Select Budget Committee Public Hearing Session I 10-06-2026

Good afternoon.

The Select Budget Committee will come to order.

It is 1 24 p.m.

October 6th, 2025. I'm Dan Strauss, Chair of the Select Committee.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Rivera.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Council President Allingsworth.

Here.

Councilmember Juarez.

Here.

Councilmember Kettle.

Here.

Councilmember Lin.

Here.

Councilmember Rink.

Here.

Chair Strauss.

Here.

Seven present.

Thank you.

And for those not present, they will be excused.

And to everyone waiting in line, thank you for your patience and my direct apologies for the unforeseen delay.

We will get down to business right now and we will be here as long as you are here.

The only item on the agenda today is the public hearing.

And so if there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

I'm gonna do just a brief remark about how this will work.

We will begin this afternoon session with remote public speakers.

Anyone can sign up until 3 p.m.

At 3 p.m., online registration will close.

We will need to recess at around 4 p.m.

or so.

We hope that we will get through everyone who's signed up remotely to speak before 4 p.m.

That being said, if we If you don't, then we'll just hold you over until 5, at which point we'll go back and forth between online and in-person speakers.

If we get through everyone's public comment before 3 p.m., we will come back at 3 p.m.

to hear anyone who has signed up between the end of comments provided and the end of registration.

Then at 5 p.m.

we will begin in-person public comment.

So if you are here for the in-person public comment, you will sign up at 4.30 p.m.

down in the lobby.

And so we'll do this session right now and then we'll close the virtual online public comment and we will, for those who are here to give public comment in person, you'll line up down in the lobby.

they'll come through with clipboards and have you sign up while you're online.

It's at 4.30 at the latest.

It could start as early as 4. So sign up officially starts at 4.30.

We will continue the public hearing at 5 p.m.

until everyone is heard.

Again, if there are remote public commenters, we'll go back and forth.

for everyone in person will be here as long as it takes.

Regardless, if you are remote or in person, you will receive one minute 30 seconds to make your comments.

The only exception is that if you are part of a group of three or more people signed up for in-person public comment, and you would like to combine your time groups will receive four minutes 30 seconds to give their comments but people in that group will not be able to give separate individual public comment the same is true if you give virtual public comment that is your you're not coming this afternoon if you're coming So if you're signed up now, but you wanna come in person, choose one or the other please.

And if you want to review this process in detail, they are listed on the agenda for the meeting, which is here at the front.

It's posted outside and it's online.

With that, let's begin.

So clerk, if you can read the only item into the record and council member Rivera is present with us as well.

Excuse me. the public hearing on the city's 2027 general revenue sources, including a possible property tax levy increase in the mayor's 2027-28 proposed budget and capital improvement program.

Wonderful, so we're gonna get in.

Each speaker, the public hearing will be moderated in the following manner.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they registered.

You will hear a chime when 10 seconds are remaining of your time.

Speakers' microphones will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time provided so that we can move on to the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open.

We will begin with the first speaker on the list.

I'm gonna call just in groups so folks know First, I'm going to call out the names of folks who are not present online.

Michael Herschenschon, Emperor Von Doom, Rose Legionnaires, Kimberly Harrell, Joaquin Uy, Terry Anderson, Alexandra Johnson, Kimberly Hale.

We're getting a number of these in repeats.

So if you have signed up online, please check your email for the instructions.

With that, our first group of speakers is Kate Rubin followed by Ryan Talen, Dennis Sills, Amanda DeFisher, Liz Vivian, Clifford Cawthorn.

So we will begin with the first speaker on the list and please just state your name as you begin.

Kate, I see you're here, star 69.

As a reminder, yeah, she may need to press star 69 once she's heard that she's been unmuted.

Thank you.

Great.

My name is Kate Rubin.

I'm a renter in District 2 and I'm the co-executive director of B-Seattle.

If the city is serious about improving public safety, keeping people safely and stably housed has to be a fundamental priority of this budget.

We urge you to add a minimum of $500,000 for tenant services.

Legal aid, renter support and advocacy, and renter's rights education help people resolve housing crises before they lose their home.

Seattle's population is more than half renters.

Native American, Hispanic, and Latino renters face a disproportionate risk of eviction and are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness.

