SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is pushing a plan he said would permanently ensure proper funding for the parks.
Murray is asking the city council to allow taxpayers to vote on if they want a new special tax district formed to fund the parks.
The tax district would have the authority to charge property owners $0.42 for every thousand dollars of home value. For example, a $400,000 house would be taxed 168 dollars.
The 2014 parks budget is $135 million, with an additional $37 million unspent from 2013. Murray’s plan would ensure funding levels for the park stay about the same despite any new income from a tax district.
That plan would raise about $54 million in new parks taxes each year. The tax district could charge up to $0.75 in the future and would be monitored by an appointed citizen group according to Murray.
The mayor said he believes people would pass the tax if it got through the council. KIRO 7 spoke with people in parks Thursday who both supported and were against the idea of a tax district.