Seattle City Council 112922

Good afternoon, everybody.

Today is Tuesday, November 29th.

This is the meeting of the Seattle City Council.

The time is 2.03.

I'm Debra Juarez.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Present.

Council Member Nelson?

Present.

Council Member Peterson?

Present.

Council Member Sawant?

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Present.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Council President Juarez.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you.

We have everybody here today.

So moving on into our agenda to presentations, I'm not aware of any presentations today.

At this time, colleagues, we will move on to our hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers, how many remote speakers do we have?

Council President, currently we have 14 remote public comment speakers, and I don't believe anyone has signed up.

I'm going to double check, though.

We have no in-person speakers?

We have two.

Okay.

So what we can do is let's start with the in-person speakers, and each speaker will have two minutes.

And then we will go to the remote speakers in which they will also have two minutes.

And Madam Clerk, you will let us know if additional people sign up either remotely or in-person, correct?

Correct.

Yes?

Correct.

OK.

With that, let's start with our remote speakers.

I'm sorry, you do the recording first, don't you?

I apologize.

They're speaking from both speakers.

President Juarez?

Yes.

There seems to be some problem with the remote public comment, just letting you know.

Yeah, I'm not hearing anything either, or the recording.

I just started it, council members.

Let me restart it.

But council members, thank you for flagging that.

We will have IT look into that.

Thank you.

Did you want him to speak?

Hello, Seattle.

We are the Emerald City, the city of flowers and the city of goodwill, built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

The Seattle City Council welcomes remote public comment and is eager to hear from residents of our city.

If you would like to be a speaker and provide a verbal public comment, you may register two hours prior to the meeting via the Seattle City Council website.

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

Speakers are called upon in the order in which they registered on the Council's website.

Each speaker must call in from the phone number provided when they registered online and used the meeting ID and passcode that was emailed upon confirmation.

If you did not receive an email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders.

A reminder, the speaker meeting ID is different from the general listen line meeting ID provided on the agenda.

Once a speaker's name is called, the speaker's microphone will be unmuted and an automatic prompt will say, the host would like you to unmute your microphone.

That is your cue that it's your turn to speak.

At that time, you must press star six.

You will then hear a prompt of, you are unmuted.

Be sure your phone is unmuted on your end so that you will be heard.

As a speaker, you should begin by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

A chime will sound when 10 seconds are left in your allotted time as a gentle reminder to wrap up your public comments.

At the end of the allotted time, your microphone will be muted, and the next speaker registered will be called.

Once speakers have completed providing public comment, please disconnect from the public comment line and join us by following the meeting via Seattle Channel Broadcast or through the listening line option listed on the agenda.

The council reserves the right to eliminate public comment if the system is being abused or if the process impedes the council's ability to conduct its business on behalf of residents of the city.

Any offensive language that is disruptive to these proceedings or that is not focused on an appropriate topic as specified in Council rules may lead to the speaker being muted by the presiding officer.

Our hope is to provide an opportunity for productive discussions that will assist our orderly consideration of issues before the Council.

The public comment period is now open.

and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

Please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt of, you have been unmuted.

Thank you, Seattle.

All right, let's do this.

Our first in-person commenter is Alex Zimmerman.

Nazi, Gestapo, democracy, fascist, a psychopath.

My name Alexey Merman, I'm president of Stand Up America.

I won't speak about budget.

We have a budget right now, nothing different than another budget.

But it's not a problem.

What is different right now, you never show 100 people who come case.

You never show their faces like my faces.

Where is my face?

Why I see your faces 24 seven every day?

And 100 people who come here, you never show faces.

Where is you find this trick?

Why are you acting like a psychopath with Nazi Gestapo principle?

Who are you?

And why 750,000 idiots who live in the city very quiet?

Can you explain this to me?

I try to understand how this is possible.

Nine consuls supposed to be give somebody people right to speak and show their faces.

For seven months, you never doing this.

It's a nightmare.

In council chair, for example, for seven months never heard, what's she doing in home for $150,000?

Why are you talking about this?

$150,000 what is you pay you?

We pay you for full time.

You sit in home with four assistants.

Each of us cost, each of you cost us $1 million per year.

You sit in home, where is council?

What's going on?

But I repeat again and again, when you don't open faces, I will bring class action against you.

It's only one problem.

People will be paid for class action, not you from your package.

If by definition, the conspiracy, nine consul have same opinion, it's a pure conspiracy.

You are by definition a Nazi, Gestapo, you are criminal.

You violate everything, constitution, open public in common sense.

You are a real Nazi pig.

You know what it means?

Stand up, America.

We need to clean this chamber from this bandit, from this Nazi, from this Gestapo.

Thank you very much.

Our next public commenter speaker in person is Lenisha.

I hope I pronounced your name correctly.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

I'm Lenisha DeBardalaben, president and CEO of the Northwest African American Museum, also affectionately known as NAMM.

NAMM is a museum that cares about community.

NAMM's serve, the museum serves our community.

We empower, we educate, and we inspire our community through art, exhibitions, and so much more.

NAM has long partnered with the Seattle City Council through the years, and we value this partnership with our city council for the greater good of our city.

Now that the museum is preparing to reopen its doors for public benefit, the museum is counting on support from all Seattle City Council members to fund NAM at the $500,000 level so that our museum can continue to be the award-winning resource that it has been for 15 years now in this region and in this community.

Your constituents rely on NAM as an inclusive, diverse, and accessible space for them and for their families.

So now is the time to boldly invest in this essential Black-led cultural institution that ensures that everyone feels welcomed and affirmed in that space.

Now is the time to be about people, the people of Seattle, who need this black space and your support of it.

Now is the time to do right by the Northwest African American Museum and all the communities that it represents by finding a way to work together to fund and partner with the Northwest African American Museum.

We stand thanking you for your support and for your partnership and for helping us to reopen for public benefit.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council President hottest and we are having some technical issues with the zoom remote public commenters as far as there be able to access the remote public comment.

Right now, we do not have an expectation on when that technical issue will be fixed and it, can you please confirm on that on your end that is the case.

We can take a recess what's going on, what do you need it.

We don't have an exact timeline of when this can be resolved.

We're still researching the issue.

Four different dial in numbers at Zoom are all going dead.

So I don't believe that it's anything we can expedite.

Okay.

Can we take a 15 minute recess?

And in the meantime, you can contact work with our office and the clerks and give me an idea.

But I can let everyone else know that we'll come back at 2 30. Does that sound?

Yeah.

Okay.

Madam Clerk, do I just go ahead and say that we can go into recess until 2.30?

If there's no objection.

If there's no objection, I'm going to recess the city council meeting until 2.30 until we can recover some of these technical difficulties.

With that, we will be in recess.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for your patience, everybody.

We had some technical problems, and I just want to share it's not on our end.

It's on the Zoom end.

So we have sent out a new Zoom number.

We've all called in on a new Zoom number.

So we are going to recess until 245. So the people that have signed up remotely get the message and can call in.

So check their emails.

So let's everyone, colleagues, stay on this.

Go ahead and mute off camera, whatever you need to do.

And we will all be back at 245. Thank you.

Recording.

Your patience, we're all back online.

Love and technology.

Okay.

With that, Madam Clerk, we are going to get back on the record and take public comment from our remote callers.

Can you please take the role?

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Misketa.

Present.

Council Member Nelson.

I see you.

Present.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson.

Present.

Council Member Sawant.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Here.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Council President Juarez.

Here.

Lime present.

Thank you.

How many speakers do we have for remote?

We have 15 speakers who have remotely signed up, but only 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 who are present at this point.

OK, well, let's start with the 7, 2 minutes each.

Madam Clerk, go ahead and call the names.

Our first remote public commenter is Howard Gale.

Good afternoon, Howard Gale.

with seattlestop.org.

The budget before you today still gives more money to police and wastes over 11 million dollars on an accountability system that still has police investigating police and still denies victims of police violence any semblance of justice accountability or even the right to appeal when our accountability system rules in favor of the police.

Despite this harsh reality this budget for the first time thanks to council members Mosqueda Herbold and Morales provides for the possibility of an entity outside of the current police accountability system that can advocate directly for the needs of victims and families of police violence and can investigate creating an appeals process for when our accountability system rules in favor of the police.

This is a small but important step in ameliorating the most severe harms that result from the problems with Seattle's police training and policy that remain unaddressed.

For the first time, victims of police violence may have an entity that allows them to speak for themselves, as opposed to our current system, which has people speaking for them.

Hopefully, this will create the kind of empathy and understanding that will push Seattle to build a police accountability system that provides for full civilian community control over police policy, police misconduct investigations, and police discipline, as people in Newark, Nashville, Portland, Oregon, San Diego, San Francisco, and so many other cities have done post-George Floyd.

Thank you to council members Mosqueda, Herbold and Morales for meeting with the impacted family members and crafting the budget amendment offering the possibility that we can finally hear unfiltered voices of those most impacted by police violence and provide for them the support they have been denied for far too long.

And thank you to Council President Juarez for making sure that people could be heard today.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Karen Taylor.

Karen Taylor.

Hi, my name is Karen and I live in Morales District.

Please do not allocate the Seattle Transportation Benefit District's voter-approved transit-related reserves to random bridge projects.

I rely 100% on transit since I am disabled and can't drive.

And on SSDI, I don't have the money to take Lyft on a snowy day like this.

Y'all are constantly talking about making a city where the most vulnerable can survive.

I need decent transit to grocery shop and get to doctor's appointments.

People in cars are not the most vulnerable, and this is a sneaky move when voters thought they were voting for actual transit funding.

Also, it is preposterous that instead of raising the Amazon tax, we raided it instead.

I'm glad there's a group exploring more progressive funding sources, but frankly, there's one easy one already set up just staring us in the face.

Y'all could have adjusted a few percentage points and made a huge difference in so many people's lives.

This shows me the council has a mindset of full scarcity that you need to get out of to make things happen.

Finally, I'm frustrated that you didn't vote for Shama's proposal to give $500,000 to the Northwest African American Museum.

And instead of taking and take money out of the ridiculous 1.5 million Seattle police advertising budget.

We need to honor the spirit of the George Floyd uprising, even when it's not front of mind.

I'm certain you remember it even without the pressure of thousands of people in the street.

Thank you for all you've done this budget cycle.

Let's work even harder as a city to put our money where our mouth is as we move forward.

Our next speaker is Reverend Robert Jeffrey.

Hello, my name is Robert Jeffrey.

I'm calling in support of the Northwest African-American Museum.

It is extremely important for our city to support and to promote the cultural and historical contribution made by African-Americans in Seattle, the state of Washington, and into the Pacific Northwest.

The continued marginalization of our history is both insulting and demeaning.

It dehumanizes African-American people in a way that suggests that we were not here.

It disappears us in the same way that the so-called African-American history books have marginalized and disappeared us.

Support the African-American museum.

I'm embarrassed by this city as it continues to relegate African-Americans to the fringes and non-existent spaces and places of pictures and posters without manifesting, without a manifested creative, I mean, concrete history and culture in place, institutional system, institutional place.

I call upon council to include now in its budget, now, today.

Thank you.

As a reminder to remote speakers who have signed up, a new email has been sent to you with a new link to provide public comment if you have not seen that.

Our next present remote speaker is Alison Isinger.

Alison?

Good afternoon, council members.

Alison Isinger with and on behalf of the Coalition on Homelessness with members and allies dozens of community-based organizations and thousands of essential workers who rallied at City Hall three weeks ago for human services and dignity.

Thank you.

Thank you for crafting a final budget that honors Seattle's moral and legal obligation to adjust human services contracts so agencies that provide vital support to folks in every city council district can continue to do so and not cut services or fall further behind.

in an inflationary economy and continuing pandemic.

Frontline workers are essential.

They support survivors of domestic violence provide health care child care and food security for working families elders youth immigrants and refugees and house thousands of formerly homeless Seattle residents and shelter thousands more.

Yet too many qualify for and may need public support to make ends meet.

It's bitterly cold now and likely to remain so.

There are two ways to see our collective response to severe weather.

As a positive example that we can mobilize extra life-saving help on occasion and as a profoundly sad reminder that this extra help is necessary but not adequate.

Deeply affordable homes would house thousands of people and make the extra scramble unnecessary.

Similarly this budget will prevent deep cuts and sustain vital human services.

that there is much more Seattle's elected leaders must do to respect all who cannot work remotely and to identify new progressive revenue options and build a housed healthy and truly safe city.

Thank you all for your hard work on this budget for listening to community input and for sticking with the long haul which is what we have to be in together.

Our next present speaker is Kaylin Nicholson.

Hi, my name is Kaylin Nicholson.

I'm a renter in District 5. I am proud to have been a part of the People's Budget Movement with Councilmember Sawant, Socialist Alternative, and other community activists that won funding for free abortion for everyone in Seattle, building on our victory in July that made Seattle the first abortion sanctuary city anywhere in the country.

And these are important victories that set an example that hopefully can be taken up by cities across the country and have already started to be taken up, including in red states.

But unfortunately, these victories that we've managed to win are dwarfed by the huge betrayals of working people, women and people of color in this what can only be accurately termed as an austerity budget.

I know Democrats on the council are going to claim to be sad about the shortfalls that are included in this budget, but let's be clear.

These shortfalls are not necessary, not natural.

They are created entirely by the choices of this council.

Six of the eight Democrats on the council voted against Council Member Sawant's bill, which would raise an additional $140 million from the richest corporations in the city.

which would actually ensure that funding for affordable housing, human services and environmental projects would be maintained.

But without that, the funding will be cut at a time when working people are already struggling under record inflation.

This proposed 33 one hundredths of a percent, less than one percent of an increase on payroll tax for the biggest companies in our city would have been a lifeline for tens of thousands of struggling families.

But you chose to throw that away.

And on top of that, you have the audacity to cut funding to the Northwest African-American Museum while spending $1.5 million on the police advertising budget, a police force which earlier this year said it had no money to investigate sexual assault allegations.

This is a slap in the face to African-American constituents and survivors of sexual assault like myself.

And I hope that the council corrects these deeply regressive injustices.

Our next remote present person is Barbara Finney.

My name is Barbara Finney.

Member of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3197, a longtime delegate to the MLK Labor Council speaking in a personal capacity.

I too am proud to have been part of the People's Budget Campaign this year, which has won the funds to make abortion free for everyone in our city.

This builds on the historic legislation won in July by working people, union members, and Socialist Council member Shama Sawant, making Seattle the nation's first abortion sanctuary city.

It was important that rank-and-file union members organized and used our voices to call on the MLK Labor Council E-Board to reverse their unfortunate decision, and that the E-Board, two weeks ago, endorsed the resolution then passed by delegates in support of the abortion funding demand from the people's budget.

This is a crucial example of how union members must take a stand against depression and sexism to defeat the right wing.

Six of the eight city council Democrats voted to reject council members who want common sense proposal to increase the Amazon tax by $140 million to make the richest in our city pay for the economic crisis and recession.

Seattle has eight billionaires with collective net worth of over $250 billion, and yet there's no money to fund basic services for the people of this city.

This crisis isn't a mathematical fact.

It's a question of political will or the lack thereof.

Democrats chose austerity, cutting funding for affordable housing, Green New Deal, renter organizing, eviction prevention, tiny houses, and other services for homeless neighbors.

It's stunning that the majority of city council members refuse to support Council Member Seamus the one people's budget amendment to allocate half a million dollars to fund Northwest African American Museum.

We hear you say Black Lives Matter, but you vote yes on austerity and no on funding museum to honor black.

Our next remote speaker is Harriet Walden.

Reverend Walden.

Harriet Walden, please press star six.

Can you hear me now?

Yes, we do, Reverend Walden.

Go ahead.

Well, thank you.

I just want to have, I'm not going to have a lot to say today.

I'm with Mothers for Police Accountability.

I like to think, I like, I really see how Solange organized, and I'm glad that people on the council actually stood up for herself.

Sometimes, sometimes people don't stand up for Solange, but I'm glad that people did this time.

And so, hey, everybody in the city is not a socialist, and that's for sure.

Also, I just wanted to say that we're very sorry that we didn't get enough information out about the shot spotted and how it could benefit the areas of the people who are actually suffering from gunshots.

And all the people talking about Black Lives Matter, it only matters when the police kill somebody.

Nobody cares about Black Lives Matter when there's a harm in our own community.

So I really want you to know that we're going to continue to bring information to the community about that and also to the council about it because we have people who are really suffering in our community.

And it's amazing that everybody's talking about people of color, but I'm going to talk specifically about African Americans because our ancestors built America.

The solidarity budget, their proposal, solidarity budget, when people were working on it, I went and looked at the categories and it was nothing there for black families.

It was there for some people, for immigrants and all the refugees and other people who come to America.

But I didn't see anything and the budget in those categories that really specifically speak to African American families.

So I really want you to look at that.

And I know we've been written out of history all the time.

I mean, it's a new mythology going on.

But I just wanted to say that we're gonna continue to work for the mothers and the people who are suffering in violence in our community.

And it's your job to come up with a police, with a safety plan for the whole city.

People just talk about one way, but your job is to make sure that all the people in Seattle and all the sectors are safe.

And I know some of the people in a lot of sectors don't want any police, but I thank you so much for letting me have a comment.

And I know it was a hard job to do what's necessary and it's not ever going to please everybody.

And that's for sure.

I want to thank them.

Our next remote speaker is Dennis Sills.

Chair Mosqueda and committee members, on behalf of more than 1,100 residents and 250 staff at Plymouth Housing, thank you for the opportunity to comment.

My name is Dennis Hills and I work at Plymouth Housing.

Dozens of staff, residents, and board members from Plymouth have provided comment or rallied on behalf of our entire organization during the budget process.

Many of them braved the cold on city hall steps earlier this month.

Thank you for listening to our message that investments in housing workforce are critical to ensuring we can continue to operate supportive housing in our city.

Thank you for the record $253 million investment in housing in the balancing package.

Thank you, council members, Ms. Gater, Herbold, Lewis, Morales, Sawant, and Juarez for supporting housing human service workers by providing upholding the legislatively required in 2023 and a full inflationary increase in 2024. Thank you for following the jumpstart spend plan that allocates nearly two thirds of jumpstart revenues to housing and uses only excess jumpstart revenue to balance the budget.

We ask that this is a one-time adjustment and urge council to pursue new progressive revenue options for housing in future budgets.

Please vote yes on this negotiated budget.

We're also a member of the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness and we echo their message.

Thank you and thank you for supporting the budget.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is the Reverend Angela Ying.

Reverend Ying.

Reverend.

Yes, this is Reverend Angela Ying.

Thank you, council members.

On behalf of Bethany United Church of Christ and so many of us, I want to thank you all for supporting the $455,000 in your budget for growing our South Beacon Hill Resilience Hub, a model, I hope, for what is possible when people organize and work together with a vision for racial, economic, LGBTQ+, and climate justice for the common good alongside our neighbors and our communities.

We're excited.

and at the same time concerned for our neighbors aware of the funding needed to support our people's budget including funding needed for our Northwest African-American museums our tiny house villages our shelters and for those made homeless.

We need the funding for the Northwest African Museum an essential cultural educational artistic historical community centered institution in our neighborhoods.

And in the November 22nd issue of The Stranger Hannah Krieg writes, council rejects progressive tax increase put forward by council member Sawant to fill $140 million budget hole.

Shelters, sidewalks, and bridge maintenance will have to wait.

But we do not have time to wait.

We have the solution for funding.

And to quote the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in Why We Cannot Wait, this humiliation of poverty is not just of color.

So you can correct and make the change.

Have the wealthiest in the country pay their fair share of a progressive tax and fund our Northwest African-American Museum and so much more needed for our people, our communities, and the most vulnerable for good.

We cannot wait.

What are you waiting for?

Let's do it together.

Let's make a difference.

Thank you.

Our last remote present speaker is Castille Hightower.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

My name is Kasto Hightower and I'm the sister of Herbert Hightower Jr. who was shot and killed by Seattle police when he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Our family continues to struggle due to the direct effects of its killing both personally and generationally, as do most if not all victims of police violence in one form or another, their families and their communities.

Developing the affected persons program is a step in the right direction regarding the gap that is created for victims of police violence and their families when needs go unaddressed as a direct result of violence perpetuated by city employees, Seattle police, failed by police accountability systems, exacerbated by city bureaucracies, and defended by city policies and taxpayer money.

These needs include funeral and burial expenses, mental health resources, assistance navigating a hostile and often re-traumatizing system, and more, as well as creating a far overdue appeals process for victim complaints.

Thank you to Council Member Mosqueda and her staff for working so diligently to introduce the amendment to develop an office for the Affected Persons Program.

Thank you to Council Members Herbold and Morales for meeting with us, and thank you to all of the Council Members who supported our efforts for it to be added to the 2023-2024 budget.

Thank you to all the community members who fought alongside us and saw the urgency in such an office.

I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that this office is successful and creates meaningful and sustainable change and accountability.

Thank you.

That is the last present remote speaker.

All right.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers did we lose?

Just didn't call back, like seven?

Four.

Oh, OK.

Well, again, I apologize to the public for that.

That was kind of beyond our control, but anyway, I'm glad that people did show up in person and people did call in for public comment, so I thank you for that.

So with that, public comment is now closed.

And we will move on to our agenda.

First, we'll go to adoption of the introduction referral calendar.

If there's no objection, the IRC will be adopted.

Not hearing or seeing an objection, the IRC is adopted.

Moving on to adoption of the agenda.

If there's an objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Not seeing or hearing an objection, the agenda is adopted.

Moving on to adoption of the consent calendar.

Folks, we got a little bit more to do here today than we normally do.

So in considering the proposed consent calendar, the items on the consent calendar include the minutes of November 15th, 2022, the payroll bills, Council Bill 120465 and 120466, and 24 select budget committee legislation budget items on today's agenda.

There are 24 of them.

And at this point, my understanding is we have a few that need to be removed.

So with that, are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Council Member Sawant?

Thank you, President Juarez.

I was understanding that there's an item before mine that you want to.

Yes, I was going to let you go first.

OK, that sounds good.

I will go ahead and ask to please remove items 7, 9, 16, and 17 from the consent calendar for individual votes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So noted by the clerk and our colleagues.

And I would like to remove item number three from the consent calendar.

There any other items that anyone wish to remove?

OK, not seeing any items, number seven, nine, 16, 17 and three have been removed and will be addressed separately.

And with that, I move to adopt the consent calendar, excluding those items.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded to accept the consent calendar, excluding items number 3, 7, 9, 16, and 17. Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes, Councilmember Strauss.

Yes.

Councilmember Herbold.

Yes.

Councilmember Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The consent calendar, the adoption passes.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes?

and the legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf.

So moving on on the calendar, if there's no objections, the removed items, including items three, seven, nine, 16 and 17, those items will be considered before we move into our committee reports.

That is before we start addressing item number one, which is Council Bill one, two, zero, four, five, seven on the agenda.

And we will address the items that were removed from the consent calendar in the order that I just stated 379 1617. With that.

Hearing or seeing no objections, we will then move forward and we will consider the items that were removed from the consent calendar.

So five items were removed from the consent calendar, and I will start with the first one since I asked that one be removed, and that is item number three.

Madam Clerk, can you please read item number three, short title, into the record?

Agenda item three, Council Bill 120451, amending ordinance 126490, which adopted the 2022 budget, including the 2022 through 2027 capital improvement program.

The committee recommends the bill passes amended with the extension with Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Council Member Esqueda, as chair of the committee, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

My understanding is that agenda item that has just been removed, Council Bill 120451, this is our 2022 year-end supplemental budget ordinance.

Colleagues, we had moved in my time as budget chair from having quarterly supplemental budgets to just having a mid-year and a year-end supplemental budget.

Appreciate your support for this item.

any of the carryover dollars that we have accounted for in the 2023 budget that were projected under spend for 2022 are part of how we help balance the 2023 budget as well.

So I hope that you will continue, as you historically have, to support the year-end Supplemental Budget Ordinance here, as it also helps us balance the 2023 budget.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

Are there any comments from my colleagues?

All right, not seeing any.

And I'm guessing you have no closing remarks, Councilor Mosqueda?

I do not, thank you.

I see Council Member Sawant has a friend with her again to vote.

So with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herboldt?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the bill?

Moving on to item number seven, which was removed from the consent calendar.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item seven into the record?

Item seven, Council Bill 120435 relating to the traffic code, revising restricted parking zone program fees for restricted parking zone permits and guest permits.

The committee recommends it will pass with an abstention from Council Member Sawant.

All right, Council Member Mosqueda, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Item number seven, which is Council Bill 120435. This is an ordinance that would revise the restricted parking zone program fees for restricted parking zone permits and permit guests.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is proposing to adjust the fee for The RPC permits which have not changed since 2010 adjusting the fees will allow for Department of Transportation to more effectively staff administer operate and enforce the program since 2010 the fee adjustments that were in place have.

have allowed for the number of annual permits issued to actually increase.

The number of permits that have been issued is approximately 24,000 permits.

And the number of zones has also increased since 2010 from 33 zones to 36 zones, with several existing zones also undergoing major expansions.

Under the proposed legislation that's now in front of us, agenda item number seven, the permit fee would increase from $65 per two year permit to $95 per the two year permit.

This is a comparable inflationary adjustment of about 3.2% for the 12 year term.

from 2010 to 2022. This is a consistent inflationary adjustment with what we have seen in other parts of the proposed budget and we know it's also probably not as much as needed to address the increase recently with inflationary needs but we're looking over the past 12 years.

So again, a 3.2% increase given the last 12 years that this fee has been in place, helping to make sure that we can appropriately staff, administer, operate, and enforce more effectively the restricted parking zone program.

Thank you.

Are there any comments from our colleagues?

Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

As was just stated, this bill would increase the cost of residential parking zone permits from $65 to $95, which is almost a 50% increase, and the cost of guest permits from $30 to $95.

This is a significant increase in a fee that is paid primarily or lands on the shoulder primarily disproportionately given incomes.

on Seattle's working class residents as if there wasn't enough inflation.

And genuinely, the reasons are not that the fees haven't been increased since 2010. There's no law that says the fees have to increase because they weren't increased in 2010. This all comes down to politics and who really should be paying revenues into the cities The city's coppers, it shouldn't be rich people and big business or should be working class people in reality, this is a regressive increase.

on working people.

People with garages, private garages, or even driveways are much less likely to have to worry about residential parking zones.

But even if that were not the case, $95 is a lot more for a Starbucks barista, for example, than for Howard Schultz, the billionaire CEO.

This is just another example of how big business and the political establishment shift the burdens of every crisis onto the shoulders of working people And rather than increase taxes on big business as the People's Budget campaign and my office proposed, Democrats are unanimously supporting increasing fees on working people who are already staggering under the inflated costs of necessities like food and fuel.

Outrageously, and not surprisingly, just given the math, These increased fees will not even raise much revenue for the city, only $800,000 according to the estimates of the central budget office.

But for working people who will have to shell out more, yeah, it will mean a lot.

So I will be voting no on this bill.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Are there any other comments before I hand it back to Council Member Mosqueda?

Not seeing any.

Council Member Mosqueda, do you have any closing remarks?

All right.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herboldt?

Yes, yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the legislation?

Moving on to the other item that was removed from the consent calendar, it's item number nine.

Madam Clerk, will you please read the short title into the record?

Item nine, Council Bill 120437, laying to the Department of Parks and Recreation, establishing the 2023 through 2024 fee scheduled for the use of park properties and other park and recreation facilities and services.

The committee recommends the bill pass with an abstention with Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Council Member Esqueda.

Thank you, Madam President.

Agenda item number nine, Council Bill 120437, is an ordinance that establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation's 2023-2024 fee schedule for the use of park properties and other park and recreation facilities and services.

Seattle Parks and Recreation fees and charges provide the financial support needed for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation programs for all of the facilities and for the park ground investments as well.

The Seattle Parks and Recreation fee schedule is transmitted by the mayor to the council via this legislation, which includes administrative changes to ensure sections of the fee schedule as well as fee increases intended to help offset estimated ongoing post-pandemic revenue shortfalls in the park fund over the upcoming biennium.

The fee increases include support for aquatics, for swim lessons, which we know that there's been a shortage of, having been on the wait list for two years now.

We are also seeing funding support drop-in swimming opportunities across the city and pool rentals.

A portion of the revenues generated from the fees, this is $35,000, will augment the Swim Safety Equity Fund to support free swim lessons for young people in most need of these services.

The fees also include support for community center room rentals, which we know is really important right now as we think about community cohesion and social gathering opportunities that promote mental health and community health, allowing folks to get together after many months of isolation and thus the resulting depressions that we see increasing across our city.

The fees also go to support specialty gardens.

This is for general administration fees at the Japanese Gardens and Volunteer Park Conservatory.

A portion of the revenues generated will offset the cost of new frontline supervisor positions for the specialty gardens as well.

And finally, some of the fees go to special events, including fees for special events, use permits, special amenity uses and fees to better align them with the facility needs across our city.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you.

Are there any comments from my colleagues?

Council Member Sawant.

Similar to the legislation increasing the residential parking zone fees, this bill would increase the prices charged to working people by Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The frames of the Volunteer Park Conservatory Highlighted this concern in their email to the City Council, but there are many other park facilities impacted as well.

Just like with the last voting item, I believe the City Council should be increasing taxes on big business and on wealthy people as a whole, rather than increasing fees paid by workers for this or that, whether it is parking or I will be voting no on this legislation.

Increasing fees is not needed, let's be clear, is not needed to maintain services.

Tax big businesses and the wealthy and the city will have enough revenues to fund all the activities.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Mosqueda, is there anything you want to add before we move to the vote?

All right, Madam Clerk, will you please call the vote on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

No.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Moving on to item number 16, which was removed from the consent calendar.

Madam Clerk, will you please read that item into the record?

Item 16, Council Bill 120463, relating to the adoption of the 2023 budget and endorsement of the 2024 proposed budget.

The committee recommends the bill pass with an abstention from Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, President.

Colleagues, agenda item number 16 is Council Bill 120463. This relates to the 2023 budget and endorsed 2024 proposed budgets that are allowing for temporary use of certain fund balances in general fund revenue adjacent streams.

This includes funding that we are offering as a temporary use for funds coming from the short-term rental tax, from the Transportation Network Companies Tax, and importantly, from Jumpstart Progressive Payroll Tax.

These are not fund sources that we took lightly in this proposed budget.

When we received the proposed budget from the mayor, we took a deep look at how each of these revenue streams was being used to offset the reduced revenue that was projected, especially the November revenue forecast.

I wanted to make sure that when we put forward a budget that we took an opportunity to explicitly say that any use of these revenue streams was for a short-term use only.

The original legislation that was transmitted with the proposed budget was not introduced.

Instead, we are introducing this legislation that helps to support the general fund for the short-term nature and not in perpetuity.

When the numbers were all crunched, we asked central staff in partnership with our office and with stakeholders to look at the use of each of those proposed revenue sources and make sure that we were aligning the use of the proposed revenue sources as best possible with the intent of the ordinances that originally passed them.

This is critically important for us to do in order for us to maintain trust and confidence in the stakeholders, the community, and folks who worked so hard to pass the revenue sources.

So for me, it was important for us to put a very restricted use of the funds only for this biennium.

For example, on Jumpstart, that only the higher than anticipated funds that were being projected for 23 and 24 And the higher than anticipated amount that came in for 22, only that added amount was being used to redirect to the budget so that we could properly ensure that this was an anti-austerity budget.

Funding went towards things like food assistance and food security, for example, when we saw a reduction in the sugary sweetened beverage tax to the tune of 4.5 million, and we knew that there would be a reduction in food assistance and food security of 1.2 million dollars.

we decided to temporarily allow for the use of Jumpstart administrative dollars, not from the categories for housing or Green New Deal or equitable development or economic resilience, but from the administrative category, we allowed for temporary use for $1.2 million to go to food security and food bank assistance.

So that's one example of where we have offered flexibility, but we have put in this legislation, that any short-term use of these revenue streams would only be for two years.

We rejected the proposal that would have allowed for the inflationary adjustment to be applied to the floor for Jumpstart, for example, to allow for that fund to be used in perpetuity to backfill general fund needs.

And we have restricted the use of the short-term rental tax and transportation network company tax flexibility dollars here for two years only.

We needed to be able to make sure that revenue streams were available to help pay for debt service.

One of our primary obligations is to ensure that we remain in good standing and pay for the debt service that we had committed to.

But it also helped us offset the incredibly pressing need within our budget to avoid cuts and avoid austerities.

So this is not something that I took lightly and we definitely took into account the direction from the broad stakeholder coalition that sent in letters of support for making sure that any use of Jump Start, for example, was only being used for two years, only using the higher than anticipated revenue for helping to offset any potential reductions in general fund expenses, and that we align the spend plan as codified in the Jump Start spend plan.

So again, there is no ongoing change in perpetuity for any of these fund sources to your time limited in nature.

And while I personally support additional revenue and will be working hard to secure additional progressive revenue, and have voted so we can't.

I don't want to conflate this legislation with anything else that would allow for this to be used in perpetuity.

Again, time limited and adhering to what the stakeholders and community, broad community have said was a temporary, flexible use of things like Jump Start.

And we applied similar logic to the transportation network company tax, as well as the short-term rental tax.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda.

Are there any comments from our colleagues?

Council Member Sawant?

I will be voting no on this legislation, which allows part of the money from the Amazon tax to be diverted to prevent deeper austerity in the rest of the budget rather than being used for social housing, the Green New Deal, and equitable development as it was initially intended.

council members have asserted that it is okay to use the amazon tax to prevent further budget cuts instead of using it for housing and the green new deal as originally intended if that only happens in 2023 and 2024 and not later which of course is the same thing they said about using it in this way in 2022 during last year's budget vote the same thing they said in 2021 before that In other words, we are now looking at budgets unable to fully use the Amazon tax for social housing, the Green New Deal, and equitable development, all four budget years since our movement won it, and we are told that it is an exception each time.

Every year, it is temporary.

I completely oppose austerity.

In other words, I completely oppose putting the costs of capitalism's crisis on working people.

I have consistently opposed austerity throughout my nine years in office.

Taking funds from vital needs like housing, the Green New Deal, and equitable development is not the solution.

That is akin to working people being forced to make a choice between paying rent or putting food on the table.

It just means austerity in one set of working people's needs or austerity in another.

