This morning, the City Council’s budget committee advanced two bills that form the spending plan for the recently-passed payroll tax.
Continue readingWednesday news roundup
More on proposals to cut SPD’s budget, musings on the recently-passed payroll tax, and the West Seattle Low Bridge ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Welcome to Wednesday.
Continue readingDurkan asks judge to reconsider order certifying recall petition
Today attorneys for Mayor Durkan filed a motion for reconsideration of a judge’s certification of a recall petition charge earlier this week, asking the court to take another look at its ruling that one of the seven charges alleged was factually and legally sufficient as a basis for a recall petition.
Continue readingTuesday news roundup
And the war in City Hall over SPD’s budget continues to heat up.
Continue readingCouncil and Mayor escalate war of words over SPD budget, while positions begin to converge
This morning both the City Council and Mayor Durkan picked up a microphone to continue their conflict over potential changes to the budget for the Seattle Police Department. And yet, when one looks past the rhetoric, their positions are not that far apart — with one glaring exception.
Continue readingNotes from today’s Council meetings
There was plenty of talk — and posturing — today in the ongoing standoff between the Mayor and the City Council over potential cuts to SPD’s budgets. But a few other things happened too.
Continue readingMonday news roundup
We’re talking police department budget today.
Continue readingPetition to recall Mayor Durkan certified for signature collection
Last Friday a King County Superior Court judge certified, in part, a petition from a group attempting to recall Mayor Jenny Durkan because of her actions (and inaction) during the recent protests. The recall election process is similar in many ways to voter initiative and referendum processes, but it also has its own unique aspects. Let’s review the whole process, where the current effort stands, and what happens from here. (update: a couple of technical corrections made below based upon feedback from the city)
Continue readingThis week in Council Chambers
Coming up this week: the spending plan for the payroll tax, more 2020 budget work,and the renewal of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District.
Continue readingAnnual homeless count report released, and it’s still a mess
Earlier this month King County released its annual “Point in Time” count of homeless persons in the county, as required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a condition of receiving grant funding. Last year, SCC Insight reported on the significant methodology issues with the count that rendered its year-over-year trend data unusable. This year those same issues exist, plus some new ones. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn from the new report; we just need to dig harder.
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