Amendment seeks to avoid major public safety impacts to 911 response times, firefighting, and crisis care

Today Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) announced that she has submitted a budget action that will reinstate the $7 million annually in Seattle Fire Department (SFD) overtime pay that was cut in Mayor Wilson’s proposed 2027-2028 budget. Details of the proposal will be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting of the Select Budget Committee.  

“Public safety is a chartered responsibility for the City of Seattle. Funding for our firefighters is a must have, not a nice to have,” said Councilmember Rivera, who sits on the Public Safety Committee. “When our residents have an emergency and call 911, they need that help as soon as possible. We cannot afford to create any delay. 

“My office has received many emails from upset constituents calling on this council to restore the proposed cuts to Seattle Fire Department overtime funding so the department can maintain its level of emergency responses to Seattle residents. During budget briefings, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins was clear about the detrimental impacts these cuts would have on his department. I do not want SFD having to make decisions about planned outages or reduced staffing. We rely on SFD to not only fight fires, but also to provide emergency medical care through its EMT services and Health One which responds to behavioral health crises, those with social service needs, and Health 99 which provides response to overdoses.  

“I want to thank my colleagues, Councilmembers Bob Kettle and Rob Saka, for co-sponsoring my amendment. I know they care as much about this as I do. There is a lot of alignment on this. I’m committed to finding a solution and urge my colleagues to come together so our constituents don’t have to face any detrimental impacts to our community safety,” stated Councilmember Rivera. 

“Seattle firefighters are grateful that Councilmember Rivera has recognized the importance of fire fighter staffing to fast response times. She recognizes that when someone calls 911, getting there as fast as possible is critical to save lives. We appreciate her leadership and decisiveness in protecting the public.”  
-Kenny Stuart, President of the Seattle’s Fire Fighters Union 

Next Steps 

The City Council is currently in the middle of the 2027-28 budget process. This and other Councilmember Rivera-backed amendments will be discussed during a series of briefings that will take place beginning this week. Members of the public are encouraged to voice their support, including at the next public hearing on Nov. 5.  

A full list of public comment opportunities including an overview of the budget process is available on the City Council webpage.   

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