A false choice entirely created by the ruling class and their political representatives, individuals who don't put the burden of their own system's crises on themselves.

The only way out for working people in the face of the looming recession is increasing the taxes on big corporations to be paid by the wealthiest in our city.

But most Democratic Party council members chose to vote no on the budget amendment from my office to increase the Amazon tax rate paid by big business in Seattle that could easily have raised the funds to prevent austerity without diverting funds away from housing, the Green New Deal, and equitable development.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Mosqueda, would you like to do any closing remarks?

Yeah, thanks so much, Council Member, Council President.

I would like to, I would just also note that the The youth of the jumpstart progressive payroll tax for the years 2021 and 2022 to the tune of $85 million going into general fund expenses was part of the original spend plan that was passed with the full support of every single council member.

$85 million a year for those first two years was going into pandemic relief and austerity prevention measures as well.

It is not a departure from our spend plan to have allowed for $85 million to go into COVID relief and anti-austerity measures at the beginning of COVID as we passed it in 2020. That was allowed for in 2021 and 2022 as we had passed in the budget actions in the past.

This year as well, I think that there is an important distinction about how the use of the higher than anticipated revenue is being used versus the amount that was projected in the spend plan as codified and it's not something that I take lightly either.

that we're sending a joint message as we look at the roller coaster of revenue streams made available to us in this budget, it underscores the need for additional progressive revenue, something I will continue to support, and using the higher than anticipated revenue to support preventing austerity and using it in the immediate so that we could both maintain the spend plan, the categories, and the dollar amounts that we had codified in the spend plan, as well as prevent flips and program services from ending is something that was supported by the following organizations.

350 Seattle, Civic Ventures, Chief Seattle Club, Downtown Emergency Services Center, Housing Development Consortium of Seattle, Low Income Housing Institute, MLK Labor, Protech 17, Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, SCIPTA, Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, SEIU 775-925-1199 Healthcare Northwest, Statewide Poverty Action Network, Solid Ground, Teamsters 117, UAW 4121, UFCW 3000, Unite Here Local 8, Washington State Budget and Policy Center, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, and working Washington.

Again, I want to thank central staff for the work with our team to help ensure that those tight sideboards would put on this so that we did not go down this route.

But again, in two years, again, underscoring the need for us to come together and collectively pass additional progressive revenue in the near future.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

So with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

No.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the bill.

Moving on to item 17, which was a part of the consent package, which was removed.

Madam Clerk, can you please read item 17 into the record?

Item 17, Council Bill 120459 relating to the Seattle Transportation Benefit District, authorizing a $10 increase to the vehicle license fee for a total fee of $50.

The committee recommends the bill pass with an abstention from Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Councilor Mosqueda, you are recognized to address this since this is part of the budget legislation.

Excellent.

Thank you very much.

And since Council Member Peterson put this forward, but apparently will be voting no on the underlying budget, I encourage him to also opine if you'd like to.

I am supporting this legislation because it helps to make sure that there's additional funding available for transportation related improvements.

This legislation would raise the current $40 vehicle license fee to $50 as authorized by state law.

This $10 vehicle license fee increase is anticipated to raise approximately $4 million annually for transportation-related improvements.

Under RCW 828140, the Washington State Department of Licensing would start collecting the vehicle license fees starting on July 1st of 2023. In 2023, the legislation would result in approximately $2 million of additional transportation revenue, and starting in 2024, the legislation would result in approximately $4 million in new revenue available to the City for transportation-related improvements.

The spending plan for the vehicle license fee increase will go into the following three categories.

First, improvements for 45th Street on I-5, across I-5.

This includes a bike lane safety project, which is about $1.5 million.

That will go into effect in 2023 with this increase.

In 2024, we see $2 million for the Vision Zero program going to fund street safety programs.

And in 2024 as well, We see $2 million and then in next year 2025 about half a million dollars going to the major bridge maintenance programs.

Again, I do not want to send a message that I am.

I would prefer progressive revenue.

I voted for it.

However, this is one amendment that we adopted in our balancing package as suggested by the council members to ensure that there was additional funding needed for transportation-related improvements.

Things like street safety, bike safety, pedestrian safety, and major maintenance improvements are critical, especially in the light of the real estate excise tax going down by $64 million over the biennium news that we received in November of this year.

So it's unfortunate that the sponsor of this is apparently not going to be supporting the underlying budget, but I think that the funding is still necessary and also agree with I'm sure the comments that will come from my colleagues about the concern around the regressive nature.

Again, underscoring the need for us to have additional progressive revenue to help offset the reliance on regressive revenue streams in the near future here.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councilor Muscat.

Are there any comments from our colleagues?

Council Member Sawant.

Just like in the previous agenda items regarding residential parking zones and parks fees, I do not support this proposal to increase regressive taxes that disproportionately impact poor and working class people.

The vehicle license fee, also known as car tax, is yet another regressive tax in Washington state.

Working people have been so outraged by it that the right wing has been able to demagogically and dishonestly use that outrage in repeated attempts to defund transportation.

Instead of requiring working people and the poor to pay higher car tabs, this city council, all Democrats except for one socialist, should be voting to increase the Amazon tax on big business and the rich.

I think it is extremely telling that the majority of the Democrats have voted yes on all these many regressive taxes and voted against increasing the progressive taxes on big business.

And I also don't understand how voting in favor of regressive revenues should not send the message to working people that Democrats do not support regressive revenues.

If you vote in favor of regressive revenues, you're in favor of regressive net revenues.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Mosqueda, would you like to close this out before we go to a vote?

All right.

With that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herboldt?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, please affix my signature on my behalf.

So we have gone through the items that were removed from the consent calendar.

So we will now return to our original agenda.

going to the committee reports, and we will start with item number one.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number one into the record?

agenda item one for the regular agenda agenda item one council 120457 adopting a budget including capital improvement program and position modifications for the city of Seattle for 2023 and creating positions exempt from civil service all by two thirds vote of the city council.

The committee recommends the bill passes amended with the council members Mosqueda, Herbold, Juarez, Lewis, Morales, and Strauss in favor with council members Nelson, Peterson, and Sawant opposed.

Councilor Mosqueda, you were the chair of the budget committee.

So it looks like you're going to be up for all four.

So the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President.

Colleagues, thank you so much for all of the work that we have done collectively over the last, now, nine and a half weeks.

We have had a lot of ground to cover in terms of making sure that there was investments in our most vulnerable communities and also responding to the revenue forecast that sent us dire information.

So I appreciate all of you.

Madam President, is it okay if I address items one and two together here?

Absolutely, let's do that because I understand they are they are linked.

So go ahead.

Okay, great.

And Madam President, items one and two do compose our full biennial budget with item one related to 2023 and item two related to 2024. So I'll start with this.

It, it's an understatement to say that we're living in and governing in unprecedented times.

As I started to say yesterday, what I think our city needs now from its elected leaders is a sense of urgency, honesty, healing, and care.

We started this budget conversation in late September by reminding ourselves that a budget is a moral document.

And I set out to ensure that the final budget that came out of council reflected our values, that we crafted a budget that prioritized our most vulnerable community members, that supported a resilient local economy and a diverse workforce, and it put the public dollars towards infrastructure and our safety net to create a healthier Seattle for all.

With the dwindling resources and the decline in revenue projections, we also had a call for increased investments due to the increased needs around our city.

I am proud that this budget prevents austerity.

It prevents cuts to city services in the very moment when our community needs public services.

It invests in human services and cares for the most vulnerable to ensure that more people are housed, to make sure that those who are living unsheltered find not only shelter, but care and health services.

It creates more housing for working families and entrepreneurs with a historic half a billion dollar investment in affordable housing in this budget.

It realigned general fund dollars to continue funding infrastructure projects for pedestrians and cyclists safety, as well as major thoroughfare investments so that commerce and working families could thrive.

It realigns those JumpStart dollars to invest in Green New Deal priorities and economic resiliency that our city will rely upon to create a more equitable economy as we emerge from COVID.

It does so by investing in the codified required categories in JumpStart and the amount that we committed to when we passed the ordinance in 2020. It does so by following the community demand that we adhere to those spending categories and amounts.

And this budget steps up and responds to this moment by investing $4 million across the biennium for youth mental health services in the wake of the local school shooting.

It funds access to abortion care across Seattle in the wake of the Supreme Court Justice ruling on the wrong side of history.

And it increases funding to heal our city, to heal our city in the face of increased stress, isolation, depression, and uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the looming economic downturn.

This biennial budget, by investing in affordability for working families and our smallest businesses, and investing in our future by protecting the environment and building community, this investment through the budget helps meet the moment by building a Seattle that is more cared for and housed, connected and resilient, and healthy and safe.

In a statement that was sent to me by the mayor's office, he shared the sentiments that he has also been sharing with members of the community.

The mayor said, I'm grateful for the collaboration of budget chair Mosqueda, as I believe our offices set a new standard for transparency and teamwork.

Assuming positive intent even when we disagree through our mutual belief in working together.

There is much in this budget to build on, he says.

I look forward to the Council's final passage.

As we implement this budget together, we will further demonstrate our One Seattle approach, uniting around our common values towards making Seattle a safer and more equitable city for all.

I agree with the sentiment from Mayor Harrell.

This budget originally proposed and then tweaked by the Seattle City Council in the final months here.

It provides a balanced approach to making sure we are prepared for the worsening economic forecast and we are more resilient and healthy in our community and our economy as we make these investments in 2023 and 2024. This budget offers hope and healing through unity and a sense of urgency.

This budget offers opportunity for more Seattleites to be housed and cared for, healthy and safe, and for our economy to be more equitable and resilient.

Now, our team met with hundreds of individuals across Seattle representing thousands of Seattleites.

We met with folks from within the city family as well, within the departments, with our labor community.

We met with the mayor's office.

We met with key partners in King County and also at the Regional Homelessness Authority.

We talked to community members on the front line of the pandemic and those who've been hardest hit by the inequities exacerbated by this pandemic.

Now each council member has had the chance to make an impact on this final budget as well.

To just approve a proposed budget sent down by the executive branch, well that would be out of line with our legislative branch's responsibility to make final adjustments to the budget.

It would be out of line with our responsibility to reflect, as elected members within the legislative branch, what constituents bring to us.

and would be out of line with what is embedded in our process to have the legislative branch receive a proposed budget and then take a deliberative public approach to engaging in policymaking through the budget, that is what we are charged with doing.

The council members have final say on the proposed budget because that is what we are supposed to do, receive the proposed budget, hear what community has to say, and make amendments to then have a final budget that reflects many of the comments that we've heard.

It would be out of line with the role of the legislative branch to just adopt it as transmitted.

And it would be impossible for every council member amendment to be added to the mayor's proposed budget without any changes, given the resources that we have.

Those are the facts.

That's how the math works.

That's the role of the legislative body.

So what we have collectively been able to craft together in this final budget, I believe, thoughtfully realigns and reprioritizes investments in frontline workers, small businesses, and our most vulnerable.

And it's done through collaboration and collegiality with the executive branch, as well as with community members.

And because of the intentionality that we have taken to center this budget on services for the most vulnerable, I do believe that this budget helps respond to the moment.

And in the face of this growing economic uncertainty, human suffering, and growing stress in community, this budget invests in services and infrastructure that working families, small businesses rely on, and this budget will help our city weather the upcoming storms together.

I want to share some of the investments that working folks from across the city, community members, small businesses were able to accomplish via amendments and in the original proposed budget that was transmitted by the mayor's office and the final proposed budget that we've woven together here for your consideration here today.

I'd like to do that, Madam President, and identify the three categories that we centered on.

But I'm also happy to pause and wait for others if you prefer, Madam President.

