SPOKANE, Wash. – Mayor Lisa Brown announced plans to postpone the community safety levy that was set for the August ballot on Wednesday, saying that needing more input from the community before the levy will be reintroduced.
Brown said this move allows her office to avoid cutting corners to meet the August ballot deadline, noting that finishing the mid-year budget and having conversations with community leaders are necessary before looking at putting the levy back on the ballot, Brown said.
The proposed levy, if passed, would have taxed homeowners $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value on their homes, with no end date for the levy.
Brown said the extra time will allow better conversations to take place that will be beneficial for everyone in the city.
“We have the time in the city, to really engage more deeply with the community, and I think they appreciate that, and that it will bring about a better result ultimately,” Brown said.
Michael Baumgartner, who is running for Representative Washington’s 5th Congressional District, opposed the levy, which he believes could price people out of their homes.
Both Brown and Baumgartner agreed that public safety is the number one priority for people in Spokane, and baumgartner said there is a way to keep the taxes where they are without losing the level of service.
“What we need to do is work with other government entities, and look at putting public safety first, and making some tough decisions on prioritization. There are other options, anyone that tells you that the only solution here is to pass this new tax or lose public safety, they are just not being honest,” Baumgartner said.
Brown said she will create a 2025 budget that will be released in December, and will make that budget without the potential levy funds in order to see what the reality of not having a levy would look like.
City Council Member Michael Cathcart attended Baumgartner’s press conference and said the Mayor, along with city council, need to work with the budget they have without needing an increase in taxes.
“The last thing we start with is the tax, that’s the last thing. Let’s start with figuring out how to make our government more efficient right now,” Cathcart said.
