Kenmore is misleading voters; we already pay into climate action, parks, and human services:
King County Parks Levy (passed 2025, funded through 2031) funds the following:
Clean, safe, and open parks and trails; new amenities and recreational activities; increased capacity for forest stewardship; accelerated regional trail expansion; and creates a climate response fund.
Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services (passed 2023, funded through 2029).
King County’s Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) expands access to critical human services for veterans, service members and their families, and seniors and their caregivers to create thriving, resilient communities and improve overall health and well-being throughout King County. This includes helping residents achieve housing and financial stability, increase social connections, health, and wellness, and access services that support individual needs.
Kenmore Senior Center is funded through Northshore Parks and Recreation Service Area (NPRSA), a separate taxing district for Kenmore residents.
The NPRSA levies taxes to develop, build, and maintain parks and recreational facilities. The NPRSA is unique among Washington State special tax districts in its focus on facilities for older adults.
If passed, Prop. 1 would raise property taxes and would generate revenue for any purpose.
We are not guaranteed which programming or projects related to climate action, housing, or human services will be funded, if at all.
Property owners, whether on a fixed income or not, pay increased taxes.
Renters/Tenants, whether on a fixed income or not, will be faced with rent increases passed along by landlords.
Younger people who want to purchase a home in Kenmore will find home ownership further out of reach due to ever increasing taxes and fees.
Shoppers will have to pay higher prices, or shop elsewhere: Businesses will have to pass increased rent/costs from increased taxes to all who shop at Kenmore businesses.
Increased taxes and fees are a backdoor way to exclude people from becoming Kenmore residents. Of the people who already reside here, increased taxes and fees make it more difficult to stay in Kenmore.
Council member Nathan Loutsis stated at the July 20, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting:
"When it comes to home ownership and thinking about affordability, it's something that my generation is seeing slip further and further away. Now, the average age of first-time home buyers is higher than ever. And part of that has to do with just increasing unaffordability. And when it comes to me thinking about what can I afford down the line, it seems to slip a little bit further and further away.
....each thousand dollars that we add in fees here and there will make it less likely that our community will attract younger families and younger home buyers."
Housing advocacy groups agree: even small cost increases cause displacement. Research shows that for every $100 increase in monthly housing-cost burdens in our region, homelessness rates spike by 15%.
By adding an unnecessary tax burden without local protections, Prop 1 actively threatens to price out the very neighbors we want to protect.
The City of Kenmore would be wise to heed the budget wisdom of two former Democrat Washington State Governors: Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire.
Former Democrat Governor Gary Locke agrees with other prominent Democrats who have sharp criticism over Washington's spending and taxes.
Locke stated, "You cannot take one-time money, whether it’s COVID money or any federal funding, if it’s one-time, and use it to pay for permanent, ongoing programs.”
"Because if the money is only for one year, how are you going to pay for the program the next year, the second year, the third year, the fourth year?”
Former Democrat Governor Christine Gregoire in May argued that, "Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem."
"When you know how much revenue you’re going to get next year and you intentionally spend beyond that, you have a problem.”
Kenmore should focus on fiscal discipline: governments should not create ongoing spending commitments without sustainable revenue to support them.
The recent King County Parks Levy was approved in 2025. Within that, the City was awarded a grant to purchase the Lakepointe property. This shows that the City can and will do great things with County and Federal dollars, and that they continue to find ways to fund these priorities without adding another regressive tax.
Through Puget Sound Energy, Kenmore taxes users an added 6% for natural gas, and 4% for electricity. The City of Kenmore uses these to fund the goals for carbon neutrality.
Kenmore approved the Rapid Plus option to invest in culverts and salmon habitat, which is currently funded through our Surface Water Management fees (6% on bill).
How many lower-income or fixed-income residents can absorb more increases in fees, whether through direct billing or rent increases?
Property tax - $0.81 per $1,000 of assessed value (2026 levy)
Electricity - 4.00% ~ (4.4% total)
Natural gas - 6.00% ~ (6.6% total)
Telephone (landline) - 6.00%
Cellular telephone - 6.00%
Cable television - 6.00%
Surface water - 6.00%
Garbage 10.00% - Solid waste collection
Cable TV franchise fee 5.00% - Paid by cable operator (typically embedded in provider costs, not separately billed to customers)
Retail sales tax (City/Local) - 3.8%
Kenmore increased vehicle license fees to $40 per vehicle.
The increases in taxes and fees frequently affect those who can least afford them: the young who are starting out, those with a low income, parents, the elderly, and more.
We support the goals, but the City already takes a significant portion of our income. It is time for the City of Kenmore to refine their use of existing revenue.
As more of your dollars leave the City of Kenmore for regional coordinated investments, we should require efficiency of those funds for more tangible results within our community.
To date, City of Kenmore has contributed to the ARCH Housing Trust Fund, yet there have been no new affordable homes built with those funds in Kenmore.
The Larus Senior Apartment Project (at Jay's Cafe property) that was slated to be built with 175 units for low income seniors has been cancelled.
This same concern applies to Human Services. The City of Kenmore does not offer any Human Services within the City, only coordinates them. This would not change with the proposed levy funding.
Where it's good to take care of our broader community in King County, we first need to take care of our Kenmore residents.
Our fixed and low-income, as well as middle-income earners, are being priced out; we can't increasingly burden our neighbors for a tax that sends their money outside the community.