Caught me off guard, I'm sorry.

Councilor Muscat, I'm going to follow your lead.

I'm going to go ahead and let you address items three, I'm sorry, two and, I'm sorry.

One and two, maybe.

One and two.

I'm going to let you address one and two because it's 2023 and 2024. And then I'm going to ask your colleagues if they would also follow your path in addressing items one and two as well.

And then we will let you respond and close this out.

So yeah, so this way you don't all have to split up items one and two.

So if we could just do one or two together with comments and then we'll obviously vote separately.

So go ahead.

Thank you, Madam President.

And thank you, colleagues as well.

So briefly, I'd like to highlight some of the areas of this proposed budget.

And again, please do circulate for the broader community through your listservs and social media, the summary document that has more details on the amendments that council proposed and some of the items that we're still uplifting from the original proposed budget as well.

We focus on three categories, as you've heard me talk about before, cared and housed for, connected and and equitable and safe and healthy.

So in cared for in-house, again, this budget has historic investments in affordable housing.

Without secure housing, our communities cannot thrive and cannot be healthy.

And nothing has brought home this public health message more than the pandemic.

In this budget, we are investing over half a billion dollars.

That's a billion with a B, half a billion dollars into affordable housing.

That's a 400% increase since I came into office, and it is the largest investments ever made in affordable housing.

This includes affordable housing units, the folks who care for keeping folks housed, and also first-time home ownership opportunities.

Velma Valoria from the Filipino Community Center said of the housing investments, these investments are so needed in Seattle, particularly for BIPOC communities who are facing the greatest displacement pressures.

This funding will help Seattle fulfill its promise to build affordable housing for working families in South Seattle, and will help bring long-term sustainability, resilience, and cohesion to our communities in the years to come.

Patience Malaba of the Housing Development Consortium said, Seattle is stepping up with this budget, scaling up investments and significant resources for deeply affordable housing, rental housing, and home ownership, with defined funding for community-driven developers over the biennium, and in good partnership with community, this budget keeps the promise of Jump Start.

fully funding the affordable housing section while supporting existing programs.

The social and economic benefits of this decision will be felt by families and across the city for all communities.

Regarding homelessness investments and cared for in-house, as the Brookings Institute notes, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated historical inequities and housing security disproportionately affecting renter households and bringing the dangers of housing instability and evictions to stark relief.

That is why this budget invests in homeless services and also homeless prevention strategies.

It prevents homelessness through eviction prevention investments like rental assistance and eviction legal defense, given evictions disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and people of color, LGBTQ folks, and women.

We had to make sure that these investments and these prevention strategies were addressed in this budget.

We're in the seventh year of a homelessness crisis, a declared state of emergency.

And so this budget follows through by investing in the sustainability of homeless service providers in our workforce, invest in permanent supportive housing, funding for worker wages and human centered approaches to outreach through our modified a unified care team that was negotiated in partnership with the mayor's office and the Regional Homelessness Authority.

It also makes sure that we're investing in housing needs by building more tiny house villages, creating RV storage and vehicle outreach.

Chloe Gale of the REACH program says the human-centered outreach investments in this budget will strengthen our regional community-based response.

It helps to make sure we have an opportunity to work with the Regional Homelessness Authority through culturally and clinically skilled staff to move people inside and connect them with the help they need, whether that's food, clothing, medical care, shelter, or mental health needs.

The coordinated investments with the Unified Care Team bring an opportunity to provide sanitation and hygiene services to people across the city in a better way.

In the resilient and connected category of this budget, that includes the Green New Deal investments.

Working with and following the lead of the Green New Deal Oversight Board, this budget ensures that there's community-led climate resilience hubs and environmental justice strategies invested in in the immediate term.

This includes funding to be able to go to communities to address the dire impacts of climate change, choking wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and increasingly cold winter events like we're experiencing today.

The Jumpstart funds will help ensure that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support a just transition for workers to get into a green workforce, and support community-driven strategies to tackle climate change.

Green New Deal Oversight Board member Matt Remley notes the passage of the Green New Deal investments in this year's budget is an important step towards meeting the city's commitment to addressing climate change.

These investments will ensure communities at the forefront of climate change, have access to just transition opportunities, build community resilience through the Resilience Hub, and center indigenous communities in bringing forth their voices with projects and capacity building.

These investments strongly reflect the work and recommendations of the Oversight Board and reflect the collaborative relationship with Council Member Mosqueda's office.

Regarding equitable development, Given the economic uncertainty that is plaguing our country and our globe, we are acting locally to invest in working families, in workers, in youth, and folks that are seeking good living wage job opportunities through a union.

This budget invests in workforce development and in good union opportunities through the extension of our investment in the MLK Labor Hiring Hall and seed money for the mayor's proposed hiring hall approach as well so that we can promote opportunities with high road employers.

The MLK labor executive secretary Katie Garrow notes MLK labor is excited about the continued support from the city.

to make sure that we are connecting job seekers from immigrant and refugee communities to good union jobs, and that there's a positive opportunity for high road employers to be featured so that they can recruit talent.

This is truly a win-win for workers and employers.

We're investing in outreach, education, enforcement of labor standards as requested by businesses and workers supportive of the Office of Labor Standards, following the lead of the Labor Standards Advisory Commission that includes employers as well as worker representatives.

We made sure to prioritize investments for cities workers by supporting childcare workers who are essential to ensure that we have an economic recovery that is equitable, especially given that women, particularly women of color, were at the forefront of the She Session, meaning women of color experience higher rates of unemployment and hardship due to the pandemic.

I want to thank SEIU 925 member Jenny Lowry from Hullabaloo Preschool who wrote, it's investments like this that provide safe, supportive places where parents can feel comfortable in leaving their kids, and that she's grateful to Seattle, especially to our office for recognizing the critical work that child care providers do to ensure that employers can retain employees by having a place to have their kiddos go for high quality learning, and that this year's budget makes the investments in retention bonus a continued priority.

I'm very proud that we were able to work with Mayor Harrell and support the $5 million for child care bonuses in this budget.

And finally, in this category related to equitable development initiative and transportation, this budget responds to calls from community organizations who are working to fight displacement.

Promoting economic inclusion, social cohesion, that's $40 million going into jumpstarts equitable development initiative over the biennium to support community driven projects to advance economic opportunity and prevent displacement and serve community needs.

In transportation, this budget invests in safe streets in the midst of the dire economic revenue forecast, especially for REIT.

We realigned other funding sources to continue critical projects that invest in safe streets, connected communities, and resilient infrastructure.

We are making sure that we are investing in Vision Zero projects, investing in safe design treatments for roads to support pedestrians and cyclists, and also ensuring that we are prioritizing funding to respond to the growing deaths of pedestrians and cyclists in our city.

In 2021, pedestrian deaths rose and accounted for almost two-thirds of the city's total traffic deaths.

We did this, as I noted, by specifically ensuring investments went into the South End, the community that has the highest disproportionate rate of impacted community members affected by traffic death.

Council President, the final category is healthy and safe.

And I know for you and me, it's important that this budget center healing as we look at responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress and trauma that our country continues to reel in given the political forces that continue to divide community.

This budget does center healing by direct investments in the health of our community.

Investments in behavioral health resources for underserved communities, like support for behavioral health outreach in the Chinatown International District, restored the reduction to the anti-Asian hate crime grants, for nine organizations across our city, and supported additional funding for survivors of domestic violence, added funding for crisis prevention and intervention services, and restored investments in food access, food security programs that were slated for reductions due to the sugary sweetened beverage tax decline.

Importantly, following the horrific decision by the Supreme Court, following the Dobbs decision, this budget also brings together council members amendments to invest at $1.5 million total to ensure care for uninsured populations to be able to access abortion care as abortion care is healthcare.

And finally, Madam President, this budget continues to invest in unity, and healing and safety.

During this time of crisis and trauma, we added new funding to public safety.

There should be no confusion out there that this budget adds funding for community safety.

in addition to supporting the full hiring and retention plan for police officers.

Despite the rhetoric, this budget increases funding for public safety.

This includes half a million dollars dedicated to the phone line for crisis prevention and intervention services for first responders, allocates more funding towards therapeutic services for survivors of sexual exploitation, commercial domestic violence and sexual assault.

It expands funding for the regional peacekeepers gun violence prevention programs.

We are funding a group to help develop an affected persons program.

We are adding funding for therapeutic services for survivors of assault.

And we are adding $5 million over the biennium for the downtown Seattle association promoted and well liked across the city program known as lead and co lead.

We want to make sure that everyone knows about the investments that are being made to support public safety and i'm proud to have been able to do this in partnership with.

The Public Safety Chair, Council Member Herbold, especially on the 9-1-1 dual dispatch program that will send a mental health professional as a lead in response to 9-1-1 calls for people who are having a mental health crisis.

Nearly one in four people who are shot and killed by officers in 2019 had a mental health condition.

We want someone who is a mental health provider to be responding to those mental health calls.

And that's also good for making sure that officers can respond to other high priority calls as well.

We are protecting the health and safety of residents in this budget, not only by following the mayor's and the Seattle Police Department's request for additional funding for the recruitment and retention policy, for retaining the salary savings of 120 officers that they have retained pockets for within the department at the department.

But this budget invests in the health and safety of our entire city by creating a fire ladder truck in West Seattle and a medic van to respond to calls in South Park as well.

I'll close with this quote from President of IAFF 27, Firefighter Kenny Stewart.

Seattle firefighters are happy that ladder 13 and medic 26 van were included in the budget funding these critical resources will help ensure that not only residents of West Seattle and South Seattle are served, but.

They will also make sure that firefighters and paramedics are able to respond to life-threatening emergencies.

Not only will residents of West Seattle benefit from this, but it will have a positive impact on the entire city of Seattle because our communities and fire department resources are all connected.

This improves public safety for all Seattle.

Colleagues, many of your amendments were included in the comments that I just made, and I hope that you will have the chance to lift up for members of the public the strong ways in which you have reflected the community values you brought forward through amendments and a partnership with the mayor's office and the departments.

We look forward to implementing this funding in 2023 and 2024. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

Colleagues, Councilor Mosqueda spoke to items number one, which was the which is the bill and item number two, which is the resolution regarding twenty twenty four.

So this would be the time for you to speak to both those items and we will obviously vote on them separately.

So the floor is now open to any of my colleagues who would like to speak.

All right.

Not seeing anyone.

Oh, I do see someone.

I'm sorry.

Council Member Morales.

Oh, I am not muted, am I?

No.

But you're welcome to speak, Council Member Morales.

My apologies.

Just a point of order, Council President.

Is this the time for us to make our general remarks about the budget, or would you prefer that we wait till all four items have been voted on?

I would prefer that you do it now because, as I shared, item one is the council bill 120457 regarding 2023. And item two is resolution 32072, which is regarding the 2024. So this would be the time to do that, to respond to Catherine Mosqueda, who spoke for 20 minutes.

So this would probably be a good time for us to round this all up together and do it all now, because the other two items, and correct me if I'm wrong, Madam Clerk, don't directly go to the bill and the budget for 2023 and 2024.

They relate to the entire budget itself, but the budget adoption ordinance is before us currently.

Yes.

So this would be the time.

So in that case, may I proceed?

Yes, you may.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, during the first few weeks of this budget cycle, I was waiting for the bus in Georgetown.

It was 10 minutes late, and then it was 20 minutes late, and then it was 30 minutes late.

And when I finally got to work, I learned that the reason the bus was late was because there was not one, but two pedestrian fatalities that morning in Georgetown.

Another week during a regular monthly check-in that I host with the Mount Baker community, I listened to a mother cry as she described the despair and the hopelessness that she felt while she was experiencing the heat wave this summer.

