Seattle City Council Approves $6.5 Billion 2020 Budget

SEATTLE, WA — Late Tuesday afternoon, the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to approve a $6.5 billion budget for 2020. Aside from funding basic services, money was secured to expand the city's Health One crisis team, recruit more police officers, and build affordable housing. According to Geekwire, the budget includes unanimously approved legislation creating a minimum wage for rideshare drivers next year and adding a new 51 cent tax on rides to fund city projects.

The Seattle Times reports the approved budget largely mirrored the one proposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan, with about $25 million in changes, including money to expand a jail diversion program and build more tiny homes. Funding was also secured to create and maintain mobile public restroom facilities for people experiencing homelessness.

Crosscut reports the 2020 budget is nearly $600 million larger than 2019's and includes more than $100 million for homeless services.

Mayor Jenny Durkan's office released a statement on the budget's passage Monday evening:

“I want to thank the Council, and particularly Budget Committee Chair Sally Bagshaw for her leadership. Working with City Council, this budget invests in our shared priorities like expanding access to opportunity for young people, more affordable housing, addressing homelessness, advancing public safety, and more transit.

With this budget, we’re significantly growing the City’s Child Care Assistance Program to serve hundred more families each year. With our Fare Share plan, we’re investing in first-in-the-nation protections for drivers, more housing near transit, and transit projects that will help keep Seattle moving. We’re expanding our ‘Health One” team and increasing our emergency responders’ resources to help people in crisis. We’re investing in public safety and in recruiting, hiring, and retaining more officers at the Seattle Police Department. And we’re taking advantage of a new state law to invest tens of millions of dollars to build more housing for working families.

Investments like these are critical to building a city of the future. Our budget says what kind of city we want to be, and we’re delivering on programs to advance our shared priorities.”