Friday, April 19, 2019

Vote "YES" on the local measures

Image result for vote yes imageIn thinking about the $345M EvergeenHealth 20-year bond, I can accept a need for seismic updates, a new critical care unit and enhanced maternity center but why couldn’t they tease out a million dollars for psychiatric care for which we have none?  A million dollars could pay for an out-patient psychiatric clinic in one or more key district cities like Kenmore.  Overhead for these clinics is lower than urgent care facilities which need expensive equipment like ultrasound and more extensive infrastructure. Full service psychiatric nurses can perform just as a psychiatrist but at half the cost.  Evergreen has significant revenue and should be able to pay for these nurses, just as they do for nurses at their urgent cares. It appears, money spent enhancing the maternity center (which we already have) makes the $345 bond more palatable than mental health care. This saddens me. One in five Americans have a mental health condition according to the National Institute of Mental Health. As our community hospital, EvergreenHealth should take care of them.  All said and done, I will vote "YES" on Proposition 1 because I feel the expense is very low considering all that we are getting; and I want to support our community hospital.   

As for the LWSD Capital Bond Levy, I will be voting "YES" for all the right reasons. My only concern is about the money we are dumping into 11 of our schools for geothermal heating. Yes, geothermal is a wonderful thing but the payback period is 35 years for a 75-year school.  

I wish I could be more excited about paying for all these valuable improvements coming to our schools and the hospital.  In voting "YES" I feel passing these measures significantly moves our community forward during these critical times. Please vote.  

-- Bob Yoder 
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On King County's "Localscape" I ran the numbers to find my 2019 tax from the proposed LWSD and EvergreeHealth public hospital measures, Simply enter your address. Also, find your 2019 taxes for the library, sound transit, port, flood control, city, county and other jurisdictions. 

https://localscape.spatialest.com/#kingcountyassessor/Tax
I learned my current 2019 tax is $5989.01

Based on 2018 property values, the LWSD Capital Bond Levy would cost me $196.04.
My 2018 LWSD local taxes cost $1735.  Thus, my total local taxes if  Proposition 1 passes is $1931.04. Approximately $196.00 will be levied for six years. If you have questions e-mail Shannon Parthemer at sparthemer@lwsd.org

Based on 2018 property values, the EvergreenHealth Proposition 1 Bond would cost me $121.68/year
My current 2019 property tax is $197. Current capital bonds debt retirement is $60.77. Thus, my total EvergreenHealth tax for 2019 after Proposition 1 is $257/year. If you have questions call Laurene Burton at 425.899.2667.

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