SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL - Record No: CB 119491

• Record No: CB 119491
• Version: 2
• Council Bill No: CB 119491
• Type: Ordinance (Ord)
• Status: Passed
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: City Clerk
• On agenda: 4/22/2019
• Ordinance No: Ord 125809
• Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to regular property taxes; providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City at an election to be held on August 6, 2019, a proposition to lift the limit on regular property taxes under chapter 84.55 RCW and authorize the City to levy additional taxes for up to seven years for the purpose of sustaining investments in Library operating hours, collections, technology, and maintenance while expanding access to opportunity through additional hours, Library materials, and technology and undertaking seismic retrofits of three Library facilities; authorizing creation of a new fund; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
• Sponsors: Debora Juarez
• Supporting documents: 1. Summary and Fiscal Note, 2. Summary Att 1 – Average Account Balance Map, 3. Summary Att 2 - Number of Blocked Accounts Map, 4. Summary Att 3 - Computer/Wi-Fi Usage Map, 5. Mayor's Letter, 6. CF 321185 - 2019 Libraries for All Levy Renewal Proposal, 7. Central Staff Memo - Issue ID i. (4/8/19), 8. Central Staff Memo - Issue ID ii. (4/11/19), 9. Central Staff Memo - Issue ID iii. (4/17/19), 10. Proposed Amendment (added; 4/18/19), 11. Signed Ordinance 125809, 12. Affidavit of Publication

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/26/2019	2	City Clerk	attested by City Clerk
4/26/2019	2	Mayor	returned
4/26/2019	2	Mayor	Signed
4/24/2019	2	City Clerk	submitted for Mayor's signature
4/22/2019	2	City Council	passed	Pass
4/17/2019	1	Select Committee on the Library Levy	pass as amended	Pass
4/11/2019	1	Select Committee on the Library Levy	discussed
4/8/2019	1	Select Committee on the Library Levy	discussed
4/1/2019	1	City Council	referred
3/28/2019	1	Council President's Office	sent for review
3/26/2019	1	City Clerk	sent for review
3/26/2019	1	Mayor	Mayor's leg transmitted to Council

CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to regular property taxes; providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City at an election to be held on August 6, 2019, a proposition to lift the limit on regular property taxes under chapter 84.55 RCW and authorize the City to levy additional taxes for up to seven years for the purpose of sustaining investments in Library operating hours, collections, technology, and maintenance while expanding access to opportunity through additional hours, Library materials, and technology and undertaking seismic retrofits of three Library facilities; authorizing creation of a new fund; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
body
WHEREAS, The Seattle Public Library (Library) was established in 1890 and since that time has served as a free source of information and a community gathering place for residents of Seattle and the region; and
WHEREAS, the Library has relied, in part, on voter-approved funding to maintain and expand its facilities and services for more than two decades; and
WHEREAS, in 1998 Seattle voters overwhelmingly supported the Libraries for All bond measure, which made Library services more accessible throughout the City by adding four branch libraries in communities without Library service, replacing and renovating 22 existing branches, and developing the new downtown Central Library; and
WHEREAS, during the Great Recession, the Library sustained significant cuts in Library operating hours, collection budgets and other Library services while still serving as a safety net for the community; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Mayor and the City Council, in conjunction with the Library Board of Trustees, identified a property tax levy lid lift as the revenue source that could most feasibly be used in combination with the City's General Fund and Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) to restore and sustain Library operations at desired service level...