Do Bellevue residents have a reason to increase property taxes?
Oct 25, 2016, 8:30 AM | Updated: 9:04 am
Bellevue. (KIRO Radio)
(KIRO Radio)
Bellevue’s growth has happened so quickly that the city has had little time or money to build infrastructure to keep up with it. That’s why it is asking voters for a property tax increase to pay for road improvements.
The city is asking its residents to increase their property taxes by 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That would cost the average Bellevue homeowner about $96 a year. The average home price in Bellevue is $640,000.
Ron Kessack, assistant director of the Bellevue Transportation Department says most of this money would be directed toward the neighborhoods to add improvements that residents have requested.
“It is designed to work on a backlog of neighborhood projects,” he said. “These are projects that have been requested in the past that, although we may have some funding to address that type of project, we don’t have funding to address it in a timely manner.”
That includes sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and other improvements.
It’s a 20-year levy. Opponents say it is short on specifics and provides too much leeway for the city to divert funds to other projects. They also say these improvements should be paid for by developers.
Will this levy, if passed, actually make the neighborhoods in Bellevue safer?
KIRO Radio traffic reporters Candy Harper and Chris Sullivan discuss
