King County Sends $1.25B Levy To April Ballots

KING COUNTY, WA — The Metropolitan King County Council on Tuesday approved a proposed $1.25 billion levy measure to fund new and improved behavioral health facilities across the region.

Seattle and King County leaders pitched the plan in September, with funding from a nine-year property tax levy, which would pay for five new crisis care centers, preservation of existing treatment beds, and new investments to help grow the region's mental health care workforce.

Council members approved the measure to appear on special election ballots, which will be mailed to voters on April 5 and due back on April 25.

King County Executive Dow Constantine welcomed the passage in a statement Tuesday:

"I want to thank the King County Council for passing this critical proposal today and look forward to voters having their say in April. The behavioral health crisis is intersectional - it shows up in our streets, it shows up in our jails, and it shows up in our communities. By improving and investing in our behavioral health crisis system we can also create solutions for other important arenas, from public safety to public health to homelessness. The Crisis Care Centers levy is how we help people get from crisis to recovery, and how we ensure they have the necessary support to be able to start reclaiming their lives."

Constantine's office shared four primary goals for the levy in September:

1. Create five new regional crisis care centers: Distributed geographically across the county, the centers will provide walk-in access and the potential for short-term stays to help people stabilize, depending on needs, with one center specifically serving youth.
2. Preserve and restore the dramatic loss of residential treatment beds: In 2018, 355 beds providing community-based residential care for people with mental health residential needs existed in King County. Today, only 244 of these beds are available.
3. Grow the behavioral health workforce pipeline: The proposal will create career pathways through apprenticeship programming and access to higher education, credentialing, training, and wrap-around supports. It will also invest in equitable wages for the workforce at crisis care centers.
4. Provide immediate services while centers are being constructed: The proposal will also use initial proceeds to quickly create mobile or site-based crisis behavioral health services that can operate until the first crisis care centers open. This bridge strategy will complement recent state and federally-funded mobile crisis teams.

Officials last year said case managers seeking supportive housing or psychiatric treatment for patients typically find providers at capacity by the middle of each month, with an average wait of 44 days before a bed opens up. The county estimates the median homeowner would pay an extra $121 a year in property taxes from the levy, beginning in 2024 and expiring in 2032.