County Council sends proposed levy increase for construction of Children and Family Justice Center to August ballot

The Metropolitan King County Council today unanimously approved sending to the voters in August a nine-year property tax levy lid lift proposal to raise revenue for the construction of the Children and Family Justice Center. The new facility would replace the County’s aging Youth Services Center located at 12th and Alder in Seattle’s Central District.

“With the Council’s approval, this measure to construct a new Children and Family Justice Center will head to the August ballot for a vote of the people,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, who sponsored the proposal.

The Youth Services Center is the County’s central facility for cases involving children, which are among the most stressful for families—juvenile offender cases, child abandonment, abuse and neglect cases, and cases involving runaways. Here, court officers must decide whether a child should be removed from their home or whether a minor should be detained for committing an offense. Emotions can run high, and the Center provides support for families navigating the juvenile justice system.

The adopted legislation would ask voters to approve a nine-year property tax levy lid lift of seven cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which would raise approximately $200 million for construction of the Children and Family Justice Center. The cost to the median homeowner in King County would be less than $25 per year.

The revenue from the proposal would replace the three buildings on site—the Alder Tower, Alder Wing, and Youth Detention Facility. Five judges and 2 commissioners at the juvenile court handle 3,700 cases a year in the facility. The annual average daily population in the facility is approximately 70 individuals.

Sections of the facility are over 60 years old and have significant maintenance needs. By replacing all three of the buildings, the County also has the opportunity to reduce the size of its foot print on the 9.1 acre site located in the urban core of Seattle.