SEATTLE — King County officials are considering whether to ask voters for more money — much more money — for decarbonization, conservation and environmental disaster preparation.
The Metropolitan King County Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to explore whether it should pursue a 2024 ballot measure to raise $1 billion over six or nine years.
“The idea is to kind of go big,” said Rod Dembowski, the sponsoring council member.
Precisely how the county would collect that cash remains unclear, Dembowski said. But county staff will consider options like taxes or fees.
The potential ballot measure puts King County alongside a growing number of state and local governments asking for new taxes, fees or bond measures to fund climate and environment work. The topic, political and environmental experts say, is one voters overwhelmingly support, and the need for these types of projects is growing more urgent.
Many places across the country already face historic flooding, wildfires or drought and must pay for recovery efforts, said Kate Boicourt, of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. These types of ballot measures look to take a more proactive approach, and voters are passing them in both blue and red states.
“The thing that people are realizing right now is that we’re already paying for this,” said Boicourt, the nonprofit’s director of climate-resilient coasts and watersheds for New York and New Jersey.
King County holds a strong climate action plan but lacks the funding to meet its goals, Dembowski said. Those goals include cutting countywide greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, reducing countywide energy use by 25% and fossil fuel use by 20% by 2030.
A $1 billion fundraising measure would nearly triple the county’s current climate investments.
If the county pursues a measure and voters approve it, Dembowski said the money would be split between four categories and gave tentative examples for each:
- Transportation: Electrify more buses, install charging infrastructure for electric cars and additional decarbonization efforts.
- Built environment: Reduce emissions from existing buildings (commercial and multifamily buildings generate about 22% of the county’s emissions), and make them more energy efficient.
- Conservation: Buy and protect land, forests and other green spaces.
- Mitigation and preparation: Potentially open community centers for residents to escape wildfire smoke, protect shorelines from rising waters and more.
How the county might raise the money remains unclear, Dembowski said. He mentioned notions like a property tax or even a sewer or garbage fee but noted the measure likely won’t seek to take out a bond because that would require 60% voter approval.
Even that higher margin of victory could be attainable, however. Seattle voters approved a nearly $1 billion affordable housing levy Tuesday with 66% of city voters in favor.
Voters across the country have a broad preference in favor of climate initiatives but don’t necessarily count them as a top priority, said Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Voter Project. The difference is that climate measures aren’t as likely to create voter turnout, but if people see such a measure on the ballot they’re likely to view it favorably.
Because next year holds a presidential election — and a particularly contentious one at that — voter turnout will be high, which could play well if King County puts forward a ballot measure, Stinnett said.
“That is going to deliver an electorate that is more climate-friendly and more environmentally friendly than any other Election Day I could imagine,” Stinnett said.
Broad support doesn’t necessarily mean voters would automatically pass such a measure, Boicourt said. Major fundraising measures still need campaigning and education efforts, especially if an opposition coalition forms.
Even so, Boicourt said voters have approved similar climate and environment taxes and bonds in places like Denver, New York state, Portland and Virginia Beach.
The measure approved by the Metropolitan King County Council directs County Executive Dow Constantine — whose representatives did not respond to a request for comment — to form a work group to consider a ballot measure.
The group will include members of the county’s Climate Equity Community Task Force, groups familiar with energy conservation, environmental protection and transportation alternatives and representatives of front-line communities directly at risk of the changing climate.
By the end of April, the group will report to the council on how the money might be raised and where specific spending priorities would be, Dembowski said. From there, the council would decide whether to place the measure on the 2024 ballot.
“They’ll come back with a report next year to see whether or not it makes sense,” Dembowski said. “It’s not committing us to any action, not saying we’re going to go for a tax hike, it’s developing options.”
