After a lengthy meeting on Monday, King County officials will likely add a property tax measure to November's ballot that would aid child services. The measure, which could come to a final vote later this week, would also provide funding to help keep maternal and family-planning services at their current levels, according to the Seattle Times.
The proposal — called Best Starts for Kids — has generated months of discussion and preventative research. There are a number of details, but the main idea is that by charging a 14-cent levy per $1,000 of assessed property value, early-intervention health care programs will yield greater returns in the long run. The proposal's rooted in an ongoing debate over how to deal with the county's impending budget problems around public health.
