Seattle City Council Shows Early Signs Of Liking Housing Levy Plan
The Seattle City Council showed early signs of support Thursday for Mayor Ed Murray's housing levy. Murray has proposed a $290 million levy that's twice the size of the existing one.
The council will decide whether to put the measure on the August ballot. First, the council's looking at Seattle's housing needs.
A presentation by council staffers showed residents who make below the median income -- $60,000 -- struggle to pay rent. And two in ten renters spend more than half of their income on rent.
That hit a nerve with Councilmember Tim Burgess.
That "makes the case for why we need to renew the levy and why we focus on preserving or creating new affordable housing, because even at the 80 percent of median income, you'll be hard pressed," he said.
The size of the new levy would come at a cost to taxpayers: $122 per year for a median value home.
The City Council has eight more meetings on the topic before deciding on sending it to the ballot.
-
Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
More stories from Paige Browning »
