The Seattle 2022 City budget process is well underway. This week Seattle City Council will discuss amendments to the Mayor’s proposed 2022 budget. Those meetings will take place October 26 through October 28.

You can find the Chamber’s letter outlining some of our budget priorities here.

Before submitting budget amendments, the Council participated in issue identification. They outlined areas of the budget where they had outstanding questions or would be looking to amend.

Below are a few areas of note that the Council discussed during issue identification:

Homelessness

  • The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is looking for an additional $27 million in funding.
  • $19.4 million for a 150-bed shelter that would provide more intensive services for people in crisis.
  • $7.6 million to fund 69 peer navigators
  • These would ideally be funded with Medicare reimbursement at a later date, so this is likely a one-time funding ask.
  • Councilmembers expressed interest in the shelter add but wanted further details on how King County and the City would be partnering on these extra budget requests from the KCRHA.

JumpStart Payroll Tax

  • Councilmembers Mosqueda and Herbold were vocal in their belief that Jumpstart priorities have not been addressed by the Mayor’s budget.
  • The Mayor’s proposed budget relies on over $50 million in one-time federal dollars to fund affordable housing.
  • Councilmember Mosqueda wants to stick to the original Jumpstart spending plan. She is concerned about using one-time federal dollars to address the ongoing need for affordable housing.

Transportation

  • Councilmember Pedersen was vocal about needing additional funding for bridge maintenance. The Chamber is tracking this and looking to support where we can.
  • Council discussed the Center City Connector streetcar project. Councilmembers Herbold and Pedersen believe that this project is redundant and unnecessary. Council President González seemed supportive but inquired about whether the project was likely to receive additional federal money, which is needed for the project to be completed.

Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform

  • The 2022 proposed budget provides Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) $6.4 million, $3 million less than what was provided over the course of 2021.
  • LEAD needs $21 million to provide the program City-wide and accept all qualifying referrals.
  • Council continues to express an interest in moving Community Services Officers (CSOs) out of SPD and into the Community Safety and Communications Center. CSOs have resisted this move to date.

Education

  • The Seattle Preschool Program and Seattle Promise are both oversubscribed with funding gaps in 2023-2026. The Preschool Program faces a gap between $3-6 million, and Seattle Promise faces a gap between $8-12 million.
  • With an underspend due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy currently has an additional $14.4 million. There is a discussion over if that funding should be used now for program improvement or held to address the future funding gap.

Community Investments

  • Participatory Budgeting: The Mayor’s proposed budget has a $27 million carryover and an additional $30 million in ongoing funding. The council is looking at maintaining that funding or clawing some back to allocate only $30 million in 2022.

How to participate in the budget process:

The next public hearing on the budget is November 10 at 5:30 p.m. The Council also takes public comment during the first 30 minutes of each budget meeting.

Learn more about how you can sign up for public comment here. The sign-up form for public comment opens two hours before each council meeting.

You may also submit written comments to all nine Councilmembers by emailing Council@seattle.gov.

Additional Resources:

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