Adopted 2025-2026 City Budget marks a major shift in tone Today the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to adopt the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget and Capital Improvement Program along with several pieces of legislation necessary to implement the budget. The budget uses Payroll Expense Tax revenue in the JumpStart Fund to offset the $268 million operating...
Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6), Chair of the Select Budget Committee, will officially release his Chair’s Balancing Package this morning. The balancing package is the initial budget proposal from the City Council, it updates the mayor’s proposal and reflects deep engagement between Chair Strauss and his Council colleagues. “Our city is at its...
Bills part of the council’s coordinated focus on improving public safety Today the Seattle City Council overwhelmingly approved legislation, sponsored by Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9), to further accelerate police hiring by offering competitive bonuses to attract the new police recruits from across the country. The full Council also passed Councilmember Bob Kettle’s (District...
Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss(District 6), Chair of the Select Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Mayor Bruce Harrell released his proposal for the City of Seattle’s 2025-2026 budget: “I want to thank Mayor Bruce Harrell and his team for their work. Now, it’s time for City Council to roll up our sleeves to...
Legislation marks another major accomplishment for council’s public safety work Today the Seattle City Council adopted the creation of Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) which authorize the courts to prohibit a defendant from entering a designated areas in the city if they commit a drug-related criminal offense in that zone. Introduced in partnership with...
The Seattle City Council today approved legislation, sponsored by Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7), to launch a new pilot program with the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) for additional jail services. The new pilot program, negotiated by Mayor Bruce Harrell’s team, authorizes Seattle to house 20 additional misdemeanor detainees at SCORE. That’s in addition to...
Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore (District 5) announced new legislation today aimed at cracking down on commercial sexual exploitation and rampant and escalating gun violence associated with it. “We need to disrupt right now the commercial sexual exploitation ecosystem that is driving gun violence on and near Aurora. We need this for the safety of...
Today, the City Council approved legislation better defining illegal street racing and giving the city new tools to address it. The bill, sponsored by Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7) and Councilmember Tanya Woo (Position 8) in close partnership with City Attorney Ann Davison, creates a new traffic infraction of $500 for registered owners involved in...
The Seattle City Council just unanimously passed a back-to-the-basics Transportation Levy package focused on increasing safety, maintenance, and modernization — all while limiting the impact on taxpayers. “This is a cost-effective investment that will save lives. Through collaboration and compromise, we have won a consensus levy proposal that will deliver on the everyday basics in...
SEATTLE – Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1, Chair of the Select Committee on the 2024 Transportation Levy) is releasing an updated transportation levy proposal today that fine-tunes the levy’s focus on safety, economy, and climate, while limiting the burden on taxpayers. “My goal from day one has been to bring our community together...