The most cost-effective way to address homelessness is to prevent it.

Yet as evictions reach record levels and the cost of providing these services continues to rise, the proposed budget invests less in tenant services than was invested in 2023. Seattle's renter protections are only as strong as renters' ability to exercise them and the city's ability to enforce them.

In addition to adding at least $500,000 for tenant services, we urge you to fully fund the new expanded enforcement passed with the junk fees bill.

Adopt the proposed $11 increase in biennial rental registration fees without any exceptions or carve-outs.

At only 46 cents per month, that's a very modest regulatory cost of doing business.

We also support redirecting the $30 million on Sweeps for permanent supportive housing and creating sustainable progressive revenue to address our housing crisis.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Up next is Ryan Tallon followed by Dennis Sills and then Amanda DeFisher.

Ryan, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

Thanks.

Welcome.

Hi there.

My name is Ryan Tallon.

I'm a registered nurse at Harborview Medical Center and I'm a resident of Capitol Hill.

I am here to support the Solidarity Budget and its nine guarantees.

As a nurse, I see the consequences of our budget choices every single day.

I care for people in crisis that are often the result of a lack of housing, mental health support, and accessible substance use treatment.

We cannot treat our way out of a problem that's fundamentally about a lack of care in our community.

One of the most critical investments we can make is in a civilian-led mental health response.

The care program is a vital part of public safety, yet The Seattle Police Department continues to prohibit it from doing the work they are trained to do.

We are using vulnerable people as political pawns to manufacture a reliance on armed police for non-violent crises.

This is not only inhumane, it is fiscally irresponsible.

I urge the council to fund the 14 vacant care positions.

Responding with a mental health crisis team costs a fraction what it costs to send an armed officer and the evidence is clear.

Civilian responders can help people in crisis without injury to anyone involved.

Investing in care is investing in safety, and I urge you to fund those 14 care positions and move Seattle towards a public safety system that truly meets the needs of our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ryan.

Up next is Dennis Sills, followed by Amanda DeFisher and then Liz Vivian.

Dennis, I see you're here.

Welcome.

Take it away.

Hi, my name is Dennis Sills with the Downtown Seattle Association.

On behalf of DSA's more than 600 members, and the Metropolitan Improvement District, we appreciate Mayor Wilson's approach to expand critical services while streamlining and making Seattle more efficient.

You will hear from many of our ambassadors later today.

We support $37 million for shelter expansion and the 13% increase in SPD and public safety.

We also support a $650,000 investment to expand streets to housing across the city.

We encourage additional investment in the Office of Economic Development and Care team to strengthen downtown, grow jobs, and broaden our tax base.

ESA published a report last week that shows Seattle lost 18,000 jobs between 2024 and 2025, intervening to vacancies, reclining commercial values and higher residential tax burdens.

70% of jobs are lost in our downtown core.

The report highlights that Seattle is an outlier relative to other cities in our region and across the country that grew jobs.

A separate report published Monday with the Chamber Highlights are unsustainable reliance on a handful of employers.

Arriving cities need confidence in public safety, vibrancy, a broad tax base, and predictable taxes.

This budget invests more in these key areas while moving towards sustainability and long-term economic growth.

We look forward to partnering with each of you on these priorities.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I see Amanda DeFisher is already here and already off mute.

Welcome, Amanda.

Thank you.

Hello, Council.

My name is Amanda DeFisher, and I am co-chair of the Seattle Women's Commission.

I'm speaking today as a community member and D1 resident in solidarity with the Seattle Disability Commission, which is supported by the Office of Civil Rights.

The mayor's proposed 2027 budget cuts $26,500 from the Disability Commission's accessibility funding.

The funding provides essential accommodations that allow commissioners with disabilities to fully participate and helps the city meet its legal obligations under Title II of the ADA, which requires state and local governments to give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all programs, which includes serving on boards and commissions.

What is especially concerning is that this decision was made without consultation from the Disability Commission.

I urge counsel to work with OCR to identify cost savings of $26,500 elsewhere while working directly with the Disability Commission on how best to meet their accessibility needs.

Accessibility is not optional and civic participation must be equitable for all.

Not only is it the right thing to do, it's the law.

