KING COUNTY, Wash. — King County voters will decide on a proposed property tax increase that would restore funding to a conservation program.
King County Proposition 1 will appear on the November general election ballot. If approved by voters, it would restore its conservation futures tax in 2023 at a rate of 6.25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or an estimated $21.75 more per year.
The tax hike would cost the owner of a median-value home less than $2 more per month, according to the office of King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The program currently generates about half the revenue originally authorized by voters because of state limitations on annual property tax growth. King County currently collects just over 3 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The tax hike would fully restore funding to the Conservation Futures Program. The Futures Program preserves open space, urban greenspace, trails, natural lands, rivers, farmland and forests.
The tax hike would accelerate the Land Conservation Initiative to protect 65,000 acres of open space within 30 years, according to information previously provided by Constantine's office.
More than 100,000 acres of open space have been protected since King County began participating in the Conservations Futures Program in 1982. Some of the areas that have benefited from the program include Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, the Sammamish River Trail and the Olympic Sculpture Park. See a map of funded property interests here.