Tag Archives: budget

City council hears update on Seattle’s improving — but still weakened — economic forecast

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The economic forecast has improved at Seattle City Hall and a looming budget deficit may end up smaller than originally predicted, according to an analysis presented Wednesday morning at Seattle City Council’s Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee.

At the core of the changes are decisions over which “scenario” city analysts should build from — the most “pessimistic” models including high impacts from threatened tariffs and job loss or the “optimistic” view fueled by gains in the tech stock market and “significantly lower” inflation. Continue reading →

Seattle voters to decide in November if city cuts B&O for small businesses, boosts taxes on Amazon, Starbucks, and ‘many other hometown companies’

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Seattle voters will decide in November on changes hoped to boost small businesses while generating new revenue for the city.

In a special Monday meeting, the Seattle City Council approved the so-called “Seattle Shield Initiative” proposal that would exempt any business generating less than $2 million a year from the city’s B&O tax while raising the tax rate on the city’s most prosperous companies like Amazon and Starbucks. The proposal would eliminate or reduce the tax for around 90% of Seattle businesses while generating an estimated $81 million in new revenue.

Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the legislation following Monday’s vote putting the proposal on track to appear on the November ballot for the city’s voters. Continue reading →

Seattle City Hall 2026 budget guidance — 2% cuts for public safety, homelessness, 8% for everything else

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If you are worried about Seattle defunding the police, a few data points from Wednesday’s session (PDF) of the Seattle City Council’s budget committee should set your mind at ease.

As the city grapples with a “pessimistic” revenue forecast, Mayor Bruce Harrell’s administration is holding the line at two separate thresholds for cutbacks to city departments.

When it comes to the 2026 budget, City Hall is preparing for planned 8% cuts to departments supported by the city’s General Fund and payroll tax on its largest employers. The Seattle Police Department and all “public safety related” departments number? 2%. Same for the city’s spending on homelessness. Continue reading →

King County Council leaders urge action on newly authorized sales tax to avert cuts to services and public safety

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King County Council Chair Girmay Zahilay and Budget Chair Rod Dembowski have issued a call to Executive Shannon Braddock urging swift action to prevent drastic cuts to vital public safety and criminal justice services.

In a letter delivered Friday, the councilmembers pressed the executive to propose a new 0.1% sales and use tax, a revenue option recently authorized by the state legislature through House Bill 2015.

The urgency stems from a projected $160 million deficit facing King County in the upcoming two-year budget. Zahilay and Dembowski say that without new revenue, the county would be forced to implement severe cuts across core services, including law enforcement, public defense, prosecution, the court system, public health initiatives, and support services for victims of crime.

“The residents of King County rely on us to ensure their safety and well-being,” Zahilay said in a statement. “Without decisive action, our communities will face unacceptable cuts to services that touch every corner of the justice and safety system — from emergency response to violence prevention.” Continue reading →

Seattle’s ‘Pessimistic Scenario Forecast’ has city looking at tightened belts, ‘new revenue solutions’

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If you think your retirement plans look bad after the last few months, check out the latest forecast for the City of Seattle’s revenue sources. The latest analysis shows revenues for City Hall missing the mark by $244 million over the next two years. Mayor Bruce Harrell is talking belt tightening. The Seattle City Council’s leading progressive and most junior member is talking about “new revenue solutions” and will be holding a series of town hall this summer “to hear directly from constituents.”

“The revenue forecast released today presents a dire challenge that requires immediate action. This shortfall is real, it’s significant, and it threatens critical essential services that Seattle residents depend on daily,” Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said in a statement. Continue reading →

Seattle Council rejects capital gains tax proposal for housing and food programs one last time in 2024 — Next year could be a different story

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Seattle won’t add a capital gains tax this year.

Supporters of the proposed capital gains tax in Seattle to fund housing and food assistance programs made one last push Thursday as the Seattle City Council executed a series of votes to finalize the 2025 budget.

CHS reported here on the final 2025 spending plan including a $10 million reallocation from Black Lives Matter “participatory budgeting” to fund disadvantaged communities and a roster of Capitol Hill public safety investments.

Included in Thursday’s final votes was the capital gains proposal from North Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore that would implement a 2% tax on capital gains over $250,000 from the sale or exchange of assets like stocks, bonds and business interests. Tuesday, a majority of the council’s budget committee rejected the proposal. Thursday’s full council also voted the plan down with only three members in support as District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth opted to side with the “no” votes. Continue reading →

Hollingsworth shepherds D3 priorities through to Seattle’s final 2025 budget including $10M reallocation from Black Lives Matter ‘Participatory Budgeting’

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(Image: Garfield Super Block)

(Image: Garfield Super Block)

District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth sat out much of the debate Tuesday as the Seattle City Council shaped the final plan to change how it will spend $250 million in revenue from the city’s JumpStart payroll tax on its largest employers — but it was a big day for her office as the first-year legislator shepherded millions of dollars in Capitol Hill and Central District-focused line items to the finish line of the 2025 budget season.