Thank you for your time and for your service.

Thank you.

And up next is Liz Vivian followed by Clifford Cawthorn and then Howard Greenwich.

And Liz, you're already off mute.

Welcome.

Hi.

Hi.

Thank you.

This is Liz Vivian, Interim ED at Aurora Commons to comment on the budget.

One of our primary offerings is the Safe, Healthy, Empowered or SHE Clinic we run in partnership with U of Medicine.

The city has been a partner of the SHE Clinic since its inception in 2018 and together we've given more than 600 women quality, accessible, trauma-informed healthcare in a space they trust.

In each of the last four bienniums, funding for the SHE Clinic at Aurora Commons has come from a council add to the city budget We are respectfully asking the same this year, a $215,000 investment each of the next two years.

Special thanks to Council Member Juarez for her leadership on making this amendment and to those of you considering co-sponsoring.

To all council members, please vote with a resounding yes to fund the CHI Clinic.

Also, I know this is a tough budget year, but please don't balance our request by taking away from other vital work.

I am equally here to advocate for you to fully fund our sister organizations working to end homelessness, commercial sexual exploitation, and gender-based violence throughout the city.

Many, many thanks.

Thank you, Liz.

Up next is Clifford Cawthorn followed by Howard Grinnett and then Tina Boucher.

Cliff, I see you're here, star six to unmute, and you're off mute.

Welcome, my friend.

Thank you.

It's good to hear you.

My name is Cliff Cothomb.

Good afternoon, Seattle City Council.

I'm here to represent the Seattle Democratic Socialist Housing Justice Working Group today.

Many of you know me from different capacities, but I'm here specifically to urge you to support the full funding of tenant services in the 27-28 biennial city budget.

We urge the council to at least another $500,000 for tenant services to what is proposed in the mayor's budget and adopt a $11 rental registration inspection fee without exception.

While affordable housing doesn't have the financial support that affordable housing does, this modest cost will help to stabilize households in the intermediate long run.

Thousands of Seattleites overall have been laid off and housing providers and counselors have indicated that evictions are predicted to increase in the current economic climate.

Without housing stability, Seattleites will go backwards in terms of obtaining affordable housing, not to mention ever being able to own a home.

Without effective tenant education support and enforcement of the laws, staying housed will get harder for Seattleites, and the racial housing and home ownership gaps will continue.

The fees spread across all eligible units at the current level with exceptions in adding $500,000 in tenant services, and the budget will fund services at the bare minimum while keeping up with inflation and additional costs.

Seattle's growth is fueled by people, by workers.

So please fully fund tenant services.

Thank you, Cliff.

Up next is Howard, and you're already off mute.

Howard, take it away.

Great.

Good afternoon, a bunch of Sarah Strauss and council members.

I'm Howard Greenwich.

I'm the research director at Puget Soundstage.

I'm here to support Mayor Wilson's proposed equitable development and initiative funding of $26 million for both 2027 and 2028. And as you consider your budget priorities, I want to highlight an underrated benefit of EDI projects.

EDI projects are investments in our local economies.

Projects like El Centro's, Plaza de Maestas, Africatown Plaza, Interim's, Uncle Bob's Place, and many more, attract people from around the city and region for cultural value, social gathering, and recreation.

and with people gathering comes their money and opportunity for culturally specific small business.

No market rate developer builds places like these.

It's the same reason why Pipe Place Market is such a massive tourist destination.

When you take the profit out of land stewardship, it becomes transformational.

Please support the mayor's proposed level of spending for EDI.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Up next is Tina Boucher, Jerrell Davis, and then Alice Lockhart.

Tina, you're already off mute.

Welcome.

Thank you, Tina Bica.

So I found Mayor Wilson's budget a refreshing read.

The Atlas biggest challenges are systems problems, and we will not solve them, budgeting one department at a time.

The question should be, what are the citywide goals?

Where is the capacity insufficient?

Where is the system getting stuck?

And are we investing in the points that will actually improve the performance of the whole?

Homelessness is one example.

If we had shelter but lack behavioral health treatment, permanent supporting housing, affordable housing exits, people simply back up at the next point in the system.

Public safety, another.

