Snoqualmie voters reject hospital services levy increase of 45 cents
(The Center Square) – The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital levy increase is all but decided as 68% of voters have rejected the measure after the second wave of special election results.
The King County Public Hospital District No. 4 Board proposed an increase to the regular property tax levy from its current level of 25 cents per $1000 of assessed value to 70 cents per $1000 of assessed value beginning in 2024. The 45 cent tax increase would have resulted in an estimated increase of $18.75 per month for a $500,000 house in the district located in the Snoqualmie Valley.
The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital took down the levy information from its website and admitted defeat in a Facebook post.
“Not all ballots have been counted, but it’s clear Snoqualmie Valley Hospital’s Levy Lid Lift wasn’t supported by voters in 2023,” the hospital said in a Facebook post. “To say our team is disappointed is an understatement, however, we learned so much from our communities and got to meet so many wonderful folks through the effort.”
The levy was intended to expand the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital’s Emergency Department. According to the hospital, the expansion would have kept wait times low as its emergency room capacity needed to match the growing Snoqualmie Valley population.
Taxpayers would have also been offered credit on balances owed to the hospital’s medical expenses through their paid levy fees on their property taxes.
King County Public Hospital District No. 4 serves residents spanning from the Duvall border to Tiger Mountain in East King County and from the Town of Preston to the Kittitas County border on Snoqualmie Pass.
