Elected officials from South King County joined dozens of local leaders across Washington this week in signing an open letter urging state lawmakers and Gov. Bob Ferguson to expand local revenue options, warning that without legislative action, cities and counties will face unprecedented cuts to essential services.
Elected officials from Burien, Des Moines, SeaTac, Tukwila, the Highline School Board and the Port of Seattle were among those who signed the letter, which calls for lifting the 1% cap on property tax increases and enabling additional tools to fund public safety, infrastructure, housing, and health services.
“As local elected officials from across the state, we know firsthand how our regressive and outdated tax code hampers our ability to serve our constituents,” the letter reads. “Our tax code hasn’t been significantly updated in 100 years. While our statewide population has grown significantly, we are not collecting enough revenue for the investments needed to support our communities and economy, including funding for infrastructure, housing and human services, public health, and public safety, to name a few,” the local elected officials wrote.
Some South King County signers include:
- Burien Deputy Mayor Sarah Moore and Councilmember Hugo Garcia
- Des Moines Mayor Traci Buxton and Deputy Mayor Harry Steinmetz
- SeaTac Mayor Mohamed Egal, Deputy Mayor Iris Guzman, and Councilmember James Lovell
- Tukwila Mayor Thomas McLeod and Tukwil Councilmembers Mohamed Abdi, Verna Seal, and Jovita McConnell
- Port of Seattle Commissioners Sam Cho, Fred Felleman, Ryan Calkins, Toshiko Hasegawa and Hamdi Mohamed
- Highline School Board Vice President Stephanie Tidholm
Officials emphasized that current state law restricts local governments to a 1% property tax increase annually — not enough to keep pace with inflation, population growth, or demand for services.
“Cuts of this magnitude would be the most serious our communities have experienced since the Great Depression,” the letter states. “Unlike in past recessions, due to the structural nature of our budget deficits, cuts would not be restored through economic recovery.”
The letter also highlights the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, with local officials saying most of their budgets are tied to state or federal mandates. The result: potential budget cuts would land hardest on discretionary programs like public safety, health services, and housing assistance.
The signers support specific bills under consideration in Olympia, including:
- HB 1334, to lift the 1% property tax cap
- SB 5775, allowing local councils to enact a public safety sales tax without a public vote
- HB 2015, providing a local option for a 0.1% sales tax to fund criminal justice and law enforcement
They also advocate for broader reforms to Washington’s tax structure, including a statewide intangibles tax, payroll tax, and corporate B&O premium tax, as well as local options for some of these tools.
“Ask the wealthy few and profitable corporations to pay more in taxes,” the letter states. “Those who have done well in Washington should do right by Washington.”
The letter was addressed to Governor Ferguson and top legislative budget leaders, including House Speaker Laurie Jinkins and Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen. It follows a growing movement among local governments seeking more autonomy and flexibility to avoid devastating service reductions in the coming budget cycle.
Full Text of Letter
Below is full text of the letter, which was sent out on Mar. 27, 2025:
“An Open Letter from Local Elected Officials Across Washington
“Regarding the Need for New Revenue to Avoid Cuts to Critical Services“The Honorable Governor Bob Ferguson
“The Honorable Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen
“The Honorable Senator June Robinson, Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee
“The Honorable Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins
“The Honorable Representative Timm Ormsby, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
“The Honorable Representative April Berg, Chair of the House Finance Committee“RE: Local Jurisdictions Need New Revenue
“Dear Senate Majority Leader Pedersen, Senator Robinson, House Speaker Jinkins, Representative Ormsby, Representative Berg, and Governor Ferguson,
“As local elected officials from across the state, we know firsthand how our regressive and outdated tax code hampers our ability to serve our constituents. Our tax code hasn’t been significantly updated in 100 years. While our statewide population has grown significantly, we are not collecting enough revenue for the investments needed to support our communities and economy, including funding for infrastructure, housing and human services, public health, and public safety, to name a few. A 23-year-old state law limits the ability of local jurisdictions to increase property taxes to just 1% plus the revenue from new construction per year, and with few revenue options under state law, our local county and city revenues have not kept up with inflation and population growth. To compound our revenue crisis, federal cuts and programmatic erosion stand to exacerbate the state and local budget challenges and threaten the health of our communities and the stability of our economies.
“A majority of our budgets are mandated by state or federal law, contracts, or legal agreements. Consequently, potential cuts to make up the budget deficits would be concentrated in programs protecting public health and safety, and services relied upon by our most vulnerable communities. We are forced to over-rely on property tax revenue, which makes up 60% or more of county general fund budgets. With state-imposed limitations on property tax increases, combined with high inflation and very few sources of additional revenue, we now face budget deficits totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Cuts of this magnitude would be the most serious our communities have experienced since the Great Depression. However, unlike in past recessions, due to the structural nature of our budget deficits, cuts would not be restored through economic recovery. In order to avoid deep cuts and to put us on a path towards more resilient and sustainable budgets, we need additional revenue tools. As legislative leaders, we respectfully request your support for local municipalities and counties, and in turn, support for all Washingtonians.
“We, the undersigned, have come together to ask that you consider all new sources of revenue.
