Economic Development
With the May 10th Primary Election just around the corner, the citizens of Bellevue will have multiple local items they can vote on this year including the Mayor and City Council races. In addition to the candidate races, there is a very important City Initiative on the ballot for Bellevue citizens to vote on.
On the May 10th, Primary Election Ballot, the City of Bellevue has placed “Proposition No. 1” on the ballot, asking voters to approve the continuation of the Economic Development Plan first approved by voters in the 2014 General Election.
The Economic Development Plan approved by voters in the November 2014 Election, made it possible for the City to set aside a portion of already existing sales taxes, to be used specifically for the purpose of growing and improving our City by: development of new jobs, attracting a variety of new businesses, broadening the tax base, generating employment opportunities, attracting new capital investments, expanding the labor market and retention of existing jobs for the citizens of Bellevue by promoting development with the Highway 34 Corridor District.
The funds set aside from exiting sales taxes are set in the original 2014 initiative at $750,000 per fiscal year.
The approval of this Economic Development Plan in 2014, and the funds collected over the past 5 years, made it possible for the City to recently purchase land along the Highway 34 Corridor, which is paving the way for the development of multiple new projects that have the potential to bring hundreds of new jobs to Bellevue. Without future funds that Proposition No 1 would provide, the City of Bellevue could see a slow down of the recent momentum in growth and development for our community that for so many years we have wanted to see.
When voters approve Proposition No. 1 on the May 10th ballot, they will give the City of Bellevue the ability to continue with this successful Economic Development Plan, paving the way for more new growth and economic development in the City. With new economic development comes a growth in the base of already existing tax revenues, and those increased revenues can be used for improvements and enhancements around the community, including new or improved parks, upgrades in local amenities and city services, and an overall strengthening of the City’s financial foundation.
The biggest thing to remember is that voting for Proposition No. 1 does not add any new taxes for the citizens of Bellevue, it simply allows the City to use a portion of taxes already in place to grow and improve our City. The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce supports Proposition No. 1 because of the Economic Development opportunities it gives to our great City of Bellevue.