Seattle Mayor hints at future levies during levy kickoff event

If Seattle homeowners were worried the city would stop asking for money following its Move Seattle transportation levy, their concerns may be for naught.

During a Tuesday kickoff event for the $930 million levy, Mayor Ed Murray hinted that more taxes are likely.

“There was a time that cities didn’t go out with levy after levy,” Murray said. “But given the shrinking revenue that the city collects … we will be back out at some future date for additional revenue.”

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Murray’s nine-year Transportation Levy to Move Seattle is a replacement levy for the nine-year Bridging the Gap levy. The city wants voters to approve the levy, which will give it $930 million to spend on road improvement projects, sidewalk repair, bridge retrofits, and improvements to walking and biking routes.

The new levy would cost a median Seattle household, valued at $450,000, about $275 a year. The expiring levy costs the same household about $130 per year.

The levy is justified by concerns city officials hear from residents, Murray said. When the discussion of growth comes up, the conversation almost always leads to improving transportation infrastructure, he added.

“We’re an aging city, we need to keep pace,” Murray said.

If approved, the levy would pay for $207 million in safe routes that provide better access to schools, transit hubs and other destinations. Maintenance and repair would receive $420 million to reduce the backlog of work along major arterials and busy streets. And another $303 million would be used for congestion relief and to “enhance transportation choices.”

Murray said the city is “so far behind” in terms of repairs.

“The city doesn’t stop growing, the rain doesn’t stop falling, the streets and sidewalks don’t stop disintegrating,” Murray said.