We’re well into fall, and that means budget season for our government partners. Your Chamber is watching closely to ensure your priorities are present in the revenue and spending plans of our public officials.

Just yesterday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his proposed 2025-26 biennial budget, and we were pleased to see it makes strategic investments in public safety and continues funding access to affordable housing and services for people experiencing homelessness at historic levels – all without including a tax increase.

Over the last two years, you may have heard the city was facing a budget deficit, that the budget challenges were inflation-driven and structural in nature, and that the city would need to raise more progressive revenue to avoid an austerity budget.

So, how could Mayor Harrell propose a balanced budget that funds important community priorities without new or increased taxes?

Two years ago, I was invited to participate in work to stabilize the City of Seattle’s revenue with public and private sector partners. From the very announcement of the convening, we heard the themes listed above.

But as we got into the work, I suggested the numbers weren’t adding up. What I saw was over the past 10 years, the city’s General Fund revenues were in fact growing – faster than inflation – not declining. This fact was verified in an April 2024 city budget report stating a “low-inflation/high-revenue growth environment made adding new services relatively cheap, fostering rapid expansion of the [General Fund] budget.”

Additionally, the city started collecting a new business tax in 2021, the payroll expense tax. I noted this tax was bringing in significantly more money than the city forecasted when it enacted the tax. What you might not have heard is that in 2025 alone, this tax is expected to bring in a whopping $451 million dollars – an amount equivalent to about a quarter of the city’s entire General Fund.

This revenue was originally set aside to fund only four priorities: helping small businesses (15%), affordable housing (62%), The Green New Deal (9%), and the Equitable Development Initiative (9%), all things many Seattleites prioritize. But we also prioritize having adequate police officers and firefighters, enough shelter beds and homelessness services. We asked why we wouldn’t use available resources for those priorities too?

And that’s exactly what we see in the Mayor’s budget proposal. Funding 300 shelter beds that were set to close because one-time funding ran out. Investments in downtown Seattle with a new Downtown Activation Team charged with restoring and beautifying our economic engine. Building up all aspects of our crisis responders: police, fire, Health 99, CARE, and more. And getting the city ready for FIFA World Cup in 2026!

Another thing you may have heard is the city isn’t investing as much in affordable housing in this upcoming budget. Let’s be crystal clear: Mayor Harrell’s budget is making an historic, unprecedented investment in housing: $700 million over two years. Added to the $800 million investment in his first three years in office, it is a combined $1.5 billion in housing investments.

So the notion that affordable housing projects are being shortchanged is simply not true. Nor are we facing a crisis, austerity budget. And we didn’t need new revenue to fund our priorities. On the contrary, voters in Seattle have consistently said the city should balance the budget without raising taxes, exactly what the Mayor’s proposed budget does.

You may have heard the saying “never let a crisis go to waste,” but a manufactured crisis is never a good thing for the people on the receiving end. Telling people that severe cuts are just around the corner will erode trust over time. And a constant threat of new business taxes is not helpful for downtown recovery and growing our local economy.

At our recent Annual Meeting, I said we wanted to see leaders skip the stunts, stop the spin, and spare us the smoke and mirrors. We asked, instead, that leaders show us how they intend to make progress. We thank Mayor Harrell for doing that just that.

Please look for regular updates from our team throughout the budget process and do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Always your champion,

Rachel

Rachel Smith 

President and CEO

Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce