King County proposes millions in funding for cultural sector

It’s been years in the making and could potentially transform the local cultural sector: A new proposal from King County Executive Dow Constantine would enact a 0.1% sales tax increase to benefit local arts, culture, heritage and science organizations. If the ordinance to create the “King County Doors Open” program passes in the Metropolitan King County Council, more than $70 million could be distributed to hundreds of local nonprofit organizations each year.

Constantine’s proposal, submitted to the council last week, comes after the April passage of statewide legislation that allows counties and cities to create a “cultural access” program through a council or commission vote, rather than having to put it to voters through a ballot measure. That legislation, as well as this proposed ordinance, is the culmination of a decade-plus push by sector advocates to pass such a program in King County and responds to longstanding calls for more consistent public support for the sector.

According to Constantine and Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Councilmember Claudia Balducci, this legislation would help school kids and other communities get more access to science, arts, heritage and cultural programs, plug funding gaps, help get the cultural sector on solid footing, and boost local economies.

If passed, King County would join the state’s two other “cultural access” programs in Tacoma and Olympia, as well as similar programs in St. Louis and Denver.

A 2017 ballot measure to create a similar program in King County failed by a slim margin. But Constantine said this proposal is different and addresses equity concerns raised at the time by artists and arts organizers, who worried smaller and suburban organizations, as well as groups led by people of color, would fall through the cracks. Plus, with arts organizations still struggling to recover from the pandemic, he said, “this proposal is needed now more than ever.”

Constantine said there’s broad sector support for the measure, and that he was “very optimistic” the measure would pass in the council. (Councilmembers Sarah Perry and Girmay Zahilay said they were awaiting more information about the plan; various other council members did not respond before publication.) A first council briefing is scheduled for Wednesday. The timeline for committee discussions as well as public comment sessions and an eventual council vote is not yet set.

The tax increase — a penny for every $10 spent — would bring the total sales tax in Seattle from 10.25% to 10.35%, but less in other areas of King County. According to advocates for the measure, it would cost an average family $40 per year. The money would pool into a grant fund administered by 4Culture, a semipublic county organization that distributes funds to arts and culture projects. The program would be in place for seven years, after which it would have to be reapproved either by council vote or a public vote.

According to the proposal, a wide swath of King County organizations — small and large, metropolitan and suburban, focusing on science, heritage or the arts — would receive funding. Groups like Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery to the Auburn Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle-based Northwest African American Museum could get money to pay for rent, utilities and payroll; to provide free or reduced-price entry; and to work with underserved communities. Some of the funding will also be reserved for new or emerging organizations as well as countywide projects and limited-time events. Another subsection of the funds will help organizations acquire, build and renovate property.

Additionally, 15% of program funds will be spent on public school students, for things like field trips, before- and after-school programs, admission costs and transportation, internships and more.

This is especially important, Councilmember Kohl-Welles noted, with fewer schools offering music education. “This legislation will be critical in providing the opportunities for enrichment, and hands-on art education, as well as being able to have school kids visit our wonderful arts and culture organizations,” she said.

Kohl-Welles, whose district covers many of the region’s largest institutions, also said the program would boost job creation and tourism by attracting more people who spend money on hotels, restaurants and stores.

But critics of cultural access programs (as well as some supporters) often point out that sales taxes are regressive, which means that low-income taxpayers carry a disproportionate share of the tax burden.

Kohl-Welles and Constantine said they’re looking to the state Legislature to enact tax reform. “Postponing doing the right thing, while we wait for the perfect solution to come from the Legislature is, I’ve found, not a good option,” Constantine said. “We need to move forward and do and build what this community needs.”

If passed, the tax increase would go into effect on April 1, 2024, according to the proposal, with the first distribution to the new fund starting in June 2024.