She didn't have money for an air filter.

And she was trying to protect her children from the suffocating air quality as smoke and traffic exhaust particles seeped into her home through her window and blanketed her kitchen.

The other morning before our committee meeting, as temperatures were starting to dip and the wind was blowing, I stood over here at 3rd and James as the encampment was being swept, talking to people about where they were gonna sleep that night, and none of them had an answer to that question.

These are constituents of ours who are looking to us for real solutions to the challenges that they face.

And I know that we all know that is the work that we're here to do to deliver for the people of our city.

As I've worked over the last couple of years with the Seattle Within Reach Coalition and with the Stay Housed, Stay Healthy Coalition, I've had the privilege of co-creating policy ideas alongside community members that would serve to improve the social well-being of our neighbors in the South End, but also across the city.

In our monthly meetings, we have discussed the potential of green building apprenticeships to provide jobs for youth and for unhoused people.

We've talked about building permanently affordable publicly owned housing.

We've talked about the expansion of home zones to create safer streets for our neighbors and about building dynamic music and arts oriented spaces that are dedicated to cultivating our local talent.

All of these are recommendations that came from community members who are offering real solutions to the things that they're dealing with.

They're endorsed by leaders in the housing and community development sectors, mobility and transportation, labor, environmental justice, and by constituents from every council district, constituents who took the time to call in and write and show up to share their stories in person.

These are all proposals that recognize the interconnectedness of the work that we're here to do and that really underscore that we need to think beyond units of production and really seize the opportunity to build a city where social well-being for each and every person is prioritized in every circumstance and in every neighborhood of the city.

I will admit I'm disappointed that some of these items did not make it into the budget.

At the same time, I'm really proud of the work that my office did to bring the voices and the smart ideas of all of these community advocates into the halls of power.

Despite the amendments that didn't make it into the budget, we still had over a dozen amendments that did pass and that will make a material difference for people across the south end and across the city.

In particular, I'm proud of our work to support the development of an arts incubator at King Street Station, where black and brown youth can create the next generation of artists who will put Seattle on the map.

We got another $250,000 to support the development of the Community Investment Trust, which will bring community closer to real estate ownership opportunities to help combat displacement.

We got money to create a climate resilience hub to provide a safe place, a place for reprieve for neighbors during the next extreme weather event.

And we repealed the heating oil tax, something I've been trying to do for three years, which will save money for seniors on fixed incomes who live in older homes.

We made tangible investments that will make transformative safety improvements on streets in the district with the most fatalities for people walking, using mobility devices and cycling.

The Neighborhood Safety Model that we co-created with community in the CID and Little Saigon got funding for two street outreach workers who will provide on-the-ground support, de-escalation, and relationship building in the neighborhood.

And we restored funding for the Seattle Neighborhood Group's Safe Communities Program.

We also provided inflationary increases for Rainier Beach's beautiful safe place for youth.

And last but certainly not least, we're protecting abortion access by providing $1.25 million to the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

These investments will support economic revitalization, climate justice, community safety, and homelessness services, and will also move us closer to increasing safety, financial security, and autonomy for the people of Seattle.

And for the ideas that didn't make the final cut this year, we will keep working on them so that one day they do make it in.

Moving forward, I hope to work with my colleagues and act with urgency to pass policies that can stop displacement, that can house more of our neighbors and create healthy thriving neighborhoods.

I truly believe that in order for this city to become more livable for everyone, we have to plan for sustainability, for equitable urban development, and for economic justice all at the same time.

We need to put social well-being for everyone at the forefront of the work that we do as a city.

That's how we repair the harm done to black and brown communities.

It's how we democratize access to power and resources, and it's how we plan for the seventh generation.

I'm excited to be voting for the budget package today, and I want to acknowledge that we have much more work to do.

Finally, I do want to express my sincere gratitude to my staff, everyone who's come together to advocate for the budget that makes our city and our neighborhoods more healthy and more livable.

And I want to thank on my team, Alexis Turla, Devin Silvernail, Imani Carey, and Evelyn Chow for their dedication to serving our district.

I want to thank the members of each partner organization that we worked with over the last year.

There's over 30, so I won't list them all, but they've been really important in helping us craft policy ideas and recommendations.

To every constituent who called, wrote, stood in line for public hearings, and to the entire legislative department, our central staff, our city clerks, IT and central comms, our security team, thank you for being here.

And to Yaya, who always has a smile at the end of some very long days.

And I want to thank the Seattle Channel for making us all look good.

And finally, I want to thank my colleagues.

This work is hard, and public cynicism is strong.

But as Patricia Ireland said, you don't lead by pessimism and cynicism, you lead by optimism and energy.

and I look forward to working with each of you next year to use our energy to build healthy neighborhoods and a healthy Seattle.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Morales.

I'm going to take a point of privilege here because I understand one of our colleagues is at an airport, and I would like her, if she would, I would invite her, if she's willing, to say a few words, and that would be Council Member Herbold.

I can do that.

I think it's the first time I've ever called on you so totally fun.

Thank you so much for working to accommodate me and give me an opportunity to say a few words.

I want to thank, in addition to Madam President, Chair, Budget Chair Mosqueda for all of her work in developing this budget package.

It was very, very challenging with the updated revenue forecast that we received earlier this month.

And if I could just take a moment to highlight a few of the items that I sponsored, I would appreciate it.

And thank you again for the time and opportunity.

As it relates to the Human Services Department contractor wages, these are the folks who are out there on the streets, in the food banks, in the shelters, working with victims, doing all of the critical work necessary to deliver a social safety net.

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority notes that the five largest homelessness service providers in King County have collectively 300 vacancies.

This hinders their ability to carry out that mission.

And the ability of the safety net to function completely depends on staff.

Without a workforce, the whole system falls apart.

So I appreciate the budget chair's leadership in creating an annual increase legislatively and making sure that we are sticking to those commitments and I appreciate that she gave me an opportunity to be a sponsor with her on the biennial increase.

The budget also adds $3 million to the proposed budget for LEAD and CoLEAD in 2023 and $2 million in 2022. The LEAD program is a public safety program Co lead is a program that works with primarily homeless individuals and lead itself currently serves over 750 participants in this council has made a commitment to try and get to a point where we are funding, the ability of lead to operate in every single neighborhood in the city.

This is down payment on that commitment.

In addition, just a reminder that the gig worker premium pay ordinance recently expired as it relates specifically to COVID leave.

This made it so much more important to get the appropriate funds into the Office of Labor Standards to assure that their office will be able to hit the ground running when pay up goes into effect.

That is the minimum standards.

payment ordinance for gig workers.

So I'm really appreciative of the Labor Standards Advisory Committee, LSAC's efforts to mobilize the community in favor of adding funds for the Office of Labor Standards to do this incredibly important work.

This legislation will cover one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy, with corporations reporting record revenue while still paying sub-minimum wages.

The budget also includes funding for gun violence reduction programs and 9-1-1 alternatives, including funding the King County Public Health Gun Violence Prevention Initiative based out of Harborview to expand the program to family members and gun victims who are 25 to 40. The program currently only serves those 24 and under.

The funding also provides the budget also provides funding for dual dispatch of sworn officers and civilian staff to augment the current response to calls with a mental behavioral health nexus.

These are calls that it's important for law enforcement perhaps to be aware of but not for them to actually attend the scene.

I also want to thank Council Member Morales for proposing funding for BIPOC-led community safety, the neighborhood group, Seattle Neighborhood Group, and the important work that they do in neighborhoods like Rainier, Beach, and South Park.

And then lastly, thank you to Council Member Chair Mosqueda for also including the community safety communications center positions that you, that I proposed earlier in the budget and that we weren't able to fund, but then we found a way to do it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Are there any comments before I make some comments and then we'll close this out?

All right, Council Member Sawant.

Thank you, Council President Morris.

I'm proud that my office has spearheaded the People's Budget campaign this year for the ninth year in a row.

The People's Budget won a significant victory this year of funds to make abortion free for everyone in our city.

As Barbara Finney, who is delegate to the Martin Luther King Jr.

County Labor Council from her union, the American Federation of Government Employees said, this builds on the historic legislation won by working people, union members, and my Socialist Council office in July, making Seattle the nation's first abortion sanctuary city.

I wanted to congratulate rank-and-file union members like Barbara, members of the Writers' Union, Iron Workers' Union member Logan Swan, Carpenters' Union member Nina Wurst, Seattle Educators' Union member Matt Mailey, and many other rank-and-file union members whom I won't have time to mention, who organized and ensured that the King County Labor Council Executive Board changed their unfortunate initial vote and approved the resolution in support of the abortion funding demand from the people's budget and thanks to all the delegates of the labor council who voted for that resolution.

We also stopped a million dollars being spent on the terrible shot spotter program and won funds for tenant eviction defense.

I appreciate all the help of city council central staff, particularly Amy Gore, Petal Freeman, Karina Bull, Eden Cissek, Greg Dawes, Eric McConaghy, and especially Ali Panucci, who all helped my office research and draft budget amendments.

I want to thank socialist community organizers in my office, Ted Verdone, Adam Zinkowski, Dia Lacombe, Matt Smith, Alvin Muragori, and Nick Jones, who did a tremendous amount of work in order to involve and organize working people around all of these demands for people's budget.

Thanks so much to the rank-and-file activists, including those who spoke multiple times in public comment, and to crucial work by community leaders like Reverend Robert Jeffrey and Reverend Angela Ying and members of Socialist Alternative.

All year, we have heard a narrative that Seattle has a budget crisis and that there will be painful cuts.

We were told the Amazon tax funding that was promised for affordable housing and the Green New Deal would have to be siphoned off to prevent other painful cuts across all city work.

Each budget committee meeting, council members talked for many hours about how adding funding for one good thing would require cutting it from another good thing.

But this is a false narrative and a manufactured budget crisis.

This absurd story is being spun at a time when Seattle has eight billionaires with a collective net worth of over $252 billion.

And that is not including other individuals, extremely wealthy but not technically billionaires.

I will be voting no on items one and two on today's agenda, which approves the budget as a whole for 2023 and 2024. This is a brutal austerity budget.

Only two of the eight Democrats on the city council voted yes last week on the people's budget amendment to increase the taxes of Seattle's largest corporations.

The tax rates for different sizes of the largest businesses differ slightly, but the tax only applies to businesses with payrolls above $7 million a year.

For businesses with payrolls between $7 million and $100 million, the tax rate increase in the legislation would have been 33 hundredths of 1%.

That is not 33%, that is 33 hundredths of 1%.

When do workers ever see taxes measured in the hundreds of a percent?

And this tiny increase in big business taxes would have raised $140 million per year, enough to reverse the austerity proposed by Mayor Harrell and the even deeper austerity in the city council's changes to the mayor's budget.

Their budget reduces funding to essential services, including Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, the Human Service Department's Equity Action Plan, the Department of Transportation's Emergency Response, sidewalk safety repair and bridge painting, community center rehabilitation and development, decarbonization resiliency hubs at libraries, decarbonization and resiliency hubs at parks, library building upgrades, seismic retrofits, affordable Seattle, city hall park improvements, parks major maintenance, play area renovations, urban forestry, and city building maintenance and improvements.

All those cuts are aside from diverting a staggering $100 million from Amazon tax funds intended for affordable housing, the Green New Deal, and equitable development in order to prevent deeper cuts elsewhere in the budget.

This new recession we face and the cost of the pandemic come on top of the decades of underfunded needs, decades of unaffordable housing, and particularly this last decade or so of skyrocketing rents, decades of most workers' wages not keeping up with rising costs, and the foreclosure and jobs crisis in the 2008 recession.

