Seattle council sends library tax proposal to ballot

The Seattle City Council voted to send a nearly $480 million library funding proposal to the August ballot Tuesday.

If passed by a simple majority, the seven-year levy would replace the $219 million measure overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2019 that is expiring at the end of this year. The owner of a home worth $872,000 - the estimated median value for 2027 - would pay $163 next year.

First proposed at $410 million by Mayor Katie Wilson, council members increased the size of the proposal by nearly $70 million to fund acquiring more materials, more programming and increased upkeep and improvements.

Wilson and the council are promising the levy would maintain library hours, grow security and help manage the system's costly collection. It also would provide funding for much needed maintenance work.

Unlike the 2019 levy, which promised expanded hours and the elimination of late fees, this proposal does not come with the same eye-catching promises. Rather, officials argued, it represents an essential investment in a public good at a time when trust in government is fraying.

Discussions around the library levy unfolded in a new reality for Seattle lawmakers. For years, mayors and councils have confidently proposed larger and larger measures to fund transportation, housing, education, democracy vouchers and libraries.

But voters' willingness to sign off on those tax hikes has pressed the city up against a state-imposed cap on property tax rates of $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value. If the library measure passes, Seattle would hover around $3.00, leaving minimal room for future measures.

That fact, combined with growing concerns around the cost of living in Seattle, caused Councilmember Maritza Rivera, chair of the committee overseeing libraries, to oppose growing the size of the library measure. She ultimately voted yes in favor of sending the measure to the ballot, but she expressed displeasure with the final product.

I'm disappointed in the turn this renewal process took," she said. "Of course we need to fund out libraries, but this is simply more than is needed when there are other pressing issues at the moment."

But Rivera was the in minority opposing growing the size of the measure.

Council President Joy Hollingsworth expressed concern about the growing property tax burden placed on Seattle residents, but nonetheless voted to grow the size of the levy, in part because people "overwhelmingly" support and want to keep open the libraries.

"There were things that I knew that we needed," she said in a media session earlier this week. "If we had pushed them and kicked the can down the road, then it would cost us even more.

Addressing critical maintenance needs is among the library's most pressing issues. Staff estimate it needs more than $160 million over the next 10 years to address critical backlogs and that doesn't include replacing the nearly 10,000 windows in the downtown library. On top of that, the cost of maintaining a collection is growing as well, as eBook subscriptions cost more than simply owning a hard copy.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 11:34 PM.