SEATTLE — Seattle's Emergency Operations Center will be open Wednesday as part of the fight against homelessness.
In his State of the City address Tuesday, Mayor Ed Murray announced that he wants to double the amount spent on the city’s homeless crisis.
It would be an additional $55 million coming from a proposed commercial and residential property tax.
The mayor says the opening of the EOC, typically only done during major city events and storms, will make homelessness a priority.
Wednesday morning, navigation teams and part of the city and mayor's staff will meet at the Emergency Operations Center and then five times a week, for two hours a day.
The mayor said as part of his plan, he wants to move 500 homeless families indoors, open a 24-hour shelter and create a centralized list of affordable housing.
But it comes with a price tag.
To double the $55 million the city already spends on the homeless, property tax for the owner of a $500,000 home would increase about $136 a year.
The mayor hopes to get the proposed increase on the August ballot.
Murray is also asking business owners to raise $25 million over the next 5 years to do their part.
Cox Media Group