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.
The report of a Select Committee on the Library Levy Agenda Item five Council Bill 119491 An ordinance relating to regular property taxes providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the city and an election to be held on August six, 2019. A proposition to lift the limit on regular property taxes under Chapter 84.55 RTW and authorize the city to levy additional taxes for up to seven years for the purpose of sustaining investments in library. The committee recommends a bill passed as amended. Councilmember Suarez. Thank you. Council President So you know, this has been a quite a process. I'm glad we're finally here. In 2012, Salem voters approved access to critical educational literacy resources for every resident by passing a seven year $120 million library levy levy funds concluded by the end of this year. Hence the creation of the Select Committee of the Library Levy to possess a proposed renewal to continue services. I was I am proud and honored to have chaired this committee regarding one of the city's most valuable institutions and assets, our public libraries. As a committee, we closely examine the mayor's proposal, which slated to continue baseline services while keeping up with the demands of a growing city sale. Public libraries invested in priorities and values set by our constituents, all of our constituents, residents across the city of Seattle and users of the library who have said which include I'm sorry, the for are the open hours and access collections, technology, online services, safety and maintenance maintenance meaning that we are protected from earthquakes. Because you all know I can't say that word. Seismic. Seismic libraries are the People's University. They are the most public of institutions since our country's founding. The library, the 21st century, provides more, more services than ever. And these past decades, they are neighborhood centers that give greater access to learning books like. Tronox Media Equipment Conference Space Lecture Series and much, much more, including library time for little ones, for reading and for English as a second language. At its at its core, libraries have been serving millions of people and transforming lives. To that end, build a stronger, more democratic society. I hope that we continue to look at libraries as we do with other institutions as evolve. Last week, the committee approved three amendments that strengthen the proposal in addition to the mayor's proposal. Number one, I want to thank Councilmember Gonzalez for her amendment to the expansion of play and learn from 0 to 5 years old, 0 to 5 years for education. Second, I want to thank Councilmember O'Brien for his amendment for the proposal, the additional open hours at 26 libraries. And finally, I want to thank Councilmember Mosquito, who worked very closely with our office and adding the expanded community resource specialist program for use. Thank all of you for working with our office and the mayor's office to move this important levy forward. The total committee has presented from the mayor's proposal is an estimated $219 million. The Select Committee and Library Levy recommended that the City Council Pass Council Bill 119491 as amended and hopefully or I hope that this will be on the August six, 2019 ballot. I again want to thank central staff. That would be Asher for doing a phenomenal job in briefing us and drafting the amendments and again in my office, who worked closely not only with the executive but with Asher and put together much of the framework and the analysis. And of course, I want to thank my colleagues for supporting this very important levy. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Walls. Any other comments or questions on this legislation? Customer Beck Show. Thank you. President Herald. Councilmember Suarez. Thank you for your leadership on this. Just as in some of the previous items, I appreciate very much your organization. Getting that information to us early and keeping the notebooks updated. Marcellus Turner, thank you for being here. We really appreciate your leadership in this as well. I don't know whether our library foundation or friends of the library are here, but having that kind of a robust community engagement on the front end is really helpful. So I'm fully supportive of this. I think it's a good package, one that is tempered but still addresses the needs of the People's University. Council President. Yes, Councilman. Whereas I just. Want to add one thing. I want to thank Marcellus versus I'm sorry, I did not see you sitting out there, but thank you so much and your staff for getting all the material back to us. And I know we pushed a lot of deadlines on you and asked you for tons of information, statistics and trends and more information. So thank you so much. Okay for the comments. Councilmember Mosquito. Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you, Madam Chair, for who helped shepherd this lamprey levy through the process. It was a great to be able to work with Chair Juarez and the Select Committee and all of my colleagues to help strengthen the levy package that we're bringing to voters this August. I want to specifically thank the folks on the front line, our librarians and the folks who are working in the libraries who came up with some of the strategies that we floated during this last few weeks. I'm very, very honored to have been able to work with you to get into this levy, the ability to make sure that we have community service officers who are serving our youth across the city in more locations, especially for those who are self-identifying as homeless. Making sure that we're connecting them to housing services, health services and educational and job opportunities. We heard from folks who came to testify that sometimes our libraries are unintentionally being used as data centers. And while the reality is we need to continue to scale up our housing and shelter services, the librarians, the folks who are working on the front line, you all are providing tremendous service to the community at large. And we want to make sure that there's community service officers there to help make sure that we're connecting those who are self-identifying as being without shelter into appropriate shelter and services. So I see this as a huge compliment to the work that you all are already doing and an additional need that was identified by folks on the front line. I look forward to working with the council and the Budget Chair as we think about some of the other opportunities going forward around child care and greater security for our folks who are both patrons and workers at the library. So thank you and thanks to your team and to the board for all that you do and to our frontline staff. Thank you to our suarez for your work with us on this issue. Thank you, councilman shader. And I'll just say a few parting words. Thank you again for your leadership council and worse thing for shepherding this through and you and your board, your various boards and volunteers and employees. You know, the library has always been very personal to me. My my mother's, I think you well know, spent most of her career at the library and retired from the library. And so I just think it's so critical for this to pass. And so the sometimes difficult conversations we had looking at the finances of this, of what we're trying to do, were good conversations because at the end of the day, our library system is so much more than just brick and mortar. I mean, particularly given all of the issues that are facing our underserved communities, are youth people on fixed income. The libraries are just one of our most treasured gems. And so I think the hard work will begin after this to make sure that everyone understands that. And so it's going to be my pleasure and actually supporting this legislation, I think all of the hard work that went into it. So. So having said that, please call the role on the passage of the Bill. O'Brien by Sergeant Bagshaw i. Gonzalez Herbold. I was I macheda I President Harrell I favor favorite unopposed. Bill passed and show sign it gladly. Okay. Please read the next agenda item into the record. The Report of the Civic Development, Public Assets and Native Communities Committee Agenda Item six Council Bill 119494 An Ordinance relating to King County Conservation Features Levy proceeds. The committee recommends the bill pass.