Hollingsworth initiatives include a $10 million reallocation from the city’s Participatory Budgeting program to better support the city’s Black and disadvantaged communities along with a roster of spending to address public safety on Capitol Hill.

Hollingsworth successfully advanced a batch of community-driven line items including $125,000 for a new Capitol Hill community safety coordinator position and $150,000 to support a new street Ambassador Program on Capitol Hill that are part of the final package approved Tuesday by the council’s budget committee.

The D3 representative sat out much of Tuesday’s debate centered on changes to the JumpStart tax, choosing to abstain on a raft of amendments seeking to soften the blow of raiding the tax and directing the spending to help patch the city’s predicted $250 million deficit. Continue reading →

Council committee set for last vote on Seattle budget plan including JumpStart spending changes, proposed capital gains tax, and Capitol Hill public safety line items

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The Seattle City Council has added an additional period of public comment Tuesday morning before it votes on a few key pieces of legislation shaping the city’s 2025 budget.

“Several amendments to the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax legislation have been proposed since the public hearing last week,” an announcement from the budget committee reads. “In response, Chair Strauss has added an additional public comment period at the start of tomorrow’s committee meeting at 9:30 a.m. to hear from community members.”

CHS reported on the two major elements on the table for a committee vote after the additional comment period Tuesday.

Repurposing the JumpStart payroll tax has been a core debate during budget deliberations. Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposed budget leaned heavily on the JumpStart tax and City Hall job cuts to overcome a $250 million budget deficit from growing costs related to inflation and soaring wages. The council budget committee vote could cement Harrell’s proposal with a plan that would divert revenue from the tax originally implemented to fund housing and services budgets coming out of the pandemic. The plan would also eliminate the tax’s oversight committee. Continue reading →

Raiding JumpStart, new capital gains tax, Capitol Hill public safety line items on table in final Seattle 2025 budget push

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The last big push of changes for the city’s 2025 $8.3 billion budget plan is underway as the Seattle City Council will host a busy week of public hearings and committee meetings including debate on a balancing package that includes a roster of Capitol Hill public safety investments and a proposal for a new capital gains tax in the city.

Meanwhile, a group of services, housing, and transit advocates are calling on leaders to back off a plan to repurpose the city’s JumpStart payroll tax on its largest employers to help cover a looming, more than $250 million budget deficit.

Tuesday’s scheduled includes a 5 PM public hearing on the budget followed by a Wednesday council session with split morning and afternoon hearing sessions focused on 2025 revenue including the JumpStart debate, adjusting a multitude of city fees and fines, and consideration of a new capital gains tax in Seattle.

The capital gains tax proposal from North Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore would implement a 2% tax on capital gains over $250,000 from the sale or exchange of assets like stocks, bonds and business interests. It would ride on top of Washington’s 7% capital gains tax. Last week, state voters defeated Initiative 2109 that would have repealed the tax. Continue reading →

As Seattle City Council tightens belt, proposals include increased spending for Capitol Hill ‘community safety coordinator’ and street ambassadors

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A rendering of YouthCare’s planned Constellation Center

As the Seattle City Council tightens the city’s belt in the final steps of the year-end budget process, District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth will have a busy couple weeks ahead defending her roster of proposed spending projects for 2025 and beyond centered around Capitol Hill public safety improvements and city investments around the Garfield High School campus.

The council Wednesday morning will begin the final steps to shaping a more balanced budget as it refines the city’s spending plan to meet a downturn in revenue that continues to worsen. Last week, the Seattle Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts said its predictions for a downturn in revenue continue to worsen.

CHS reported here on Mayor Bruce Harrell’s budget proposal which leans heavily on the JumpStart tax and City Hall job cuts to overcome a $250 million budget deficit from growing costs related to inflation and soaring wages.

Council staff analysis shows a belt-tightening plan for the next two years that would shift to focus on new workers at Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light and new officers in the Seattle Police Department while reducing headcount in the Seattle Department of Human Resources, Finance and Administrative Services, Department of Construction and Inspections, and the city’s Information Technology department.

The balancing package being unveiled Wednesday by budget chair Dan Strauss includes rolling back major cuts to Department of Construction and Inspections and the city’s Information Technology including reversing a much-criticized decision to end original programming on the Seattle Channel.

Hollingsworth’s line items in the balancing package, if approved, would address her priorities around public safety in Capitol Hill’s core. Continue reading →