City
County Proposes $200 Million Levy for Juvenile Justice Center
Four members of the King County Council, including Republican Kathy Lambert along with three Democrats, proposed a nine-year, $200 million property tax levy to replace the decrepit county Youth Services Center at 12th Ave. and E. Spruce St. in the Central District. If it's approved by the full council, the measure would go on the August 7 ballot.
Advocates of replacing the facility argue that the center, which houses the county's juvenile court and detention center, has been decrepit and overcrowded for years, with sewer, air, and heat systems failing on a regular basis and courtrooms so small they force family members---who, in many cases, are on opposite sides of family disputes---to crowd together along with courtroom staff.
Originally, the county proposed a "cost-neutral solution" that would move the juvenile detention center to another location, such as trading county land to a developer in exchange for a replacement facility.
The ballot measure would ask voters to approve a property tax increase of seven cents per $1,00 of assessed value, or about $25 a year for a house worth $350,000---an amount council member Joe McDermott, a Democrat, called "a small investment in dignity and justice” in a statement.
The county property tax levy would likely be on the same ballot as a Seattle-only library levy, which would pay for library staffing, maintenance, and materials, and would also be a property tax.
I've got calls out to city council members to find out whether they think the juvenile justice center levy will compete with the library levy.
Advocates of replacing the facility argue that the center, which houses the county's juvenile court and detention center, has been decrepit and overcrowded for years, with sewer, air, and heat systems failing on a regular basis and courtrooms so small they force family members---who, in many cases, are on opposite sides of family disputes---to crowd together along with courtroom staff.
Originally, the county proposed a "cost-neutral solution" that would move the juvenile detention center to another location, such as trading county land to a developer in exchange for a replacement facility.
The ballot measure would ask voters to approve a property tax increase of seven cents per $1,00 of assessed value, or about $25 a year for a house worth $350,000---an amount council member Joe McDermott, a Democrat, called "a small investment in dignity and justice” in a statement.
The county property tax levy would likely be on the same ballot as a Seattle-only library levy, which would pay for library staffing, maintenance, and materials, and would also be a property tax.
I've got calls out to city council members to find out whether they think the juvenile justice center levy will compete with the library levy.
