Seattle Library Levy Public Hearing On Thursday

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle residents will get the chance this week to give feedback on the proposed Seattle Public Library levy renewal. A City Council select committee will hold a public hearing on the levy on Thursday.

The seven-year, $213 million levy will likely be on the ballot in August. It's a renewal of the $123 million levy voters passed in 2012, which made up about 25 percent of the library system's total funding.

If approved, the renewal levy will take on some notable new challenges. The levy will raise about $8 million to eliminate fines and late fees, which disproportionately affect low-income and people of color.

Plus plenty more: An extra hour of service on Sundays at all 26 branches; extend four branches to be open seven days a week; seismic safety upgrades; and making mobile hot-spots and laptops more widely available for checkout.

The levy will cost the owner of a median-priced home about $85 per year, according to initial estimates. That's about $3 more per month compared to the 2012 levy.

The Thursday public hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall in City Council chambers. After Thursday, the Library Select Committee will hold one more hearing, and the full Council is scheduled to vote on April 22 to send the levy to the ballot.