Council Roundup: Fire, Transportation levies approved for November ballot

The City Council on Monday voted 6-0 to place two measures focusing on Fire Facilities and Transportation Safety, Connectivity and Congestion improvements on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

"These proposals are targeted investments by the community, for the community," said Mayor John Stokes. "The process of putting together these two measures has been a great team effort. Now it's time for the voters to weigh in."

If approved, the measures would increase property taxes by 12.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for fire facilities improvements and 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for transportation improvements. Combined, the two measures would cost the owner of a home with an assessed value of $640,000 (the median value in Bellevue) about $176 per year.

The Fire Facilities measure would pay for: seismic retrofits to fire stations; building a new downtown station, upgrades to existing stations; and adding warehouse space for reserve equipment.

The measure for Transportation Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion improvements would pay for: neighborhood safety projects; reducing neighborhood congestion; new sidewalks, trails and paths; technology for safety and traffic management; enhanced sidewalk and trail maintenance; and new bike facilities.

Monday's vote also caps an outreach effort by staff and the council to get feedback from the community and to help shape the two measures. Three open houses were held in late June and an online survey was conducted for four weeks. Results of the survey showed that 67 percent of the 800 respondents supported a fire facilities measure. Similarly, 64 percent indicated support for a transportation safety and connectivity measure.

Additional background material on the ballot measures, including maps, the ordinances and ballot language approved by the council and a summary of community feedback, can be found on the city's webpage.