Plans and Policy

The Sara Nelson-led Seattle City Council passed their first city budget in an 8-1 vote. It greenlit the mayor’s plan to slash investments in affordable housing and social services and trim 48 staff positions in order to boost police spending by 16% and close a large deficit without raising new taxes.

Progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck's election win could mean a 5-4 majority for a capital gains tax — or even a supermajority, if Rob “this is the right tax at the wrong time” Saka can be convinced that the time is right. Other progressive taxes are also on the table.

A budget amendment put forward by Council President Nelson asks for information on how and when the city creates priority space for buses, citing opposition to Route 40. At a meeting last week, Nelson suggested that if she had wanted to kill a controversial project she already could have done it.

On Tuesday, progressive advocates rallied at Seattle City Hall to make a last-ditch defense to reverse a $330 million JumpStart cut that would deplete affordable housing funding. Tuesday was the last public hearing before Council finalizes the budget next week.

Despite being a longtime parking reform leader, Seattle is set to require off-street parking, even as it unlocks significant housing capacity near transit. This will make housing harder to build.

King County Council advanced a motion from Girmay Zahilay commissioning a study of a billion-dollar bond for workforce housing, but questions remain about how to guarantee the bonds and structure the program.

JumpStart investments in housing and climate investments must be preserved in future years, despite Mayor Harrell's proposal to siphon $287 million and remove spend plan guardrails.

Housing advocates are pushing back after Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed $1.8 million in cuts to rental assistance and tenant services next year. They hope city council will restore the funding, or even double it.