District 3 representative Kshama Sawant will hold her annual People’s Budget Rally this weekend as the Seattle City Council prepares to unveil its proposed “balancing package” of proposed changes to Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2023 spending plan.
“This year, our People’s Budget campaign is fighting to fund free abortion for all paid for by increasing the Amazon Tax, funding for renter organizing, funding for new Tiny House Villages, and raises for human services workers on the front lines of addressing the needs of our homeless neighbors,” the announcement from Sawant’s city council office reads.
Join us at the People’s Budget Rally!
Saturday, November 5th | 2:00 pm
New Hope Baptist Church (124 21st Ave, Seattle WA 98144)
Sawant’s People’s Budget slate of spending proposals typically address some of the most progressive initiatives in the city but rarely find full support in the council’s spending packages.
Budget committee chair Teresa Mosqueda will present the council’s 2023 balancing package Monday.
CHS reported here on the mayor’s budget proposal and its steps back on Seattle reforms including spending to create a larger SPD and a controversial new plan for how to redirecting funding from the city’s big business tax from COVID-19 recovery, housing, and the Green New Deal to patching up the city’s general fund. Harrell’s plans also call for nearly $40 million for “clean city, trash mitigation, encampment resolution, and RV remediation initiatives.”
There are 100 proposed budget amendments on the table including saving around $800,000 by slicing five employees from the mayor’s Unified Care Team plan, countering the mayor’s move on nearly $2 million in JumpStart funding, maintaining $9.4 million in funding for homelessness services the Harrell administration was looking to scale back, $3 million to boost the city’s rental assistance resources, $3 million to help attract large conventions to the city, $350,000 for the Garfield Super Block Project, $200,000 to purchase electric leaf blowers for the city, nearly $3 million to expand the City’s 911 emergency response resources, $500,000 for an abortion access and an abortion care awareness campaign, $5 million for improving city childcare facilities, $200,000 to support a free fresh produce program in the Central District, $5.3 million to support existing tiny home villages, $5 million to support the purchase of a hotel to be used for non-congregate shelter, $2 million for a pilot program to fund addiction treatment, $3.6 million to complete the remaining Neighborhood Street Fund projects, and add nearly $20 million for over two years of bridge maintenance.
The council, meanwhile, is encouraging constituents to explore and provide feedback on proposed budget amendments here:
Understanding Council’s Budget Amendments: An Interactive, Visual Tool
You can access the tool on the Council’s website. It lays out all 100 amendments with detailed information about each one:o The department it pertains to
o The amendment number
o A short summary of what it does
o The Councilmembers who originally sponsored it
o A link to read a memo from Council’s policy staff
o And a link to watch the Council’s discussion of the amendment – timestamped to go right to that specific part of the meeting
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