Committee votes to boost Seattle library levy by $70M
Apr 9, 2026, 12:55 PM
The Seattle Public Library's central branch. (Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A Seattle City Council committee has voted to expand Mayor Wilson’s proposed library levy, raising it from $410 million to nearly $480 million.
Despite voting for the measure, Select Committee on the Library Levy Chair Maritza Rivera voted against the amendments that increased its size.
“This is not about who loves the libraries more,” she said at the committee meeting on Wednesday. “This is about fiscal responsibility and our ability to pay for all our needs.”
“Any pennies we pinch now will cost us dollars seven years from now,” said Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck.
For a homeowner with a median-valued Seattle home of $872,000, the amended levy would cost about $191 per year, or roughly 22 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s up from $163 a year under the mayor’s original $410 million proposal and more than double the roughly $85 a year homeowners now pay under the expiring 2019 levy.
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Mayor Wilson’s original proposal aimed to maintain hours, fund safety upgrades
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled the $410 million library levy proposal in March.
Wilson said the seven-year plan would maintain hours at all 27 branches and fund security, earthquake-safety upgrades, building maintenance, new books, and enhanced technology.
“Seattle is a city of readers,” Wilson said at a news conference last month. “I believe each of these new investments is critical to ensuring a strong library system for years to come.”
The 2019 levy currently accounts for one-third of the library’s total budget.
“We thank Mayor Wilson for putting forward a levy proposal that reflects community needs and interests and invests in library open hours, collections, programs, buildings, and technology,” Chief Librarian Tom Fay said. “We look forward to working in partnership with Mayor Wilson and City Councilmembers through a public process that will ensure this package is something all Seattle residents can be proud to support in August.”
“This proposal reaffirms Seattle’s reputation as a world-class library system. We are a city of avid and curious readers who rely on our libraries for information and engagement,” Rivera said. “For decades, library patrons have described their branches as beloved third places — centers of learning and safe spaces that are worth the investment.”
If the Seattle City Council approves the proposal next Tuesday, it will appear on the Aug. 4 ballot.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