Police, fire, chair, behavioral health response, prosecution, follow-up services, All play different roles, but when one part lacks capacity, the problem does not disappear.

It shifts somewhere else, often at greater cost.

There are so many more areas and examples.

So the budget question cannot simply be how much each department or program receives.

It has to be what capacity are we buying, where the bottlenecks are, whether the pieces are sized and connected well enough to produce results.

If we do not budget this way, we risk spending more while simply moving pressure from one part of government to another.

We need a budget that strengthens symptoms, not just silos.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tina.

Up next is Jerrell followed by Alice Lockhart and then Beatrix Kelly.

Jerrell, you're hearing off mute.

Take it away.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Jerrell Davis and I'm the senior community organizer at the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom.

I'm speaking to request that the city invest $390,000 in Tubman Health as a part of our 2027 budget to support continuity of care.

The federal retreat from healthcare is moving costs and responsibility downstream, and our families and our communities are the ones who bear the brunt of this.

Tubman Health, we serve black LGBTQIA and medically marginalized communities whose access to care is being constrained by federal policies.

We are already receiving patients whose services have been cut and curtailed while simultaneously absorbing higher costs and greater demand.

4,000 immigrants and refugees in King County lost Medicaid coverage last week on October 1st.

And it's estimated that in the coming months, HR1 will continue to exacerbate the experience and access of people in our city who are seeking essential care.

These people deserve quality care.

These people deserve affordable care.

and it's on you to ensure that they're able to receive this.

Over the past few months, we've met with many of you about this request.

You know about the work that Tubman is doing.

You know about the importance of that work.

And with our work being based in the city in South Bend, it's an opportunity to invest in the health of a neighborhood and people that are the backbone of community organizing.

It's important now more than ever to support access to quality health care services.

Do the right thing.

Thank you.

Please reach out.

Thank you, Jarrell.

Up next is Alice Lockhart, followed by Petrix Kelley and Elizabeth Armbault.

Alice, take it away.

Good afternoon, Budget Committee.

I'm Alice Lockhart with 350 Seattle and the Seattle Solidarity Budget.

I'm, again, concerned that the budget continues to use JumpStart to fund previously general fund priorities and keeps moving general fund stuff on to JumpStart at the expense of climate resilience, real community safety and leaving providers in programs, in EDI programs and the like, fighting for scraps.

As last year, Green New Deal and EDI received only four and five percent of JumpStart funding when the intent and the original plan was for nine percent each.

Because of this, tenant services is underfunded by at least half a million dollars.

Please fix this.

Tenant services workers haven't had a raise in years.

Please fix this too, and only one of the Green New Deal Oversight Board's top priorities from the document I'm sure they've shared with you is met.

Please do fix this.

The budget over invests in provenly ineffective increases in police, in suites, and in dangerous to our citizens with ice on our streets every day and able to listen in on our cameras.

Dangerous, dangerous surveillance.

Thank you Alice and feel free to send in any additional comments.

Beatrix I see you're here.

Take it away.

Hi good afternoon.

My name is Beatrix Kelly and I'm the Housing Advocacy and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Low Income Housing Institute.

I also live and work in District 3.

I want to start off by saying thank you to the council members for prioritizing shelter expansion and for the work that's being done surrounding our unhoused neighbors living in RVs.

The 2027-2028 budget preserves essential items including funds for shelter expansion and food bank services.

I also want to highlight the reserves set aside in anticipation of HUD cuts.

This is a great start.

However, the current budget does not go far enough.

The city needs to expand high quality shelter Based on studies, 63% of people living in unsheltered in Seattle have complex needs.

Intentionally designed structures and programs are essential to many community members' journeys to getting housed.

We would like to counsel to support the PDA's efforts to increase high support shelters as we have found the model to benefit Lehigh's program participants.

Lehigh began integrating behavioral health services into every tiny house village.

but unfortunately the funds initially granted did not allow us to accomplish that goal in full.

Our hope is to see wraparound fund services implemented as shelter programs across Seattle much like our fellow advocates giving public comments.

Finally, in addition, just kidding, we appreciate your hard work going into this budget season and hope you continue to rely on the community input to make these

Thank you Beatrix.

Up next is Elizabeth Armbault followed by Linda Mitchell and then Keith Irvin.

