Summary of Chair Dan Strauss’ 2026 Balancing Package

Seattle City Council Budget Chair Dan Strauss (District 6) released his Balancing Package on November 4, 2025 with a focus on making Seattle work better for working families. It focuses on affordability, homelessness, public safety, building community, and fiscal responsibility.

What is the Balancing Package?

The Balancing Package is put together each year by the budget chair and serves as the Council’s initial update to the mayor’s proposed budget. It follows six weeks of intensive analysis and debate, which included 12 public committee meetings and feedback thousands of Seattleites, whether it be through participation in public comment periods, a public hearing, or directly contacting their councilmembers. This budget and Balancing Package represent important investments from the mayor and all nine Councilmembers.

Chair Strauss created this package in close collaboration with his Council colleagues, the Mayor’s Office, and community at-large. The changes included in this Balancing Package touch every neighborhood in the city.

Background

This Balancing Package comes nearly one year to the day after the 2024 presidential election. In the year since, we have seen the current federal administration pursue policies that have thrown the country into chaos. As this is written, the federal government is on track for its longest shutdown ever, people across Seattle are at risk of going hungry because federal food assistance through SNAP has lapsed, and the federal administration is threatening to withdraw funding that helps get people living on the street into housing.

While the federal government stumbles, the City of Seattle is stepping up. This budget sets our city up to keep the municipality running in the face of federal cuts. On top of right-sizing Seattle’s investment in the basics of good government, this budget proposal will make record investments in making our city safer and more affordable for all.

This Balancing Package also focuses on fiscal sustainability, because Seattleites need to be able to count on a budget that can continue to meet their needs year after year. This year, the Budget Committee took steps to reform Seattle’s tax code – from a proposal giving tax relief to small businesses and shifting it to our largest corporations to proposed levy renewals.

This Balancing Package continues that work, making deeper investments in our Rainy Day Fund and preserving a new reserve fund to protect programs targeted by the federal government. Additionally, a better-than-expected October revenue forecast created an opportunity to make even stronger investments in our community than were included in the mayor’s proposed budget.

The Seattle City Council worked together to create this budget. The Council released full list of what’s included in the Balancing Package today.

A summary of key investments included in this proposal is included below. It includes new investments sponsored by Councilmembers and funding preserved in the Balancing Package from the mayor’s proposed budget:

Affordability

Housing

Record-high investment in affordable housing: $349.5 million in affordable housing investments, more than 5 times the amount the City of Seattle invested in 2019.

Increased investment in rental assistance: $4 million of rental assistance aimed at preventing evictions and homelessness.

Increased tenant services: $2.1 million for outreach, case management, eviction legal defense, and other services for tenants and landlords as our area sees record-high eviction rates. That’s an increase of $500,000 compared to the mayor’s proposed budget.

Expanding discounts on utility bills: Requests the city departments deliver information the Council on updates to improve the Utility Discount Program and make more low-income people eligible.

Supporting renters: $50,000 to better support the work of the Seattle Renters Commissioner.

Stronger reporting: The Balancing Package also requests stronger reporting from the Office of Housing on the status of affordable housing the city is funding and more.

Homelessness

Protecting shelters and emergency housing: $9 million of additional funding set aside to backfill potential cuts from the federal government to Seattle shelters and emergency housing.

Building more shelter: $7.8 million for the first phase of a planned expansion of the City’s non-congregate shelter capacity. While the mayor’s proposed budget intends this program to open 305 new units by the end of 2027, the amount provided in this budget includes funding for site identification, start-up costs, and three months of operating funds for 155 units in 2026. The Balancing Package includes a request that investment in new shelter beds be made only if existing homelessness services and permanent supportive housing projects can be sustained, given federal funding uncertainty.

New Community Solutions Initiative: $4 million in one-time funding for collaboration between the Downtown Seattle Association and Purpose Dignity Action to pilot a new program to reduce homelessness.