“This includes local revenue tools like HB 1334 to lift the 1% property tax cap, SB 5775 to provide councilmanic authority for the 3/10ths percent public safety sales tax, and HB 2015 the local option public safety 1/10th percent sales tax which would provide critical criminal justice support through a law enforcement grant program, supplemental criminal justice distributions, and a local option sales tax. In addition, we support state solutions for a more balanced tax code such as the Intangibles Tax, a Statewide Payroll Tax, and Large Corporation B&O Premium tax, the REET bills, and other more equitable revenue generating options. We also support the creation of local options for some of these tools (like a local option payroll tax) that could add revenue to local jurisdictions from sources other than sales and property taxes.
“We urge you to support these near- and long-term solutions to ensure stable and sustainable budgeting so that we can take care of all Washingtonians and continue services that people depend on. Ask the wealthy few and profitable corporations to pay more in taxes. Those who have done well in Washington should do right by Washington. Thank you for your work and leadership to help ensure local jurisdictions have additional tools to supplement the strategies that are selected to balance the state budget.
“Public opinion research indicates that voters understand and support the need to fund critical services, avoid cuts to programs, and fix our tax code. Voters have told us time and again that they want elected leaders to balance our tax code in order to pay for the things our communities need, like housing, health care, childcare, education. We thank you for your effort to reform our outdated and inequitable tax code and help us leverage policies to raise revenue so that we can deliver the services our local communities desperately need.
“Sincerely,
“Black Diamond Mayor Carol Benson
“Burien Deputy Mayor Sarah Moore
“Burien City Councilmember Hugo Garcia
“Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson
“Bothell Deputy Mayor Rami Al-Kabra
“Bothell City Councilmember Amanda Dodd
“Bothell City Councilmember Jenne Alderks
“Carnation Mayor Adair Hawkins
“Clallam County County Commissioner Mark Ozias
“Des Moines Mayor Traci Buxton
“Des Moines Deputy Mayor Harry Steinmetz
“Federal Way City Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson
“Highline School Board Vice President Stephanie Tidholm
“Island County Commissioner Janet St Clair
“Issaquah City Council Deputy President Barbara de Michele
“Jefferson County County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour
“Kenmore Mayor Nigel Herbig
“King County Executive Dow Constantine
“King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, Chair
“King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, District 8
“King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski
“King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón, District 4
“Kirkland City Councilmember Amy Falcone
“Lake Forest Park City Councilmember Tracy Furutani
“Lake Forest Park City Councilmember Jon Lebo
“Lake Forest Park Councilmember Semra Riddle
“Lake Forest Park City Councilmember Larry Goldman
“Newcastle City Councilmember Paul Charbonneau
“Newcastle Councilmember Sun Burford
“Olympia City Councilmember Clark Gilman
“Pierce County Executive Ryan N. Mello
“Pierce County Councilmember Jani Hitchen
“Port Angeles City Councilmember Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin
“Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho
“Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman
“Port of Seattle Commissioner Ryan Calkins
“Port of Seattle Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa
“Port of Seattle Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed
“Redmond City Council Vice President Jessica Forsythe
“Renton City Councilmember Carmen Rivera
“Renton Councilmember Ryan McIrvin
“Renton City Councilmember Kim-Khanh Van
“Sammamish Deputy Mayor Amy Lam
“Sammamish City Council Councilmember Pam Stuart
“Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck
“Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss
“Seattle Public Schools Board Director Joe Mizrahi
“SeaTac Mayor Mohamed Egal
“SeaTac Deputy Mayor Iris Guzman
“SeaTac City Councilmember James Lovell
“Shoreline City Councilmember Keith Scully
“Snohomish County Councilmember Megan Dunn
“Spokane City Councilmember Paul Dillon
“Spokane City Councilmember Zack Zappone
“Tacoma City Councilmember Olgy Diaz
“Tacoma City Councilmember Sarah Rumbaugh
“Tacoma City Councilmember Joe Bushnell
“Tacoma City Councilmember Kristina Walker
“Thurston County Commissioner Chair Tye Menser
“Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia
“Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse
“Thurston County Commissioner Rachel Grant
“Tukwila Mayor Thomas McLeod
“Tukwila City Councilmember Mohamed Abdi
“Tukwila City Councilmember Verna Seal
“Tukwila City Councilmember Jovita McConnell
“Vancouver Councilmember Ty Stober
“Vashon Island Fire and Rescue board member Brigitte Schran Brown”
More info here: https://www.investwanow.org
Everyone complains about the lack of affordable housing, yet time and time again local, regional, and state Democrats take actions to increase the cost of housing. Idiotic zoning, and permitting requirements, increased permitting fees and flow times, increased property taxes for selling or owning a home. All of these actions increase the cost of homeownership. You need to learn what the average citizen already knows….. if you dont have the money to focus on your priorities you need to cut spending from somewhere else. You dont get to have it all. There is plenty tax revenue if you were to spend it wisely … which you have not to date nor likely to do in the future.
Before they take the easy way out by saddling our citizens with more taxes, I invite our two council members to contact Peter Kwon, City Councilman from SeaTac. When his city was faced with deficits, he and other council members took it upon themselves to self-audit the city’s spending, and found significant duplication, waste, and downright laziness on the books. Today, their city is running a surplus. Proof that it is possible. Great outcomes often require a little effort.