Acting Mayor Tim Burgess Introduces 2018 Seattle Budget

SEATTLE, WA - Acting Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess on Monday presented the administration's proposed budget to City Council. The $5.6 billion budget increased by a little under $200 million compared to the 2017 budget as passed by the Council. The budget was largely written under the administration of former mayor Ed Murray, who left office Sept. 13 under allegations the sexually abused underage boys in the 1970s and 1980s, including his own cousin.

Burgess mostly sidestepped discussing those sex abuse allegations in recent months, and was among the majority of Council members who resisted asking for Murray's resignation until Sept. 12 when the latest allegation was revealed. Burgess was sworn in as mayor just last week, but barely mentioned the reason he had become mayor when he took the oath of office.

But before the budget presentation, Burgess talked about the scandal, and the damage it has done.

"All of us have been affected by the painful crisis of the last months, especially survivors of sexual assault," Burgess said. "For all affected by the scourge of sexual violence, and for all involved in the particular events that have shaken us so recently, we wish appropriate measures of justice and continued steps forward along a healing path."

Weaving the topic into the budget, Burgess' proposal includes a $500,000 boost in spending for survivors of sex abuse - specifically to provide "person-centered interventions to address and prevent long-term health and mental health issues."

The sex abuse topic aside, Burgess promised to use the budget to approach some tough issues, including retirement savings for low-income workers, homelessness, and police accountability. Burgess also detailed what the city would do with an expected $14.8 million in revenue from the new soda tax. Burgess said the money would go toward decreasing food insecurity in low-income communities. The new tax goes into effect on Jan. 1 and will charge beverage-enjoyers 1.75 cents per ounce on drinks like soda, iced tea, and juices (but not diet soda). Read the whole budget document here.

Other parts of the budget Burgess highlighted:

• Money to buy a new aid car for the Seattle fire department and to hire more dispatch center staff
• The Seattle Retirement Savings Plan is Burgess' sort-of public retirement plan, which allows low-income workers to invest in an IRA
• The budget keeps in place the Nurse Family Partnership, which pays for nurses to visit low-income families raising their first child
• Increase spending on fixing homelessness, including hiring a homeless outreach worker for the Seattle Public Libraries
• Funding a unit inside the City Attorney's office to oversee gun forfeiture, which a new state law requires for those convicted of domestic violence offenses

The city's general fund budget is set at $1.3 billion for 2018, and, as usual, the police department takes up a majority with a total budget of $676 million - an increase from about $652 million compared to last year's budget. The budget predicts the city will take in about $1.3 billion in tax and other revenue in 2018.

Through November, the City Council will hold a series of hearings with city department heads. If all goes according to plan, the Council will pass the budget by Dec. 2.

Image via the Seattle Channel