In a marathon session last Thursday, the City Council moved forward Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda’s 2022 balancing package mostly unchanged, setting it up for final approval Monday afternoon.
Continue readingTag: SPD budget
As budget process draws to conclusion, fight over SPD budget becomes open (memo) warfare
Call it the “War of the Memos.” Rather than actually get in a room and talk, the stakeholders in the debate over SPD’s 2022 budget have spent the last two weeks firing off terse (and often tense) memos at each other. But an editorial in the Seattle Times last Friday has pushed the argument out into the open and exposed the rationalizations and PR spin reinforcing entrenched positions.
Continue readingUnderstanding the Mayor’s Proposed Budget: SPD
In the last installment of this series on the Mayor’s proposed budget, we present a deep dive on the Seattle Police Department’s budget: a large, complex and controversial topic.
Continue readingFirst look at Council’s proposed cuts to SPD
Tomorrow the City Council will discuss proposals to change SPD’s 2021 budget. There are 22 items on the list, including requests for reports and “statements of legislative intent” that don’t actually change the budget. Plus there are some revisions to cuts or transfers that are already in the Mayor’s proposed budget. It took a bit of work to sort it all out, but here’s a first look at the numbers.
Continue readingUnderstanding the Mayor’s 2021 budget proposal
This afternoon, Mayor Jenny Durkan officially released her budget proposal for next year. Let’s dive in to the details and see what’s in there.
Continue readingCouncil approves amendments to force layoffs in SPD, disband Navigation Team, and more
Today the City Council marched through about two dozen amendments to the 2020 budget intended to address calls to partially defund and re-organize the Seattle Police Department. Along the way, they also achieved another long-time goal of progressive advocates: eliminating the Navigation Team. After the vote this afternoon, I recorded an hour-long debrief with Omari Salisbury of Converge Media and Marcus Green of the South Seattle Emerald. It was a great, far-ranging conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy watching it.
Continue readingWhat to expect on Wednesday when the Council votes on SPD-related budget amendments (UPDATED)
Since Monday the City Council has reworked its list of three dozen proposed budget amendments related to the Seattle Police Department. Here’s what to expect when they take them up for votes on Wednesday morning. (update below)
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.
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