King County committee debates $1.5 billion parks and open-space levy; members press for more specificity and equity detail

The Metropolitan King County Council's Budget and Fiscal Management Committee spent the second half of its March 12 meeting on the executive’s proposed parks and open-space levy: a six-year proposal the committee and central staff projected would raise $1.5 billion if transmitted and approved by voters. Central staff presented updated analyses, answered technical questions, and flagged a tight schedule for council amendments should members want changes before transmission and subsequent regional process steps.

Central staff said the executive proposal would set an initial levy collection rate of about 24.43 cents per $1,000 of assessed value (up from the current 19.73 cents), with annual increases limited by a rate-setting inflator tied to inflation and population growth (estimated near 3.5% per year in the materials). Based on central staff calculations using the draft March 2025 forecast, total collections over six years were estimated at $1.5 billion. Staff also reported the levy is not expected to trigger the statutory $5.90 per $1,000 prorationing limit for most jurisdictions under the adopted forecast; the closest projected exposure was a relatively small gap in 2027 for a particular park district.

The executive’s pass-through formula for cities and towns is a key change in the proposed allocation plan: the executive proposes a 60% weighting to population and 40% to assessed value (replacing the current 50/50 split) and a $100,000-per-year base allocation for towns and cities, with…