ELECTION 2023: Veterans, Seniors, Human Services Levy proposed for renewal vote in August

This is the last year of the current King County-wide Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy, approved by voters in 2017 as the renewal and renaming of the Veterans and Human Services Levy, which was originally passed in 2005. Today, County Executive Dow Constantine announced he plans to ask voters to renew the levy on the August 1st primary ballot. From the one-sheet that accompanied the announcement:

If renewed, the levy will:
• Fund permanent supportive housing, specifically for veterans
• Keep reducing veteran homelessness
• Expand investments in the human services workforce
• Double current funding for senior centers
• Maintain access to counseling and mental health supports for veterans and seniors
• Dedicate King County staff to strengthen resident and resource connections
• Deepen community-centered programming for survivors of gender-based violence

Here’s what today’s announcement says the money’s done since the most-recent vote:

Veterans

-Served more than 27,000 veterans, servicemembers, and their families with fewer eligibility barriers than many federal programs
-Contributed to a 40 percent reduction in veteran homelessness
-Provided more than 260 veterans, servicemembers, and family members with over 15,000 mental health counseling sessions
-Built 234 units of affordable housing for veterans and their families

Seniors

-Funded 39 senior centers across the county
-Served more than 100,000 seniors through expanded senior programming

Build Resiliency

-Launched DVHopeline, a countywide, 24-hour multi-lingual and multimodal domestic violence hotline, that received 16,000 calls or texts and referred nearly 7,000 of those callers to additional support
-Funded mobile advocacy services for more than 1,200 survivors of gender-based violence
Helped build more than 1,000 units of affordable housing and 198 new shelter beds
-Funded 55 agencies with 675 bonuses to support workforce retention

The new proposal would raise $581 million over six years and, Constantine’s office says, would cost the owner of a “median-priced home” $83 a year, at 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which is the same rate as the current version. The King County Council will have to vote by May to get the renewal on the August ballot.

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