Mayor Cooper Asks City Council To Send Levy to Voters

In a memo to the Edmonds City Council, Edmonds Mayor Mike Cooper requested that they send a levy proposal to voters on August 16.

The levy memo, entitled “Safe Neighborhoods, Safe Streets and Parks For Everyone,”  proposes a 35 cent general operations levy over a four year period. The funds would go toward street maintenance, crime prevention, and city parks.

This is the third time Cooper has recommended that the City Council send a levy vote to the ballot. Over the past two years, two separate citizen groups have formed to discuss the idea of generating additional revenue through a levy.

If approved, the levy would tax property at a rate of 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed evaluation and would be indexed to increase by 2.5 percent on an annual basis.

This would increase the city's revenue by $2.26 million in 2012. The mayor's proposal directs $210,000 per year to restore the Police Department's Crime Prevention Program and fund a vacant police officer position. An additional $704,000 a year would be dedicated to street repairs, and $102,000 would go to parks.

"While this proposed action cannot rebuild of our workforce needs, do all major
projects, or catch up all of the deferred maintenance needs for our city facilities, it
does position us to be healthy over the next four years without further cutting
needed service," Cooper said in his memo to the City Council.

Here is a link to Cooper's video message regarding the levy: http://www.youtube.com/user/MayorCooper?feature=mhsn