Leaders want higher sales tax for homeless funding

King County leaders want to implement a higher sales tax to generate money for the homelessness crisis in Seattle and surrounding cities.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced Monday afternoon he would withdraw a Seattle property tax levy and instead focus on a King County-wide sales tax measure.

“I am convinced that being bolder, going bigger and acting regionally is the only credible response to this growing crisis,” Murray said at a news conference.

The Mayor announced the plan alongside King County Executive Dow Constantine. KIRO-7 asked Constantine why anyone outside of Seattle should care.

“Homelessness is a challenge in Enumclaw and Covington,” Constantine responded. “This is a challenge in cities and towns and indeed in rural areas throughout this county. You just don't see it as much because you don't have the focus of the media there.”

Murray previously spoke about his homeless levy taxing property owners during his State of the City. He hoped to raise $55 million per year for homeless services.

The sales tax measure, to use a .1 percent sales-tax increase for homeless funding, is expected on a 2018 ballot. It's a $68 million per year funding package. The Mayor’s office says it will cost the average person an additional $30 a year. Though the actual cost will depend on how much a person spends.

It’s an election year for Mayor Murray, but he says that’s not the reason he withdrew his proposal to increase the property tax.

The latest overnight count in King County found about 4,500 homeless people were unsheltered.

Murray said "going bigger" with a regional effort, versus just a city effort, is the best way to address homelessness in Western Washington.

Also, he said that partnering with the county on the sales-tax hike would raise more money a city levy could.

"Homelessness is a complex issue requiring creative and collaborative approaches. Today we announce a regional effort to tackle what the city or county cannot do alone: more effectively deliver individualized solutions to get more of our unsheltered population into stable, permanent housing," Murray wrote on his verified Facebook page on Monday.

Waiting for the measure to go to ballot would give the city and county more time to make reforms to its current system, leaders said in a news conference on Monday.

In the meantime, Seattle will continue some of its city efforts such as its new navigation team, which is a team of police officers and contracted outreach workers, zeroed in on cleaning up a stretch of homeless encampments.

>> Related: Seattle's new ‘Navigation Team' tackles homeless camps under I-5

Scott Lindsay, the public safety advisor to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, told KIRO 7 as part of the Navigation Team’s ongoing efforts, more than 1,000 tons of garbage has been cleared from the encampments.

Lindsay said the Navigation Team members’ primary responsibility is offering shelter and services to people who are living outside.

For those who refuse help, Lindsay said, the city will “continually engage them” and offer services.

"We always hope that they will say yes, but we're also trying to set new boundaries for what's acceptable in the city," Lindsay told KIRO 7. "It's not ok to set up your tent in a dangerous location and throw trash on the freeway. You're not going to get away with that anymore."

Executive Constantine said the region needs to come together to create funding because the federal government is not helping when it comes to homelessness.

Seattle faces a loss of millions in federal money under President Donald Trump's administration for remaining a so-called sanctuary city for immigrants who are undocumented.

>> Related: Seattle sues Trump administration over threats against sanctuaries cities

Last week, Murray announced Seattle is striking back with a federal lawsuit against the Trump executive order. According to the lawsuit, President Trump is threatening to take away $55 million in federal money for city operating expenses, $99 million for construction and equipment and $2.6 million alone in federal assistance for Seattle police.

Cox Media Group