Proposition 1 funds trees, greenspace, and readiness for hotter summers, wildfire smoke, and heavier storms and flooding. It provides affordable homes through ARCH, our regional housing partner, so seniors, essential workers, and our kids can live here. And it connects our neighbors to the food, utilities, and health care support they need.
It costs $3/month per $100,000 of assessed value — about $29/month for Kenmore’s median home. Eligible seniors, retired persons with disabilities, and disabled veterans are exempt from the increase. State law limits regular property tax increases to 1% a year, but Kenmore’s costs have risen about 5% a year over the past five years. This levy lid lift helps us keep services despite inflation, and without creating debt. State law requires these dollars fund only the purposes on your ballot.
Hotter, smokier summers, heavier storms, rising housing costs, and neighbors in crisis don't wait for a better budget year. And solutions get more expensive the longer we wait. It costs less to keep a family housed and fed than it does to react after they lose their home.
Cutting resiliency programs doesn't save money. It defers the bill. Vote Yes on Proposition 1.
Statment submitted by: Tracy Banaszynski, Edouard Lassalle, Juliana Pooley, www.yeskenmore.org
