Between a Council committee meeting in the morning and a court hearing in the afternoon, the Seattle Police Department has a lot going on Tuesday.
Continue readingCategory: budget
Council passes new independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts out of committee
Yesterday afternoon the City Council voted to pass out of committee an ordinance creating a new Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts and a Forecast Committee to oversee it — an ordinance that likely violates the City Charter.
Continue readingGonzalez proposes independent city forecasting office
This week Council President Gonzalez is introducing a bill that would move the city’s economic and revenue forecasting office out from under the control of the city Finance Director and into a new, independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts.
Continue readingCouncil passes “Seattle Rescue Plan” out of committee
Earlier today the City Council voted out of committee two bills that encompass the “Seattle Rescue Plan” for spending $128 million of federal COVID relief funding.
Continue readingCouncil set to consider amendments to ARPA spending plan
Tomorrow the City Council’s Finance and Housing Committee will consider a set of amendments to the “Seattle Rescue Plan” legislation that allocates $128 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act and HOPE Act funding.
Continue readingGonzalez, Mosqueda, Durkan unveil draft spending plan for city’s ARPA funding
This afternoon Mayor Durkan, Council President Gonzalez, and Council Budget Chair Mosqueda announced a draft plan for how to spend $128 million in federal COVID relief funding that the city expects to receive this year.
Continue readingCouncil struggles with proposed SPD budget cut
Usually when the City Council gives itself sufficient time to research and deliberate on policy questions, the issues eventually become clear and in many cases work themselves out. But in the current case of a proposed $5.4 million cut to the Seattle Police Department budget, things have become messier as the weeks and months have passed. The path forward is now murky, and the Councilmembers are deeply divided on what action to take.
Continue readingCity budget office updates its economic and revenue forecast, and City Hall misses the message
The City Budget Office delivers an economic and revenue forecast to the Mayor and City Council three times a year: in August, at the beginning of the annual budget process; in November, for a last-minute budget update before it’s passed; and in April as a check-in to see how things are going. Today City Budget Director Ben Noble delivered the April update, which he will present in person to the City Council’s Finance and Housing Committee tomorrow. The Mayor and two Councilmembers immediately issued press releases remarking positively on the economic recovery, highlighting $40 million in additional revenues, and salivating …
Continue readingMayor’s Office lays out options for $30 million participatory budgeting program
Today Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington sent the City Council a letter laying out two potential options for moving forward with the proposed $30 million participatory budgeting program this year, while highlighting the numerous logistical, budget and legal issues that will need to be sorted out.
Continue readingHerbold proposes smaller SPD budget cut, but police monitor still has questions – UPDATED
(update at bottom of article) Tomorrow morning Councilmember Herbold’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee will once again take up a proposed $5.4 million cut to the Seattle Police Department budget. But after SPD’s blunt assessment two weeks ago of what the budget cuts have done to department operations, Herbold is proposing an alternative version of the bill that would allow SPD to keep most of the money to mitigate aspects of the budget cuts and attrition.
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