SPOKANE, Wash. – Mayor Lisa Brown has proposed a property tax hike to fund public safety programs. However, not all city leaders agree that the increase is necessary.
Mayor Brown spoke at City Hall on Friday morning and said that Levy would raise nearly $40 million for the city over the next five years.
This is a cost specifically for Spokane home and property owners; the total is an additional $323 in property taxes each year.
Mayor Brown said she takes this cost seriously, but the benefits outweigh the price tag. She added that if it does not pass in August, she’ll have to make some tough decisions.
“If the levy doesn’t pass, there will be significant negative impacts on our current ability to serve people up in Spokane and to keep them safe,” said Mayor Brown.
However, City Council Member Michael Cathcart is skeptical.
“I think it’s a scare tactic to say that we’re gonna go cut public safety if this doesn’t pass,” Cathcart said.
The council member did not commit to supporting or opposing the levy.
“It is a monstrous tax increase of this size. The right answer is. I just don’t know yet,” Cathcart said.
According to the Spokesman-Review, the funding will be allocated as follows:
-
$100 million to policing services
-
$84 million to fire services
-
$5.6 million to courts
-
$1.8 million to community resilience
-
$1.2 million to the watchdog group that oversees the police department.
Mayor Brown added that although the costs seem significant, it could save the city’s bottom line.
‘When you do them right, and you do them at the appropriate scale, they actually save resources as well,” Brown said.
The mayor added that it provides an answer to the question: ‘what is the city doing to protect its citizens.’
“With this levy , we can provide people with the assurance that the things that they care about can actually be funded by the city.”
