This week in the virtual Council Chambers

It’s another week of the City Council conducting its meetings by conference call and cancelling committee hearings.

Monday morning features the return of the weekly Council Briefing, though by conference call.  There are no presentations currently scheduled for the meeting, though that may change.

Monday afternoon’s full City Council meeting, also by conference call, will include final votes on:

• an ordinance redirecting $968,000 from the Office of Housing to the Office of Economic Development to provide more relief for small businesses;
• one appointment to the Community Police Commission;
• two appointments to theSeattle Public Library Board of Trustees.

This week’s Introduction and Referral Calendar includes the following new legislation:

• an emergency ordinance banning residential evictions for failure to pay rent, during the COVID-19 emergency and for six months following it;
• a companion emergency ordinance that requires landlords to arrange for payment plans for tenants who cannot pay rent due to the COVID-19 emergency;
• an emergency ordinance establishing a new fund in the city budget for acceptance and disbursement of donations for COVID-19 response, under the management of the Director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services;
• an ordinance clawing back Sweetened Beverage Tax revenues from several city programs and redirecting them to provide emergency food vouchers as part of the city’s COVID-19 emergency response.

Emergency ordinances (the first three above) go into effect immediately after the Mayor signs them, instead of the usual 30-day period.The Council is required to hold a public hearing on the ordinance within 60 days of the ordinance’s passage to allow the public to comment on it.

All the rest of the committee meetings for the rest of the week have been cancelled, though don’t be surprised if the Council schedules a special meeting later in the week to pass the four ordinances on the Introduction and Referral Calendar, rather than waiting until next Monday (the Council is not allowed to pass an ordinance on the same day that it is introduced).