Budget Chair, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) celebrated the 8-1 passage of the 2024 Budget today by the Select Budget Committee. This is Chair Mosqueda’s fourth budget season, tenth budget to be passed, and the final budget before she takes her seat on the King County Council next year.

A summary of key investments can be found here.

This final 2024 Mid-Biennial Budget prioritizes investments to help meet the moment by investing in Seattle’s most urgent issues. This includes increased funding for affordable housing, health services, and the workforce that support our city’s most vulnerable through human service provider pay increases.

“Thanks to affordable housing and homelessness advocates, our labor partners and human service workers, community members, and our Select Budget Committee colleagues, this budget includes the City’s largest-ever investment into affordable housing—yielding nearly $600 million for affordable across the biennium,” said Budget Chair Mosqueda. “That’s made possible in large part due to JumpStart progressive revenue. This budget ensures that we’re making good on the city’s promises to human service provider wage increases without leaving workers behind. Together, we have invested in culturally specific counseling services and domestic violence supports, youth programming and mental health services in Seattle Public Schools, enhanced food security programs, and many more investments to help  stay healthy, housed, and safe as our community continues to feel the impacts of COVID-19, increased costs, and high inflation.”

“As Budget Chair, I have worked to center transparency, accountability, and equity in this budget by maintaining the City’s focus on investing in our most vulnerable, rejecting austerity, and ensuring that we’re making good on commitments that have been made to the community in the 2023-2024 biennial approach. We have rejected attempts to raid JumpStart, restoring and protecting investments for affordable housing and economic reliance, community cohesion and health, and equitable development as codified in the JumpStart spend plan,” Budget Chair Mosqueda continued.

A vote on the final budget is scheduled to occur tomorrow during the next full Council at 2:00 PM. The next Budget Committee meeting is November 30. During that meeting they are expected to continue the discussion about revenue and fee legislation and discuss new budget transparency legislation being proposed by Budget Chair Mosqueda.

The summary of key investments can, again, be found here.