answer? Someone/something has to pay for  all the things. How would you all do it? Or would you just say no to everything that costs you. It ain’t a free ride….

    Waiting for the tongue lashing from my neighbors…it’s inevitable

    • TheKing May 23, 2017 (6:19 am)

      Not here to give you a tongue lashing, but when you mention “if we don’t pay property taxes, who will pay for the pothole on 35th”, that really should be taken care of by the .49 cents per gallon fuel tax, instead that money is being used to reduce lanes throughout the city. Ask your state and local reps to take a pay cut, since they are essentially forcing one on you every time a new tax is proposed. Fiscal responsibility should be a priority. Tax and spend got us here. 

  • Westside May 22, 2017 (10:03 pm)

    Why property taxes, many ask? There are only three real options: property, sales, or income. Until people realize that we are being crushed under the weight of the first two due to a lack of the last, this beat will continue. Income tax NOW! 

  • ts May 22, 2017 (11:07 pm)

    It’s great that we can vote on it. Problem is more vote yes than no for whatever reason. 

  • BJG May 22, 2017 (11:15 pm)

    What? Not again! These seniors, and this veteran can barely hang on to our home as it is. Property taxes are devastating us. Who are these no-vision pols who are back at the well again? Vote no. Vote them out. We’re done. This will not help nearly as many as it will hurt. They don’t even have a plan for the cash, but will have new administrative jobs to use it up. Just wow!

  • Donna May 23, 2017 (2:43 am)

    I’d like to say yes to the many seemingly good causes. However, they come along one by one, each claiming to increase property taxes by just a small amount, but the cumulative annual totals are getting to be beyond my household’s budget. Combine property tax increases with vehicle license tab increases (“Oh my gosh, I voted for it and now I have sticker shock when the bill arrived”), upcoming likely sales tax increases, etc., potential cuts in federal funding without a commensurate cut in federal taxes and locals therefore clamoring to increase local funding…oh, and let’s not forget likely increases to pay for education. What am I forgetting? Oh, increased medical expenses if ACA is repealed rather than fixed. Will a state income tax be enacted quickly enough to save my household budget for the next several years? Or is a reverse mortgage in my near future, along with possibly draconian personal household budget cuts?

  • Wscommuter May 23, 2017 (10:02 am)

    I find it ironic that the folks posting here who complain about increasing property taxes are most apt to be the same ones who would scream bloody murder if we switched to a progressive income tax state-wide.  @Westside has it exactly right – if we’re not willing to go to an income tax, then property and sales taxes are the only path.  

    Democracy is messy and inefficient.  But I’ll gladly take it over the alternative.  

    • Dan May 23, 2017 (3:24 pm)

      You find it ironic?  Really?  Let me make it perfectly clear.  Our taxes (of whatever type) are getting higher every year, and basic services (like pothole-free roads) are being shortchanged.  Yeah, absolutely, many of us are against an income tax.  Because we know they’ll just add it on to all the other taxes we’re paying.

      Sorry, “the only path” isn’t constantly increasing taxes.  The city and county need to scale back on their greed, and be much more efficient with the taxes they currently collect.

      Nobody (so far in this thread) is saying they want to ditch democracy.  You’re using a straw man argument here.

  • millie May 23, 2017 (4:45 pm)

    As a “senior” I say “HELL NO!” to any more levies.   Enough is enough!  

    I would not be adverse to a State Income Tax if the sales tax was eliminated, property taxes could not be increased via ad nauseum levies, reduction of other taxes (business and occupation).  Until our State Legislature can come up with an equitable  tax system, it will continue to be NO.

    • WSB May 23, 2017 (4:48 pm)

      Please note, as I fear this fact has gotten away from discussion here.
      This is NOT a new levy. It’s a renewal of an existing one first approved 12 years ago.
      It’s not at the same rate – as noted in the county’s announcement – but it’s not a new levy. Its predecessor expires this fall and this is the proposed replacement. – TR

  • dcn May 23, 2017 (7:09 pm)

    I would probably vote for a levy replacement at the same rate. However, I don’t see why  levy rates keep increasing when property values have been rising so rapidly. That alone would bring in a lot more revenue without increasing the levy rate. They’ve done this with other levies in the past couple of years too.  In addition, we are adding housing stock to Seattle with all the new construction. That would also bring in more revenue at the same levy rate.

    So, I will vote no on this. If it fails, and they come back with a replacement levy at the same rate, I’d vote for that. But, there’s no point speculating about that, since I’m sure it will pass, just as every other levy passes. I consider myself very liberal, but this city has a way of bringing out the fiscal conservative in me.  This may be partly because I will eventually become one of those middle income property owners edged out of Seattle if the ever-expanding existing levies and brand new levies keep passing.

    • Sam-c May 23, 2017 (8:28 pm)

      I’ve wondered that before also.  If all the property values are going up, don’t the levies make more money based on that?  Not to mention all the SF lots being redeveloped with multi units? Why do they need to raise the percentage? It sometime feels like you’re getting fleeced.

  • BJG May 23, 2017 (7:14 pm)

    Wscommuter: Please, please throw me in that state income tax briar patch now that my income is a pittance….IF my sales tax also goes down and my property tax becomes less insane! You are obviously not living at the poverty level yet. Lucky you. You should not grow old in Seattle.

  • Canton May 23, 2017 (8:29 pm)

    The problem with an income tax is, they won’t eliminate the current taxing structure. Most of the every other month levy proposals (it seems) , have 5 plus years on them, and have been voted in. Not to mention the county asking for more too. So those won’t go away. So to ADD an income tax to those already voted in, is a huge burden to those trying to NOT be part of the new homeless levy proposed by being displaced.

Sorry, comment time is over.