Olympia council places public safety tax hike on November ballot

It’s official: Olympia voters will see a proposal to raise property taxes to fund public safety on their November ballots. And they’ll see a sales tax increase proposal to benefit housing programs on their February 2018 ballots.

The Olympia City Council announced its intention to place the measures on the ballots during a June 21 meeting. At Tuesday night’s meeting, they made it official by passing a resolution and an ordinance.

The November measure would increase Olympia’s property tax by 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, generating about $2.8 million per year in revenue for public safety.

The February measure would increase the city’s sales tax by 0.01 percent, and generate about $2.1 million per year in revenue for housing.

The city has proposed a plan for the public safety revenue that includes additions to the downtown walking patrol, a community policing program and a mental health response team. The revenue also would benefit the city’s community court program, which has previously been funded by a federal grant.

The city hasn’t yet brought forward a plan for the housing revenue, but an Olympia-based organization called the Home Fund has. The Home Fund proposes building 250 permanent supportive housing units over seven years. These units would house the city’s most vulnerable population, including people with mental illness and disabilities.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Olympia council places public safety tax hike on November ballot."