& QueenAnne Magnolia Got a great story idea or & news ne& Magnolia newscan cover? event we
ne
Magnolia news
Contact us at: qamagnews@pacificpublishingcompany.com
& QueenAnne&Magnolia news QueenAnne&Magnolia news QueenAnne
Magnolia news
Serving Queen Anne & Magnolia Since 1919
SEPT. 11, 2024
www.QueenAnneNews.com
VOL. 105, NO. 37
Proposed $1.55B Seattle transportation levy includes $2M for funding task force
By Spencer Pauley The Center Square
AdobeStock
Seattle City Council approves City Light's rate hikes through 2030 By Spencer Pauley The Center Square
Seattleites will start to see more expensive electric bills after the Seattle City Council last week unanimously approved Seattle City Light’s six-year rate path. The Seattle Public Utilities’ Strategic Business Plan includes an average annual electricity rate increase of 4.7% over the next six years. According to Seattle Public Utilities, monthly costs for a typical single-family home will go up by about
$70 through 2030. Costs for City Light customers living in apartment units will increase by about $40 over the same period. Electricity rates will increase by 5.4% alone next year as a part of the newly approved plan. A 5.4% increase is about $4.88 more a month for a typical residential bill, or $1.95 more a month for a typical residential Utility Discount Program bill. “While we need these rate increases to cover the cost of providing reliable services and maintaining our system,
we know they affect our customers,” Seattle Public Utilities said in a news release. “We take affordability seriously and are committed to ensuring our customers have access to essential utility services regardless of their financial situation.” Seattle City Light CEO Dawn Lindell previously said that retail demand from building electrification is growing three times faster than projected in 2022, and transportation
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SEATTLE, WA PERMIT 1271
LIGHTS Page 4Æ
Seattle voters will soon decide on a massive transportation tax levy that also includes funding a task force to help guide generated revenues toward infrastructure goals. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposed eightyear levy package totals $1.55 billion over its lifespan. Generated funds would go toward Seattle infrastructure needs such as building sidewalks, paving streets, repairing bridges, and improving transit connections, among others. Harrell’s 2024 transportation levy proposal included a transportation funding task force. The proposal has already established how much funding each transportation program would receive. However, the transportation funding task force would work to recommend actions to fully build out gaps in the city’s missing sidewalk network while also meeting a long-term sustainable standard for better maintaining the city’s existing sidewalks, bridges and pavement conditions. “The outcomes of the task force would be a set of actionable recommendations to look at that could help to guide the next step,” Seattle Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Downtown Mobility Meghan Shepard said during a presentation to the Transportation Committee on Tuesday. Shepard listed examples of possible task force recommendations including policy changes, a defined bond measure, or recommended policy actions to pursue at the state level. Members of the transportation funding task force would include representatives of community organizations, city transportation boards, labor and building trades, affordable housing developers, and transportation and accessibility advocates. Tax dollars would go toward this task force for the work it seeks to accomplish. If the transportation levy is passed this November, $1.5 million to $2 million would be set aside for all costs associated with the transportation FUNDING Page 4Æ