Proposition 1 represents a huge increase of at least 33% in local taxes. Will there be other tax increases coming up for Shoreline residents?
The Quick Answer
Yes.
Voters approved the "renewal" (at a higher levy rate) of two Shoreline School District levies in February 2026. Those are expected to increase taxes in 2027.
The City Levy Lid Lift approved by voters in 2022 means that the City's general levy increases at the rate of inflation every year.
One of the City's motivations in putting this new Park District on the ballot now is that future ballots are expected to be full of new and renewed levies.
There’s a limit to what taxpayers can afford, and prioritization of limited tax dollars is important. Taxpayers know the difference between wants vs. needs. The proposed pool facility is a luxury, not a necessity.
The Details
Proposition 1 Metropolitan Park District (Pool) Levy
Taxes under Proposition 1 will be levied in 2027, and payments will start in 2028. The amount of the levy is not yet determined, but the proposition allows for a levy of up to 75¢ per thousand of assessed value. (At 2026's median assessed value of $831k, that would be $623 for a median-valued household.)
The City General Tax Levy and Lid Lift
Under the Levy Lid Lift approved by voters in 2022, property taxes paid by a median-valued home to the Shoreline general fund increased from $707 in 2022 to $1070 in 2024 to $1243 in 2026. That's a 75% increase in just four years. (For comparison: Inflation — as measured by the Seattle area CPI-U — increased by a total of 20% over those four years. The total property tax bill — including state, county, fire, school, and the Shoreline park bond levies — for the median-valued Shoreline house has increased by 25% over that four-year period.)
The City levy will automatically increase at the rate of inflation in 2027 and again in 2028.
The City plans to request another levy lid lift in 2028 which, if approved, would increase taxes for the following ten years. The City has said that a levy lid lift will be crucial, but how big an increase the city will request has not yet been decided.
On top of all those recent and upcoming increases, Proposition 1, if passed, will increase the property tax levy to the City by an additional 30%–50%.
Schools and Other
In February 2026, voters approved two Shoreline School District levies to replace levies that expire in 2026. Those new levies are expected to increase taxes in 2027 over what they were in 2026 by $.22 per $1,000 of assessed value. (In 2026 the median-valued home paid $2525 in voter-approved levies to the Shoreline School District.)
Other projected and likely increases include a King County Best Starts for Kids Levy renewal in 2027, a potential Shoreline School District Bond and Levy for improvements in 2027 or 2028, a King County Library System levy lid lift in 2027, and a King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy renewal in 2029.