Helping people living in vehicles get into housing and shelter: A new $2 million investment to help people living in vehicles, including RVs, enter shelter and housing.

Preserving support for runaway and homeless youth: $1.4 million to support programs for runaway and homeless youth. This funding would address rising operating costs, a decrease in private support since COVID, state budget cuts and changes in federal funding qualifications that have led to funding reductions.

Investing in outreach: The Balancing Package includes an additional $380,000 to fund outreach workers in Ballard and the University District, to help connect unhoused individuals with programs and services.

Food access

Expanding Fresh Bucks: An additional $6.2 million investment in Fresh Bucks, a healthy food program that helps Seattle residents afford fruits and vegetables. This investment will increase the monthly stipend for recipients and enable the program to serve everyone on it’s more than 4,000-person waitlist.

Increased investment in food banks: On top of the $3 million in additional investment to support food banks generally included in the mayor’s proposal, the Balancing Package includes:
- Emergency funding in response to the Federal Food Emergency caused by SNAP benefits lapsing.
- $125,000 for a social worker to help connect people with affordable housing resources, assistance programs, and other services at the Ballard Food Bank.
- $275,000 for food bank delivery services to low-income and affordable housing at Magnuson Park.

More investment in meal programs: On top of $1 million in additional funding for hot meal programs in the mayor’s proposal, the Balancing Package includes an additional $250,000 investment in meals specifically for seniors.

Investing in more small grocery stores: $700,000 to support new and expanding small grocery businesses in Seattle with a focus on food deserts.

Expanding farmers markets: $327,000 for expanding farmers markets to combat food deserts. That includes:
- $200,000 to support farmers markets in neighborhoods with food deserts in West and South Seattle.
- $127,000 for the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets to expand the Lake City Farmers Market by 15 weeks through December as the neighborhood deals with a grocery store closure.

Explore programs to increase food access: The Balancing Package includes a request for the City to design a pilot project to explore new models for increasing access to healthy food retail in underserved areas.

Caring for Seattle’s Elders

Supporting Seattle’s Senior Centers: $3 million to expand services at city-funded senior centers citywide. That means more nutritious meals, more health and wellness programs, more case management and resource navigation, and more social engagement and community building activities. $2.8 million was included in the mayor’s proposal. The Balancing Package increases that investment by $250,000.

Fixing the Greenwood Senior Center’s failing roof: $150,000 to fund the roof replacement at the Greenwood Senior Center. The center has served seniors since 1977 and offers services including: Medicare counseling, daily lunch program, financial services, support groups, and social connection programs.

PEARL Program: $75,000 increase for the Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives (PEARLS), bringing the City’s total contribution to the program up to $125,000. This program serves adults over 55 years of age and older living in King County including those who served in the military and their spouses and spouse survivors, who may have mental health challenges.

Public Safety

Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE)

Double Seattle’s Community Crisis Responder (CCR) teams: $6.9 million to double the number of CCR teams – professionals that respond to non-criminal 911 calls and connect people with appropriate services.

Additional 911 Call Takers: $2.6 million to hire additional 911 call takers.

Fire Department

Hiring more firefighters: $2.1 million for an additional 20-person firefighter recruit class.

Responding faster to overdoses: $1.5 million for a new Post Overdose Team in the Seattle Fire Department’s Health 99 program.

Investing in faster responses: $1.4 million and 5 additional firefighters for the addition of a peak time aid car. If an aid car is not available for deployment, SFD has to send out a fire engine or ladder company to perform life-saving measures, which is inefficient, costly, and reduces the resources available for fire-related deployments.

Expanding Health One: $572,000 to expand Health One by an additional unit. Health One provides specialized outreach, transport, and referrals to callers experiencing non-emergency medical complaints, behavioral health crises, as well as frequent callers and those with social service needs.

Police

Police hiring: Full funding for the police department’s hiring plan, including the record-breaking 170-plus new officers Seattle is on track to hire in 2025 and the 168 it projects to hire in 2026.