According to a Congressional Budget Office study released in September, In the 30-year period from 1989 to 2019, the wealthiest 1% got $29 trillion richer.

That's trillion with a T-R.

During the same 30-year period, the bottom half of Americans saw their share of the nation's wealth drop from 4% to 2%.

Democrats have a new narrative for this year's budget vote.

But really, this is their business as usual for Seattle's budget.

And every year, they have a story, a story to try and cover up the reality.

or refuse them to stand up for what ordinary people actually need, making improvements at the margins while leaving an endemic crisis unaddressed and patting themselves on the back for a job well done.

Because of this, as a socialist and representative of working people, I have voted no on every budget since I took office in 2014. Where is the serious approach to solving the homelessness crisis, which was correctly declared a state of emergency over seven years ago?

Where is the effort to give a living wage to human service workers, and the rent burden of working people, and the climate catastrophe?

Where are the actions to back up the endless words about black and brown communities, communities that disproportionately suffer from the crises that affect all of the working class?

Even the small funding needed by organizations like the Northwest African American Museum are unfunded.

And I want those who spoke to this in public comment to know that my office is committed to bringing a supplemental budget amendment in January to fund the museum.

My no vote against an austerity budget has nothing in common with the votes of council members Nelson and Peterson, who are opposing this budget for right wing reasons.

Both Nelson and Peterson voted against my amendments to increase the Amazon tax.

Council member Peterson was also one of the two council members who voted against the Amazon tax in 2020. Their no vote on this budget is based on making the utterly false and reactionary claim that the bloated police budget is still not large enough.

The police department's budget is the largest of any of the city budget, and it was substantially increased this year and has $1.5 million for advertising alone.

It is absurd and it is dishonest.

This line of argument My council members Nelson and Peterson does have something in common, however, with the right wing's backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement nationally, which is shameful.

And unfortunately, more than that, self-described progressives refused to represent the needs of ordinary people.

And the more that they do that, the more it emboldens the right wing.

While two progressive council members voted in favor of increasing the Amazon tax, which was important, the rest of the self-described progressives voted against it, along with council members Nelson and Peterson.

And no council members joined my office in fighting to win the amendments to increase the big business tax, in yet another reminder where Even when a few marginal numbers of Democrats vote yes with working people, it's not going to be enough.

Working people cannot rely on the Democratic Party to fight for us.

We need a party of our own.

Despite their sometimes progressive rhetoric, the Democratic Party, for the most part, locally at the state level and in Washington state, oh sorry, Washington DC, primarily represents the interests of big business.

Council members spent hours debating accounting tricks, like changing which department's budget writes the paychecks for parking enforcement officers, or the abrogation of the accounting lines of vestigial police officer positions.

There were even Seattle Times editorials weighing in on these questions that have literally zero substantive impact.

If change is absolutely nothing about parking enforcement, the actual number of officers, or how policing and parking enforcement impacts our communities.

As I said last week, it is a debate about nothing.

intentionally crafted to distract from the serious issues of inequality, police violence, and community safety.

I continue to support reducing the bloated police budget and the armed repressive policing that treats our communities like an occupied population.

But that question has unfortunately not been honestly debated by the city council.

I think it is important for elected officials to be honest with working people about what this budget really means and to be in touch with overall reality.

Council members are raising hopes about homeownership, which I find stunning.

Because it's dishonest, because the statistics show home ownership is more disastrously out of reach of the vast majority of working people than in previous decades because of the position that the Democratic Party politicians have taken, not just here, but nationally also.

Council members use words like sense of urgency, honesty, healing, and care.

There is not much urgency, healing, or care when the majority of our city's working people will be forced to continue shouldering the massive problems because their elected officials are not going to fight for them and would rather passively or openly protect the wealth of the few at the top.

And it is certainly not honest to claim an anti-austerity budget when it, sorry, it's not honest to claim an austerity budget that it prevents austerity.

Council members keep talking about anti-austerity while voting yes again and again on budgets that cost so many vital infrastructure needs.

Anti-austerity?

I never thought I would be quoting from The Prince's Bride in a council meeting, but you keep using that word, and I do not think it means what you think it means.

In reality, to win a budget that truly meets the needs of working people would require a movement to force the political establishment to vote yes on increasing big business taxes like we had in 2020. In 2020, activist organizations like Socialist Alternative, Nicholsville, and progressive unions like UAW and WUFC built the tax Amazon movement.

We held organizing meetings and rallies of hundreds and ultimately thousands of volunteers.

And all of these rank and file participated in a democratically organized tax Amazon movement, we launched a ballot initiative.

and gathered the 30,000 signatures required to put it on the ballot, which made it clear to the political establishment that this was going to happen with or without them, and we won.

And it was in the context of the historic George Floyd protests, with a mass movement on the streets that understood that taxing billionaires to build affordable social housing was very much related to fighting racism, a mass movement with tens of thousands strongly supporting the Amazon tax that the political establishment and their big business backers suddenly had an idea they called Jumpstart.

The Amazon tax was a monumental victory.

Even after the cuts, this budget has $250 million invested in affordable housing, which is only possible because of the Amazon tax.

And it's many times what was being funded prior to the Amazon tax being passed.

This will house thousands of people.

We cannot overstate the importance of our victory, but we must also not forget that it was a concession that our movement forced big business to make.

Always in class struggle, the ruling class will concede only what they are absolutely forced to and not a penny more.

Working people understand that we need to organize even bigger struggles in the future to win citywide rent control without any corporate loopholes and to expand affordable housing on the scale that is needed, which will require further taxes on big business and the wealthy.

We know because we have seen before what sort of movement would be necessary to win an increase in the Amazon tax.

We have to be clear that austerity budgets are not inevitable.

Austerity is thrust upon working people in the absence of our own fighting movements.

in periods of history and in recent memory, knowing that a better world is possible, a socialist world is possible, is essential to building the powerful mass movements we need.

So for working people who are listening, let's make sure we enjoy the holidays, but come back with renewed vigor next year.

We have to fight against the recession's burden being put on our backs.

The labor movement has to build militant struggles to win cost of living increases and to win unionization struggles all the way from Amazon to local employers in the cities and counties.

I vote no on the 2023-2024 budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

And let's see on the time check here.

Okay, Council Member Lewis.

Thank you, Council President.

I am going to be brief given that it's 4.35 just to lift up a couple of ads that are very important and really appreciate the diligence of both the Chair and Mayor Harrell and the budget team led by Julie Dingley and making sure they were incorporated.

First, finally, a fully funded I look program for a dual dispatch response system and not just funding, but having that come along with a work plan that is governed by a term sheet.

and being done in partnership with Councilmember Herbold as the chair of the Public Safety Committee.

This has been a really, really long time coming and I really appreciate the leadership of Councilmember Herbold and Mayor Harrell's team and working with my office on really getting this over the finish line and Councilmember Mosqueda's steadfast support of this very important ad.

and really look forward to 2023 being a year where the rubber can meet the road on that initiative.

So thank you so much.

I do also want to shout out the support for the Let Everyone Advance with Dignity program that is represented in this budget.

There's still a lot of work to do on this to make sure that it truly is a citywide program with citywide impact and this budget makes a lot of critical steps during a very difficult period to realizing those changes.

And I do also wanna join the chorus of giving a shout out to the full inflationary pay increases for the people who do the essential social service work in the city of Seattle and the public safety implications that that work has in addition to public health and public wellness.

Your work is appreciated by this council and we stand shoulder to shoulder with you.

and making sure we live up to the commitment enshrined in our city ordinances.

I also wanna just recognize and put an emphasis, because I don't think it's been as much a part of the public narrative as I hope it will be in the coming days.

The $500 million over the course of this biannual budget that is going to go into affordable housing is a truly historic investment.

It is amplified all the more by increasing commitments from the state of Washington and from the federal government to support affordable housing initiatives, making that support go that much further when we added in with all those additional ads and partnerships.

And really looking forward to the difference that is going to make over the course of the next decade and looking forward to the compounding impact of having Jumpstart produce tens of millions of dollars of affordable housing support every single year.

That is truly a big leap from where we were a couple of years ago in our ability to support more affordable housing.

So given, just highlighting those quick things, I really wanna just give a shout out to my team, to Malik, Camila, Jacob, and Parker for their diligent work throughout this budget process, and to Council Member Mosqueda and her team, the accessibility and the diligence in crafting a budget under very difficult circumstances, and look forward to voting in favor of this budget this evening.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

I just want to be brief.

I want to thank everybody every day for everything.

And with that, Council Member Skate, is there anything you want to add before we go to a vote on items one and two?

Madam President, I will save my thank yous for after all of the votes today and appreciate the need to move on.

Thanks all for the comments that you've made.

All right, with that, we are going to, Madam Clerk, since we finally heard from the budget chair in her closing remarks, let's go ahead and call the roll on the passage of the bill regarding item number one.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Nay.

Council Member Peterson?

No.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Yes.

Six in favor, three opposed.

Thank you.

The legislation passed.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, are you pleased to affix my signature to the bill?

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Let's move on to item number two.

Will the clerk please read item number two into the record?

Resolution 32072, endorsing a budget and position modifications for the city of Seattle for 2024. The committee recommends a resolution be adopted as amended with Council Members Muscatha, Herbold, Juarez, Lewis, Morales, and Strauss in favor, and Council Members Nelson, Peterson, and Sawant opposed.

Thank you.

Council Member Muscatha, do you want to add anything else before we go to a vote?

No, thank you, Madam President.

Is there anything from anyone else before we go to a vote?

not seeing or hearing anything, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

No.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Yes.

Six in favor, three opposed.

Thank you.

The resolution passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please fix my signature to the legislation resolution.

Let's move on into our agenda and to item number three.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number three into the record?

Agenda item three, Council Bill 120445, relating to the levy of property taxes.

The committee recommends the bill pass with an abstention from Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Council Member Esqueda, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Colleagues, items three and four are connected as well.

Madam President, would it be okay with you if I spoke to both of those items?

Yes, we'll follow your lead like we do with items one and two.

Go ahead and speak to items three and four.

Then I'll open up to the floor and anyone else who wants to speak to both items can speak as well.

Thank you, Madam President.

According to the legislation that we just passed, thank you very much for the passage of the biennial budget, two pieces of legislation.

These items, items three and four, are required to be considered after consideration of the budget bills.

So now that those budget bills have just been passed, we are now able to consider these two items, agenda item number three, Council Bill 120445, and item number 4120446, since the budget bills have now been considered and passed.

Colleagues, item number three is known as the Long Property Tax Ordinance.

This is one of two ordinances required to levy property taxes for collection in 2023. This bill fixes the rates and amounts of property taxes to be levied and levies the taxes.

This bill increases the regular non-voted levy by 1% for taxes to be collected in 2023. It adds the allowance for new construction and other allowable amounts and specifies the dollar amounts to be collected for the special purposes of voter-approved property tax measures.

This bill also levies the excess levy property taxes to pay debt service on voter-approved bond measures.

And I'm emphasizing the voter approved aspect of this so that there's no confusion about what the council is considering in items number three and four.

This is regular budgetary legislation that accompanies the budget every year.

Item number four reflects the changes to the regular property tax in terms of dollars and percentages.

This does not include the refund fund levy or additional taxes resulting from new construction, construction of wind turbine facilities classified as personal property, improvements to property, or an increase in the value of state assessed property.

It is a companion to the ordinance authorizing Seattle's property tax levies, commonly known as the Long Property Tax Ordinance, also known as Agenda Item Number 3 on this agenda.

Madam President, those are my comments.

Thank you very much.