Welcome Elizabeth, I see you're off mute.

Thank you.

My name is Elizabeth Arcambo and I live in an affordable apartment in South Lake Union.

People need homes.

After a brief lived experience being without a permanent home, I was fortunate enough to find my affordable apartment.

As a low-income senior, it's not difficult to tell you how important it is to continue having my income-controlled place for both my health and safety.

It is difficult to know what I would do without it because people do need homes.

The mayor's budget has funding to increase and sustain capacity for shelters and affordable housing.

I'm requesting that you keep this funding in your budget proposal because people do need homes.

Thank you for hearing me speak today.

I look forward to hearing from you on your human services activity in the budget.

Thank you.

Bye.

Thanks.

Up next we have Linda Mitchell followed by Keith Irvin and then Michael Herschenschon, you are not present.

So I'm gonna take a minute just to read the names that are not present that are close here.

So Michael Herschenschon, Rose Legionnaires, Kimberly Harrell, you're all within the next group of 10 and you are not present.

Please feel free to check your email with the call-in instructions.

Farther down the line, Joaquin Uy, Kimberly Harrell, Taluna Reid, Blue Gray, Lydia, Rubenstein, William Kelly, David Toledo, Pamela Seamonster, Laurel H, Edward Dumas, Nicole Robinson, you are also not present, but you're further down the line.

So Linda, followed by Keith, Michael, you are not present, followed by Christine McKay.

Linda, I see you're already off mute, thanks for your patience, take it away.

Hello, council members.

I'm Linda Mitchell with Mary's Place.

As you deliberate on this budget, we urge you to keep the mayor's shelter accelerator initiative fully funded and to uphold the council's commitment that at least two of the new shelters specifically serve families with children.

Every night, 40 to 50 families with children call the King County intake line that Mary's Place operates seeking shelter, but only a few can come inside.

Many are sleeping in cars or unsafe situations while they wait.

For children, the harm lasts longer after those nights.

Homelessness disrupts their health and learning and children who experience it are more likely to face it as adults.

This investment means that more families will have a safe place to stabilize and move toward housing.

Family homelessness is largely hidden so these families rarely shape the public picture of the crisis.

and that's why the family shelter commitment matters so much.

Without it, families risk being left out of new capacity.

No child should sleep outside.

Please protect this funding and the commitment to family shelter.

Mary's Place stands ready to partner with you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Linda.

Up next is Keith Irvin, followed by Michael, who's not present, and then Christine McKay.

Keith, you're off mute.

Welcome, my friend.

Good afternoon, Chairman Strauss and committee members.

My name is Keith Urban.

I have lived in Seattle since 1984. I'm here as a father, a grandfather, and a member of People for Climate Action Seattle.

I speak to you today about the budget for one of the city's smallest departments, the Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Our city has made some progress toward its science-based climate goals and the building emissions performance standard will, over time, remove climate-breaking gases from large commercial buildings.

But we are far off course from meeting the city's climate goals for 2030 or 2050. The fact is we don't have a realistic plan or the needed funding to end pollution from buildings and vehicles.

The mayor's proposed budget would reduce OLC's already neager resources for addressing the climate challenge.

Please maintain the current level of effort while also ensuring that the upcoming Climate Action Plan update gives us a pathway to making Seattle emissions-free and protecting our citizens from the now unavoidable effects of extreme weather.

Thank you.

Thank you, Keith.

Michael Herschenschon is still not present, so we will move forward.

Christine McKay, Emperor Victor Von Doom, Andrew Weingarten Jones, and then Rose Legionnaires, you're not present, followed by Megan Kiskadone, followed by Kimberly Harrell, who's not present.

Thanks for, apologies if I've mispronounced your name.

Christine, I see you're here, star six to unmute.

There you are, welcome, take it away.

Good afternoon.

My name is Chris McKay, the Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Association, representing businesses in District 1. I'm here today to strongly support the shelter expansion proposed in the mayor's budget.

In West Seattle, we have seen firsthand what happens when people experiencing homelessness don't have access to the level of support they need.

We've seen people living unsheltered struggling with behavioral health and substance abuse issues.

while nearby businesses, residents and first responders are left trying to manage situations they simply aren't equipped to solve.

