Seattle Mayor's Budget Plan Includes More Money For SPD, SFD

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell this week delivered his first budget address, pitching a spending plan for $7.4 billion in 2023 and 2024. Harrell's speech Tuesday highlighted public safety and homelessness spending.

"After two very long pandemic years, today we stand at a pivotal moment in our city’s history," Harrell said. "Our guiding principle is how best to meet the urgent needs of our communities and empower our employees to deliver essential services. I’m proud to say that we’re able to propose a budget that sustains the high-quality City services our residents expect, protects critical staffing, and makes smart funding decisions to address community priorities including safety, homelessness, access to opportunity, and more.”

His proposal seeks to increase the Seattle Police Department's budget by roughly $20 million, for a total of $375 million, primarily by transferring parking enforcement back to SPD from the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Related: Here's What's In The $15.8B King County Budget Proposal

The Seattle City Council voted last year to transfer more than 100 parking enforcement officers out of police purview. Earlier this year, the city voided parking tickets for approximately 200,000 drivers, costing up to $5 million, after it came to light that parking enforcement officers had not received the proper commissions to write citations after the transfer.

The mayor's plan also includes $4.3 million for hiring bonuses and training to "recruit and retain the right number and the right kind of officers," along with $3 million for data analytics.

The Seattle Fire Department would receive $54 million to design and build a new fire station in North Seattle and $2.5 million to hire 90 recruits, an estimated 50 percent increase. Earlier this year, The Seattle Times reported detailed extreme staff shortages at Seattle Fire, leading to nearly $38 million in overtime last year.

The fire department has roughly 1,000 uniformed staff, and under the proposal would have a total budget of $266.5 million.

Other proposed investments include nearly $250 million for affordable housing and $88 million to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, up 13 percent, including funds to construct new tiny home villages and safe parking lots. The budget proposed by King County Executive Dow Constantine would add another $96 million to support the agency.

As PubliCola notes, Harrell's plan also seeks $95 million from the city's JumpStart payroll tax to balance the budget, a move that is likely to face blowback at City Council. Right now, revenue from the tax is largely earmarked for housing and "Green New Deal" investments.

The proposal will head to the council's budget committee for debate and changes, with a final vote likely sometime in November.

Here are some of the key budget goals from the mayor's office:

• Increasing Seattle Fire Department’s recruitment class by 50% for 2023 and funding the Comprehensive Police Recruitment and Retention Plan.
• Adding victims’ advocates to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes.
• Funding an additional $4.5 million in community safety solutions and the Regional Peacekeepers Collective, as part of a $47 million overall investment in the Human Services Department to support safe communities.
• Reestablishment of the Park Ranger Program through the Parks District and $2 million to fund programs exploring 911 response diversification.
• Nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to support affordable housing – an unprecedented investment toward addressing the city’s housing and homelessness crises.
• Investments to maintain thousands of shelter units and creation of additional options, including tiny homes and safe lots.
• $88 million investment in the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to support outreach, shelter, and other critical programs.
• $13 million for the City’s Unified Care Team – supporting ongoing efforts to ensure a clean city and transition from a citywide focus to geographically-based teams, providing tailored support to neighborhoods.
• $5 million to support bonuses for Seattle’s 4,600 childcare workers serving over 20,000 Seattle kids and $5 million to support future generations of kids and educators through UW’s Rainier Valley Early Learning Campus.
• $17 million dollars to support small businesses and economic revitalization programs through the Office of Economic Development.
• A pilot program for the mayor’s Healthy Seattle Initiative, helping connect vulnerable residents to needed health care.
• Over $20 million toward Green New Deal investments and the One Seattle Climate Justice Agenda, supporting a clean energy economy, good jobs, climate resilient communities, and pollution reduction.
• Investments in a Tree Equity and Resilience Plan, increasing tree planting capacity, and greening of industrial properties.
• $8 million to make traveling safer for our most vulnerable residents by funding Vision Zero projects in busy corridors like Rainier Ave S and Aurora Ave N.