S400: A Cities Bill

Financially healthy cities will support a prosperous State of Washington. We need a Cities Bill that will help cities attract jobs, build infrastructure, finance affordable housing, and educate a trained work force. Cities are where most of the State’s tax revenue is raised, where 75 percent of the people live, where innovation and research take place, and where most of our poor, elderly, and disadvantaged are cared for. Cities provide the majority of the funding that supports prisons, highways, health care, and public education. Now is the time to recognize that cities are the key to a healthy statewide economy and pass a Cities Bill that will give cities the resources and tools they need, such as tax increment financing authority to attract new development, a street utility option that could support transportation solutions, and special funding options for intercity schools. We must rebuild our 250 cities, and when we do we will rebuild the economy of the State.

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Cary Bozeman, currently CEO of the Port of Bremerton, has served as mayor of Bellevue and Bremerton.