Pro Shoreline meeting to hear about Parks and EMS Levies

ProShoreline Community Meeting - June 25, 2013, 6:30 pm

2013 King County Parks and EMS Levy Overview

Special Guest Speaker

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski

Shoreline Fire Department

17525 Aurora Ave N 

Shoreline, WA 98133

Parks Levy

King County Council approved a measure for the August 6, 2013 primary election ballot to replace the current parks levies, which expire at the end of 2013. The measure would generate an estimated $66 million per year from 2014 through 2019 through a CPI-indexed property tax levy lid lift of 18.77 cents per $1,000 of assessed value – an estimated $56 per year for the owner of a home valued at $300,000.  This levy would ensure the County’s 26,000 acres of parks, open space and 175 miles of trails remain open and can be maintained. The levy would also support the Woodland Park Zoo and a limited set of strategic enhancements to provide more and improved County parks and trails; acquire additional open space to serve our growing region; and fund two major trail corridors.

EMS Levy

This proposed renewal of a six-year levy would continue uniform medical care anywhere in the county, anytime. The current EMS levy expires on December 31, 2013. Therefore, a reauthorization of the EMS levy is necessary to provide a seamless transition into the new levy period. The EMS task force (a group of 19 elected officials) recommended a levy rate of 33 cents per $1,000 of AV (assessed value) to cover a projected expenditure level of $695 million over the six-year course of the levy program.