Expanding mental health crisis response: $385,000 and 2 new mental health professionals to ensure that each police precinct can deploy a Crisis Response Team.

Increase the representation of women in the department: $275,000 to support the department’s 30×30 workgroup and hire an advisor to coordinate programs consistent with SPD’s 30×30 Initiative. The initiative seeks to increase the number of women in the department to 30 percent by 2030.

Drug treatment

Expanding mobile treatment options: Nearly $2.5 million for expansion of the ORCA Patient Outreach Division (POD) program, an outreach team that meets people on the street or wherever they are to offer medications for opioid use disorder and provide follow up care. The mayor’s proposed budget included $1.2 million. The Balancing Package adds another $1.25 million to expand into neighborhoods beyond downtown, such as the University District, Ballard, and Capitol Hill.

Treatment for low-income patients: $150,000 to explore stipends to help people with low incomes who are exiting in-patient residential treatment program.

Community Safety Programs

Protecting Seattle’s immigrant and refugees: $4 million to protect Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities, including funding for rapid response efforts.

Supporting survivors of sexual assault: $500,000 to support survivors of sexual assault through the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. Federal and state funding cuts have forced staffing and program cuts at the center. This funding will help preserve staff and prevent hundreds of survivors from being turned away from receiving services.

Increased support for survivors of gender-based violence: An additional $500,000 to support survivors of gender-based violence is included in the package, bringing the City of Seattle’s total to $16.6 million for this purpose.

Supporting survivors of commercial sexual exploitation: $400,000 additional to support survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and/or domestic violence.

Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) diversion program: $5 million for LEAD, which offers law enforcement alternatives to jail for criminal activity that stems from unmet behavioral health needs or poverty.

We Deliver Care (WDC): An additional $1.07 million in ongoing funding to bolster WDC’s work conducting outreach and engagement along Third Avenue and the Chinatown International District, bringing the ongoing funding total for WDC to $3.47 million 2026.

Centralizing contracting under CARE: Transfer contracts for some community safety programs like WDC, LEAD, and Co-LEAD, from the Human Services Department to CARE. Service levels will not be impacted. This change will align the contracts with the CARE’s mission and support public safety efforts throughout Seattle.

Supporting Seattle’s LGBTQ community: $250,000 to support services and programs for Black trans and gender-diverse individuals. The services to be funded include pro bono legal advice, community outreach and education about available services and programs, and wholistic wellness services.

Family-based youth violence prevention and mentoring $250,000 for family-based youth violence prevention and mentoring through Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement.

Creation of a North Seattle Safety Hub: $195,000 to continue to develop a North Seattle Safety Hub, prioritizing at-risk youth and connecting them to community groups and support services.

Youth gun violence summit: $25,000 for a Youth Gun Violence Summit to be planned in partnership with Seattle City Council and the Crime and Community Harm Reduction Division of the Seattle Police Department.

Transportation Safety

*All are additional investments to the mayor’s proposal

Farmers Market Safety Improvements: $1,000,000 for removable safety barriers at year-round farmers markets in places like Ballard, Fremont, University District, Capitol Hill, and West Seattle.

Admiral Junction traffic safety: $150,000 for urban design and pedestrian safety improvements in the Admiral Junction that has been long sought after by the community.

Pedestrian Safety in Madison Park: $20,000 to improve pedestrian safety in Madison Park, such as crosswalk painting on 43rd Avenue E where the pedestrians cross between the playground and the beach.

Extend 6th Avenue Greenway: $1,000,000 to support the completion of long-sought improvements to the 6th Ave NW Greenway between NW 58th and NW 73rd Streets.

8th Avenue NW Safety Improvements: $1,000,000 for safety improvements at NW 70th, 53rd, 51st, and 49th Streets along 8th Ave NW. These intersections have been identified by the community as high-priority locations for pedestrian and cyclist safety enhancements.