Shelter alone isn't enough.

We need high support shelter with professional 24-7 staffing, low caseloads and the resources necessary to move people towards stability and permanent housing.

We need both shelter and housing and we need them to work together.

In addition I'd just like to mention on SBD I support the cost savings identified in decreasing police recruitment and I super encourage investments in SBD staffing.

We need to increase our police force and ensure their training is nothing but the best.

Thank you so much for all your work.

Thank you.

Up next is Emperor Von Doom followed by Andrew Weingarten Jones.

I see, there's Emperor, Emperor star six to unmute.

There you are, welcome.

From the huge throne room at the top of Seattle's iconic Space Needle, Doom has been watching quite soon.

Doom is displaced!

You have squandered the opportunity that Doom is giving you.

Doom will allow you to reign as the chair of the Public Safety Committee and join with my other acolytes, Joel Wiemann and Governor Gregoire, to push the mass expansion of Doom's service.

You have failed to cover up the Seattle police's uses of SDOT transportation cameras, and these revealing reporters exposed 11 million of your waste!

The Seattle Times quoted you as a failure, claiming that you were to enter in terms of oversight of my new surveillance.

Wait a minute.

Doom does not accept failure.

You're the honorable thing.

Walk away from your position as a chair.

The Public Safety Committee continue to serve Doom as my ally.

But Doom does not accept failure.

Thank you, Emperor.

for calling in today.

Following is Andrew Weingarten-Jones, Rose Legionnaires, you're not present, followed by Megan Kiskadone, followed by Kimberly Harrell, who's not present, followed by Eliana Horn.

Andrew, I see you're off mute.

Take it away.

Welcome.

Good afternoon, Budget Committee.

My name is Andrew Weingarten-Jones, and I'm a staff attorney at the Housing Justice Project, the primary legal services provider for low-income tenants in King County.

I am a District 5 resident, an HJP attorney for three years, and a tenant's rights attorney for ten.

When the Washington legislature passed its first in the nation's statewide right to counsel law in 2021, it came with the implicit and at times explicit promise that all low-income tenants would be represented in eviction cases.

With the massive spike in filings in recent years, we have struggled to keep up with those demands.

In numerous cases, our sharply trained legal advocates are able to identify substantive and procedural defenses.

whether it's landlords charging rents and fees that they are not entitled to, serving tenants with defective or misleading notices, or landlords alleging lease violations devoid of context and requiring further fact-finding.

For other cases where we can't identify defenses, we're able to assist in numerous other ways by facilitating rent assistance applications, negotiating move-out agreements, or entering into otherwise mutually beneficial settlements.

Point being, in almost every case, we're able to prevent evictions and meaningfully provide sometimes life-changing benefits to each and every one of our clients.

Both our attorneys getting non-stop new assignments and appearing multiple days a week in court for hearings, much less full-blown trials, coupled with the rapid pace of Washington's in many ways still antiquated eviction process, our ability to fully offer our services is always in jeopardy.

We need the City of Seattle to fund another 500,000 services to fund more attorneys and legal assistance.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thanks, Andrew.

Rose Legionnaires still not present, following going to Megan Kiskadon, Eliana Horn, Lisa Rose.

Megan, you're already off mute.

Welcome.

Take it away.

Hey, I'm Megan Kiskadon.

I'm the executive and artistic director of On the Boards in Uptown, and I'm also co-chair of the Seattle Arts Commission.

I want to thank you for your time and also consideration on today's budget feedback.

I'll be speaking about the arts budget.

I would like to advocate that the one-time reallocation of 1.5 million in admissions tax that was in last year's budget, that went from the Office of Arts and Culture, rerouted to Seattle Center and Parks and Rec, not be continued and absolutely not be made ongoing, which is now in Arts-009-D1.

Last year, Council Member Rink and Council Member Hollingsworth put forward a budget action that made that redirection of those funds last time, one time for last year.

And then this year it's in there as ongoing.

So I would like to advocate to restore the full amount of the admissions tax to the Office of Arts and Culture.

They're our trusted office for the arts and the true intention of the ad tax dollars.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We have Eliana Horn followed by Lisa Rose and Taluna Reid.

