Press Release
I-137 Gives New Seattle Board a Blank Check
SEATTLE – On Feb. 14, backers of Initiative 136 filed a replacement initiative, I-137, and it’s another example of a tax-first, plan-later, hope-for-results approach to solving our most pressing issues.
“The replacement initiative, I-137, is another example of an approach that doesn’t serve Seattleites – and this time, it includes a blank check to be paid by residents of Seattle,” said Rachel Smith, president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “Sixty-five percent of voters do not trust the city of Seattle to spend tax dollars responsibly, and voters should be wary of supporting a ‘hypothetical business plan’ for a new, opaque, and seemingly unprepared governmental entity. Voters want more housing, not more housing entities.”
The replacement initiative puts the city on the hook for any expenses that the development authority decides are necessary for 18 months. Given that this involves the creation from scratch of yet another government agency focused on housing, it will drain money from the city’s beleaguered general fund, which pays for critical priorities like public safety and addressing homelessness – at a time when the city of Seattle is facing a nearly $450 million deficit in the 2025-26 biennium.
And the only thing I-137 would hold harmless in the city’s budget? Existing money for housing.
The new language states:
- “The City shall provide the Public Developer limited in-kind assistance as necessary for the first 18 months of startup, including but not limited to office space, staffing, supplies, insurance and bonding, and legal services.
- This in-kind support shall include hiring and retaining the Public Developer’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer.
- This in-kind support shall not derive from any existing housing funding or reduce any City support for other housing projects.
- The City Council or the people acting through the initiative power shall will decide the amount of subsequent City support for the Public Developer, which may include funds from any source available to do so including, without limitation, the general fund, grant funds, and by issuing Councilmanic Revenue Bonds.”
This new language is acknowledgment that the Seattle Social Housing Public Development Authority, as it currently stands, has no experience, capacity or ability to manage $50 million in annual taxpayer funds or to acquire or develop any type of housing.
Additionally, House our Neighbors filed this new initiative 137 – just one week after filing its first one I-136 – to make necessary legal corrections to the initiative text. The campaign website includes no explanation, and the old link to I-136 simply leads to a to an error page, a disturbing trend over the last week.
This development adds to several other concerning revelations over the past week, including:
- The campaign website to support I-137 put forward a “hypothetical business plan” – there appears to be no actual business plan.
- I-137’s website also says the limited analysis completed “does not take into account inflation of construction costs, rents, overhead, or payroll tax revenues.”
- Last year when I-135 was on the ballot, the campaign called House Our Neighbors said, aside from a small capital grant from the city, social housing would be financed primarily through bonding. They also told voters social housing would serve households making 0%-30% AMI, in addition to low-to-middle-income earners. But now, in a bait and switch, the hypothetical plan says they would reserve only 3% of units—and exclusively 350-square-foot studios—for Seattle’s poorest residents.
- The Social Housing Authority has not hired a CEO, COO, CFO, or brought on a housing development or acquisition expert of any kind, despite trying to raise a new tax, and despite the fact that it had nearly a year to do so.
- As of last week, the Seattle Social Housing Public Development Authority website has no minutes, no recordings, no documents, no presentations, and no board member emails available. This week, that website was completely pulled down, leaving only an “error” message, meaning the public has no way to gather any information on the new entity that would be receiving upwards of $50 million dollars a year in new revenue, plus whatever they deemed necessary from the city of Seattle.
We need more housing – that’s why the Seattle Metro Chamber has spent years working in coalition advocating for policy changes including more middle housing, increased access to homeownership for people of color, and pushing for aggressive city comprehensive plans. We’ve also supported the passage of affordable housing levies, and supported increases to the Housing Trust Fund. Voters should be wary of supporting a “hypothetical plan” for a new, opaque, and seemingly unprepared governmental entity with a blank check and no accountability.
About the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
The Seattle Metropolitan (Seattle Metro) Chamber of Commerce is the regional business advocacy organization that engages the innovation and entrepreneurship of its 2,500 members to promote inclusive economic prosperity. Founded in 1882 by local business leaders, the Chamber today is an independent organization representing a regional workforce of approximately 750,000. For more information, visit www.seattlechamber.com.
Media contact: Jillian Henze, APR
Cell: 425-785-6731
jillianh@www.seattlechamber.com