14th Avenue NW Safety Improvements: $250,000 for the initial design of improvements along 14th Ave NW from NW Market Street to the Ship Canal. The corridor currently includes deteriorated pavement and errant train tracks that go nowhere.

Transit safety and security: $275,000 to hire a head of transit security for the City responsible for coordinating transit security and response with appropriate public safety jurisdictions and transit agencies.

Building Stronger Communities

Parks & Open Space

Park Safety: Adding three more park rangers to help with safety and security.

Improving public restrooms: $2.5 million in support of efforts to improve access to the 129 restrooms SPR manages across the City.

Saving the environmental education and outdoor learning program: Funding for the program, which operates education programming in Seattle’s beaches, parks, and forests, was scheduled to end in 2026. This budget preserves full funding for the program for kids and families.

Green Lake Community Center Renovation: Funding to support rebuilding both the Green Lake Community Center and Evans Pool all at once rather than phasing the construction across multiple phases.

Lake Union Park Improvements: $800,000 to support renovations at Lake Union Park ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Skatepark at Morgan Junction Park: $700,000 for construction of a small skate park as part of the Morgan Junction Park Addition project.

Creating Portal Park: $450,000 for studies and community outreach necessary for developing a future Portal Park at 1st Avenue and Battery Street.

Leary Triangle improvements: $1.25 million to create open space at the Leary Triangle — property bordered by Leary Way NW, 9th Avenue NW, and NW 48th Street. Potential opportunities include developing the property for art installations and creating an open space for community gatherings or a small dog park.

Restoring Schmitz Preserve Park: $150,000 in one-time seed investment toward restoring Schmitz Preserve Park.

Roger Playfield Improvements: $500,000 to begin work toward conversion of the playfield from grass/dirt to synthetic turf, create lighting, make additional updates to the dugouts and backstop, and improve accessibility.

Garfield Super Block Project: $150,000 to help complete the Garfield Super Block Project, including a redesigned “front porch” plaza with picnic shelters, a new ramp in the southeast corner, site furnishings throughout the park along the renovated walkway, a decorative and sensory water feature, and a parkour course.

Seven Hills Parks improvements: $50,000 for improvements at Seven Hills Parks, including additional fencing and fixing damage.

Improving street-end beach access: $15,000 to improve access to Hidden Beach at E. Harrison Street End Park.

Transportation Improvements

Shared Streets: Request the Seattle Department of Transportation submit information to Council to implement Washington State’s new Shared Streets law.

Better Bus Lanes: Request a report on improving reliability of bus travel on Denny Way, Aurora Avenue, and Rainier Avenue.

Buses to Beaches: Pilot summer bus service to Golden Gardens Beach, which currently does not have accessible bus access.

Arts & Culture

Supporting artists: $100,000 for creative spaces and low-income artist support in Capitol Hill.

Supporting film and theater:
- $300,000 for infrastructure improvements to nonprofit theatres dedicated to experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education such as Seattle International Film Festival venues, for accessibility and safety improvements, expansion of youth programming, and facility improvements.
- $200,000 for venue improvements for an organization dedicated to cultural storytelling, such as Tasveer, a nonprofit focused on South Asian film. Tasveer recently purchased the former Ark Lodge Cinema building in Columbia City with funding provided by Doors Open.

Fiscal responsibility

Increase the size of the ‘Rainy Day’ Fund: $4.7 million to right-size the contribution to the Revenue Stabilization Fund, better known as the ‘Rainy Day Fund’ for fiscally sustainability.

Add additional funding to offset federal cuts: The Balancing Package maintains $9 million dollars in a federal reserve to protect shelter and emergency housing funding under threat from the federal government. This week, Councilmember Strauss will look for more opportunities to direct funding to this reserve account to address unforeseen issues caused by the federal government.

Request a report on creating a road map to better address the city’s fiscal sustainability: Requests that the Executive and Legislative branches create shared and easily understood definitions of the variables and factors that contribute to the structural budget deficit, to provide a clear ‘road map’ to fiscal sustainability.