Seattle-area voters appeared to have approved two property tax measures to help improve facilities and operations amid tight budgets.
A $123 million Seattle property-tax measure that would be used to fund daily operations at libraries appeared to pass, according to early returns from a primary election held Tuesday.
City officials have said the library would lose $5 million in 2013 because the general fund is facing a $32 million deficit, according to the Seattle Times.
Another $210 million property tax measure to renovate King County’s Youth Services Center also appeared to pass, but by a narrower margin.
Two more property tax measures are also set for the November ballot: a $120 million measure in King County for an automated fingerprint system and a $290 million tax to rebuild Seattle’s seawall.
The seawall ballot initiative would raise property taxes on a $360,000 home by about $59 a year, according to a statement by the city.
The proceeds from the bond sale would be used to build a new seawall along part of the downtown waterfront and fix up two city-owned piers attached to the wall.
Seattle officials have said replacement of the seawall, which must be removed and rebuilt by 2016, is necessary to support the construction of the new Alaskan Way road that will run along the waterfront, replacing the existing, rickety Alaskan Way viaduct.
