(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said that he will soon announce a property tax levy renewal ballot measure with funding dedicated to the city’s youth.
During Harrell’s State of the City address on Tuesday, he said he will provide details on his proposed renewal of the city’s Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy, or FEPP, sometime next month.
The current FEPP is a seven-year levy totaling $619 million. It is set to expire at the end of this year. It has a rate of $0.37 per $1,000 of assessed value. The median Seattle homeowner is estimated to pay approximately $327 this year for the levy.
Harrell said the wordy “levy” has changed over the years as a result of impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes utilizing levy resources to maintain K-12 programming and post-secondary programming through the 2025-2026 school year.
“This levy has changed and adapted over the years, which it should,” Harrell said in his state of the city address. “The name is now a lot of words to describe a simple vision: to make this a city that embraces and supports young people – from cradle to career.”
The mayor hinted that his upcoming proposal would focus generated funding more on childcare in the city, which is noted as a priority by the city as costs for families continue to be expensive.
The city council must adopt the proposal by summer in order for it to appear on the ballot this November.
If passed by voters, generated revenue from the levy renewal would help add more hours of childcare and after-school care near Seattle elementary schools to provide relief for working parents.
Harrell points to the Seattle Preschool Program, which is funded by the current FEPP levy and focuses on developing pre-academic skills for Seattle’s younger children. According to Harrell, that program is now nationally recognized and serves 2,500 kids across 98 classrooms.
“We must bring that same boldness to childcare – Seattle can be a national leader in this regard – to get kids off on the right foot, support working families, and keep Seattle on the rise with a new generation,” Harrell said.
Other initiatives the levy would fund if passed include additional in-school health centers and boosted security staffing and violence prevention in and around schools.