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PROPOSITION NO. 1, PUBLIC LIBRARY LEVY RENEWAL
Seattle Prop 1 would renew an existing levy to help fund the city’s library system. At 12.2 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, it’s technically a reduction from the levy passed in 2012, which taxed property at around 15 cents per $1,000. However, it will cost the average homeowner about twice as much as the 2012 levy did because, guess what, your house is now worth a lot more than it was in 2012. Yay?
Starting in 2020, my household’s hit will be about $77 per year. This money will go to expand library hours, buy new books, update high speed internet, earthquake-proof buildings, and support early-learning programs for young children.
More controversially, perhaps, this levy will eliminate borrowers’ late fees. That’s right, no more library late fees. The theory behind this move is that late fees disproportionately punish folks least likely to afford them, because once those fees hit a certain mark, a person is no longer able to borrow a book. A middle-class person can pay the fine, a poorer person maybe can’t and is effectively barred from using many library resources.
Seattle would not be the first fine-free library system. Dozens and dozens of systems in the U.S. (big and small) have been fine-free for years, and the ill-effects have been negligible. It turns out that most people will do the right thing (like return a book on time) even if there are no negative consequences for not doing so.
More carrots, fewer sticks.
VOTE YES |