Councilor Mosqueda just did her introductory comments to items three and four.

Are there any of my colleagues that would also like to respond or share any comments to items three and four before we go to a vote on item three?

All right, not seeing or hearing any.

Madam Clerk, I'm sorry, Councilor Mosqueda, you done?

You good?

Yes, thank you, Madam President.

Okay, good.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the bill.

Moving on to item number four.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number four into the record?

Agenda item four, Council Bill 120446, authorizing the levy of regular property taxes by the state of Seattle for collection in 2023. The committee recommends the bill pass as amended with an abstention from Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Skid, is there anything you want to add before we move on?

No, thank you, Madam President.

Is there any comments from my colleagues that would like to?

Not seeing any.

OK, with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Madam Clerk.

Jodi, you might be on mute.

Excuse me.

Are you ready for the roll call?

I'm sorry.

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the bill.

With that, I want to move on to our agenda.

Moving on.

We already removed our items from the consent calendar and we consider them and address them.

Moving on to adoption of other resolutions.

There are no other resolutions for introduction and adoption today.

Other business.

I do want to share two comments and then I'm going to have a question for Council Member Lewis.

Madam President.

Yes.

I don't want to interrupt your flow, but I do got to get back to my thank you.

So whenever you're ready, just insert me.

You know what?

I'm going to let you go ahead.

Then you go ahead and go.

Are you sure?

Go ahead.

And I will just because I'm going to be very brief.

And then I'm going to ask Council Member Lewis what he wants to do.

But go ahead and wrap up your thank yous.

I know it's been a long 10 weeks.

Go ahead, Council Member Mosqueda.

It has been a long 10 weeks.

I also see my colleague Council Member Strauss with his hand up as well.

So I'm happy to wait until Council Member Strauss gets a chance as well.

Do you want to let him go first?

Sure.

Yeah, sounds good.

Go ahead.

It's all you, Dan.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Council President.

I didn't make remarks on the budget.

You know, I think colleagues, you all know me.

I like to my actions speak louder than my words.

I did just want to take this moment to thank a whole lot of people that helped get so many important investments into the budget.

From my team, Kate, Naomi, Amy, Anthony made this happen.

From central staff, I couldn't have done this without you.

Esther, Allie, Cal, Ketel, Yolanda, Greg, Amy Gore, Asha, Tom, Lisa, Karina, Liz, Brian, Eric, Eden, Anne, Tracy, and Jasmine.

Thank you so much to the clerks.

Couldn't have done this without you, and of course to Yayao.

Just want to thank you for all.

And also, I'd like to invite my D6 residents to a town hall on December.

Going to invite D6 residents to a town hall on December 14th at 6 p.m.

at the Green Lake Community Center.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wow.

Thank you, Councilmember Strauss.

That's leadership.

Councilmember Mosqueda, we're ready for that.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

That's a hard act to follow because I don't have an event to invite people to, so we will all have to join Councilmember Strauss.

But I do want to end with a thank you for all of the folks who made this biennial budget possible.

I do want to start again with central staff.

I cannot underscore the importance of the critical thinking the analytical work they've done, the crunching of the numbers, the verifying and double checking.

You all on central staff, I don't know how you pull this off in an eight to nine week process, a process that I'm learning from other councils, other city councils across the country, take more like four months.

The state legislature gets four months to do their legislative work on the proposed budget.

So thank you again for all the work and the sacrifices you've made over the last I want to call out the central staff members by category that they worked on in infrastructure, transportation, utilities, housing, parks, FAS, and IT.

I want to thank Brian Goodnight who was the lead with the following team, Calvin Chow, Lisa Kay, Eric McConaughey, and Tracy Radcliffe.

In land use, economic development, labor, neighborhoods, environment, culture, general government, I want to thank Yolanda Ho, who was the lead in that category, along with Karina Bull, Ketel Freeman, Lish Whitson, and all of the hard work of the team who covered that category.

In public safety, criminal legal systems, homelessness services, and human services, I want to thank Asha Venkatraman, who is the lead, serving with Greg Doss, Amy Gore, and Ann Gorman.

And of course, overall budget categories, this work could not be done without Tom Mikesell and Eden Sissick, who we saw on screen at the very beginning of receiving the budget from the mayor's office and their hard work to really triple check all of the revenue sources and the strategies for investments.

Thanks again to the IT team, who I haven't had the chance to call out by name.

So please, please indulge me.

We want to thank Ian Smith, Eric Depuisoy, Sun Ji, and Leilani Buck, who I had to rely on yesterday to help fix my computer system.

So Madam President, you are in a good a good company as well with the IT issues you were dealing with this morning, but our team is strong and they made it able for us to pull off.

In operations, I want to thank Chris Gillibreath and Allie Gilvanesson, who have been helping to set up the room, and especially in the time of COVID, making sure that there was masks and sanitization, helping to make sure that the doors were open for airflow.

along with the security team.

So thank you so much to them.

I want to thank clerks, Elizabeth Atkinson, who's acting as our city clerk right now.

And it would be impossible to have done this work, especially hosting the public hearings, the three or four hour public hearings that we had without Emilia Sanchez, Jodi Schwinn and Linda Barron.

You heard their voices calling names.

So please, please join me in thanking them as well.

You've mentioned you've heard me mention the communications team.

This is Joseph Pija.

Jesse and Dana and all of the team that is behind the scenes making sure that the interactive tools were available for not only us, for members of the public, and that we could point to that interactive tool so that there was the ability for members to see what amendments you put forward and how they were included.

I failed to mention Jasmine Maraja.

I'm sorry about that, Jasmine.

We have such deep appreciation for the work that you've done.

Jasmine was especially central to helping to finesse and finalize a path forward for the mental health services for youth in response to the Ingraham High School shooting, who was engaged with us throughout the course of day and night meetings as we found additional funds in partnership with the mayor's office.

So thanks as well to Jasmine from central staff.

And I started with my team the last time that we met.

That was just yesterday.

But again, I want to say to my team, a huge amount of appreciation.

Speaking of sacrifices and working around the clock, especially around those holiday seasons, as folks headed back to school with their kiddos, lots of other family and community obligations.

Thank you so much to all of you for the hard work that you put in, for being part of this team that has not only taken on regular council issues as the Finance and Housing Chair, but now as the Budget Chair for three years during, as I mentioned before, unprecedented times.

And this work that we've been able to pull off would not have been possible without all of you.

So thank you to Sejal Parikh, Chief of Staff, Aaron House, who is our policy director.

Melanie Cray, who's our policy associate and stepped in and learned quickly on all things public safety related, huge amount of work.

And Freddy de Cuevas, who runs our office, is our office manager and has been fielding all of our constituent communications and meetings, could not be done without all of you.

So thank you so much to the entire team.

And I mentioned our partnership with the Harold administration and I just, I really want to underscore that in a, again, we have had honest conversations we've been transparent with each branch of government we've had discussions about how to realign revenue sources and discussions about policy concerns and we've come together and really challenging times.

respecting each of the branches of government, respecting the different roles that we have to play, but wanting to find an opportunity to work together in partnership to address the revenue gap that grew in November and to invest, invest in our most vulnerable, invest in our local economy and invest in, I believe, a safer and healthier Seattle through this approach.

So appreciate those words of support that they sent down to us and look forward to continuing to work with all of you in these challenging times to ensure that we are moving these investments on paper into community implementation is the key.

After the budget is signed, after that ink is dry, we will be in community with you, the departments, the executive branch, and community stakeholders at large to ensure that these dollars really do buoy our local economy and support our most vulnerable.

Thanks for all the work that you've done to the entire team and anybody that I missed.

I will also shout out Yaya and all of you for your strong support with me in this time of COVID to make sure that our health, our community's health was protected as we sought to also receive input from the community and create this final budget.

Thanks, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

So I'm going to say a few words and I will be brief.

A big thank you to you, Councilor Mosqueda, our budget chair, This is my seventh budget cycle and I have to say every cycle that we've done with you has been done with respect and transparency and communication.

I want to thank my colleagues.

I've had individual and long discussions with each of you where areas where we have agreed to disagree and has been always been pleasant.

You've always been kind and you've always been respectful.

and that's the way I like to work and thank you very much.

Council and colleagues, we did not expect a $64 million deficit revenue forecast 10 days before we finalized the budget, but we scrambled and we got it done.

A huge thank you to Mayor Harrell and his staff, and of course, to Interim Chief Diaz in our discussions regarding public safety.

I want to briefly thank the clerks, Elizabeth, Jody, Amelia and Linda.

I don't think the public knows how hard our clerks work behind the scenes to make sure that we have a script or we got the zoom up.

We're doing public comment.

It takes a lot of time and effort.

And I know they make us look good, but they are the ones that do the work.

So thank you.

I want to thank I normally don't do this, but I'm going to do it.

I want to thank my staff, my chief of staff, Brindel, who keeps me in line, Murphy, Sarah, and Rob, the D5 team that makes sure that I look good, otherwise I could not do this job.

A special thank you to Sejal, go big blue.

And to Ferlita for feeding us.

Not big on the pizza, but thank you for that.

And I want to end on this note to my council member colleagues, brothers and sisters who have districts.

I have always appreciated where you honor the needs of your district.

But you know that we all know that you serve the city of Seattle and the greater needs out there, not an easy task.

We have to bring those district needs and also put them in context with what the rest of the city needs.

And that's a balancing act carrying water on both shoulders.

And I've seen nothing but nothing but good works and people, each of you working so hard to meet the needs of your constituents.

I'm within the four corners of a budget where there's only so much money.

I hope we can continue this trend.

I've had some long talks with the budget chair and the mayor's office and some other folks.

I just want to end on the note that I truly believe that we're moving forward, that I have seen progress, that we're moving in the right direction, that we are finding balance in our city council in working with the executive branch, And I'm very proud of that.

I'm here for one more year and I hope to see more of that.

So moving forward to me where I come from means that we are healing.

And for me, that gives me hope.

We have a lot more work to do.

I want to say a big thank you to the budget chair and council member Herbold and for working with our office as well for the additional four million for mental health and a particular carve out for 250,000 for Ingraham High School, for the hundreds of students that showed up here after the shooting where one child picked up a gun and killed another child.

I want the family and the school district and particularly the young folks that we heard you, but we are only the city government and our fight is not over.

It will continue in Olympia and nationally.

I don't think sometimes people realize that sometimes as a city council, we are the kind of nuts and bolts of government or true democracy actually happens with face to face issues.

We're not far removed.

Like some people are in Washington, D. C. We can't always meet all your needs, but we sure as hell will try.

And that's what I saw on this budget.

And I'm very proud of all my colleagues and all the work that we did today.

I would have liked this budget to pass unanimously, but again, I respect people's opinion.

I understand where they're coming from and we can respectfully agree to disagree.

And with that.

I think I am done.

Let me just add this.

Council Member Lewis, you're the president of the Metropolitan Park District.

Mr. President, what would you like us to do?

Would you like us to take a recess?

I know we have a separate Zoom number, so do we just check out and check back in?

When would you like us to check back in before I actually adjourn us?

Yes, thank you so much, Council President.

The clerks just indicated that they need about 10 minutes to prepare everything.

I think that would be best if colleagues are okay with coming back to the Zoom link that's been distributed at 5.10 to convene the Metropolitan Park District.

I don't believe it will be a particularly long meeting.

So why don't we reconvene at 5.10 and call it good at that?

Good.

Okay, Mr. President, we will do that.

So with that colleagues, this does conclude the items on business of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled council meeting is on Tuesday, December 6 at 2pm.

With that, we will be adjourned and I will see you all at 510 for the Metropolitan Park District.

Thank you.