The City of SeaTac is a unique community. Every day, thousands of workers, travelers, visitors, and airport users come into our city, creating demands on public safety services including police, fire, and emergency medical response. These services protect everyone who lives, works, visits, and does business in SeaTac.

Proposition 1 provides a fair way to fund essential services. Rather than placing the burden solely on SeaTac residents, this modest 0.1% Public Safety sales tax asks everyone who makes taxable purchases in our community to contribute—including visitors, travelers, workers who use and benefit from services.

Our city provides public safety services to a community that is far larger each day than the number of people who live here. It is only fair that the people who come to SeaTac and rely on our public safety system also contribute to keeping those services strong.

By acting now, the City of SeaTac has the opportunity to keep and maintain local control over how locally generated revenue is used. If King County were to impose its own public safety sales tax first, SeaTac would receive a smaller share of that revenue and have less control over its use. Vote Yes on Proposition 1

Statement submitted by: James Lovell, Damiana Merryweather

The people of SeaTac are awake and watching—again. In 2014, the City Council and staff imposed a utility tax on electricity, cable, internet, phone, and more. In 2015, voters replaced that council, the utility tax was repealed, and the City Manager fired. The new council even rejected the automatic property-tax increase. That began ten years of fiscal accountability, new sidewalks, surplus funds, and increased police staffing to keep SeaTac safe.

Since then, most of the City Council has been replaced by people with a different agenda. The surplus is gone, spending out of control, and now they want to raise taxes again—this time on our local businesses. A thriving business community has helped make SeaTac one of the most affordable cities in King County. Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs and price ourselves out of our own community. What’s next—another utility tax or property-tax increase? The council and staff are flirting with their own jobs—again

Please don’t be fooled. The B&O tax is a red flag for what could be coming if we don’t change course. We’ve done it before, we can do it again.

Vote No on this tax increase!

Statement submitted by: Susan Constable

Proposition 1 this is not a tax on SeaTac residents or local businesses.  It is the best tool we have to recover revenue from the thousands of travelers who visit SeaTac every year.  In a time of unprecedented increase in public safety costs, it is the best way to ensure that residents and visitors alike continue to have reliable public safety and emergency services.

Statement submitted by: James Lovell, Damiana Merryweather

A Public Safety Sales Tax is even higher than a B&O tax. Those, and new utility taxes, were all planned for at the same council meeting. This council and staff have a spending problem—SeaTac residents are already taxed to death. The Airport is a red herring. The largest transactions at the airport—airline tickets—are exempt from sales tax. These new taxes are regressive and hurt residents.

For all our sakes, Vote No!

Statement submitted by: Susan Constable

Download the full text of the ordinance

Simple majority (RCW 82.14.450)

For questions about this measure, contact: Cindy Corsilles, City Attorney, (206) 973-4662, cityclerk@seatacwa.gov