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In response to the Nov. 21 Seattle City Council vote to approve the city budget, Rachel Smith, president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, issued the following statement.
“Today we are celebrating the conclusion of this city budget season with a spending plan that includes Mayor Bruce Harrell’s public safety investment, as well as a smart proposal ensuring the mayor and the council partner in a review of city spending, which is something we have been asking for.
We continue to have concerns about increasing the Payroll Expense Tax by 6.5% with no stated plan or outcomes. The young people advocating to better equip schools to support students with mental health are not wrong, but the Council’s tax-first, plan-later approach is misguided. This proposal will increase taxes for 500 businesses, without considering any alternatives, at a time when we are desperately trying to spur downtown recovery and when we see headlines every day about vacant office space.
Now that the 2024 budget process is complete, we need eyes toward the next biennium. We all need to focus on managing the city’s impending deficit by getting spending under control, prioritizing existing revenues to meet the city’s highest priorities – including public safety and drug use – and increasing the city’s tax base by making it easier to do business here. And rejecting Transportation Impact Fees – a tax on development, including housing – was a positive step.”