Eliana, you're already off mute.

Take it away.

Eliana, you might have hit mute on your phone because you are off mute on our program.

There you are.

Welcome.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Eliana Horne.

I am on staff with TGIS Soundstage and a member of the Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board.

I'm here to support the mayor's proposed equitable development initiative funding of $26 million for 2027 and 2028 and urge council members to protect this vital funding.

I think council members know how important the EDI program has become to working class black and brown communities and staying anchored in their historic neighborhoods.

and over the last decade, I think we can all agree that the ecosystem has dramatically changed and given us a fighting chance to combat displacement and keep communities that have been here for many years in place as the city changes.

I also urge you to think about how EDI projects are investments in public safety.

Community organizations don't just build housing, they build places that working-class communities can gather and where all people are welcomed.

Think about all the plazas, childcare space, meeting rooms, and places for elders and youth that EDI has created over the last decade.

Before reducing a program like EDI for increases to SDE, criminal court, or incarceration spending, you should see EDI as creating public safety equal to those, if not better.

So please protect this vital funding, and thank you for your time.

Thank you, Eliana.

Up next is Lisa Rose, followed by Taliyuna Reid, and then Charissa Adams.

and you're off mute, Lisa.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Lisa Rose.

I live in the Alki neighborhood and I'm here today representing a local group of residents who are passionate about reopening the Alki Community Center.

In 2020, after years of program cuts, the Alki community lost 100% of its public recreational programs with the center closure.

Of the 26 community centers across the city, Alki Community Center is the only center that is not open to the public.

It's currently used as a licensed childcare site only.

While the center's role as a childcare site is important, the closure of the center left us without an active community hub and gathering space.

Alki needs safe spaces now.

Our neighborhood makes news for robberies and gun violence.

Teens need safe spaces to go with staff and activities.

Families and older residents need places to connect and not feel isolated.

Our community needs a neighborhood hub.

We've been told that Parks does not have the budget to reopen the community center.

Recent infrastructure and building improvements were made to the center during the Alki Elementary School construction.

The building is ready.

We just need the city to fund the staff to open it to the broader public.

We're requesting an allocation of $250,000 in the parks budget to fully reopen and staff the community center.

Please restore one of the vital hearts of our community, our local community center.

Thanks for your consideration.

Thank you, Lisa.

Up next is Taluna Reid, followed by Teresa Adams and Joaquin Uwe.

Good afternoon.

My name is Taluna Reid and I'm with the Tenants Union of Washington State.

I echo what V. Seattle has already stated and Northwest Justice Project has already stated regarding adding another $500,000 for tenant services.

At the Tenants Union, we've seen an increase in intakes, workshop registrants, and just folks who are facing eviction.

and we need to be able to provide those services.

I also urge you to adopt the full $11 increase in rental registration fees paid by landlords and just continue to support these services.

And since everybody has already said what I wanted to say, I do want to say that it is unacceptable to threaten or harass public service.

While most systems are broken and people are struggling to survive, people deserve to show up to work and not be threatened.

People deserve safe and affordable housing, and it's just not acceptable to threaten anybody, and I just hope that you all listen to what the community is saying and do your best to show up for your constituents.

Thank you.

Thanks, Taluna.

Up next is Charissa Adams, followed by Joaquin Uy, then Amy Bailey.

And Charissa, I see you're here, star six to unmute.

There you are, welcome.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Carissa Adams and I'm the Institutional Giving Officer at Seattle Children's Theatre located in District 7 and I am respectfully asking for meaningful funding to support arts and culture through Shield Seattle.

Every day, Seattle's cultural organizations provide services that go far beyond arts and entertainment.

One of Seattle Children's Theatre's many arts education programs provides free field trip tickets to see a play, sometimes for their first time, and in-school drama workshops to all first and fifth grade students in Seattle Public Schools.

And last year we served over 5,000 students.

This program reaches students who might otherwise have little or no access to professional theater and creates immediate opportunities for learning and community building.

After bringing their class to SCT, one teacher told us, seeing a book come to life helped reinforce literacy comprehension skills.

This is just one impact of this very valuable work.

Shield Seattle gives the council an opportunity to protect this work and so many programs like it by other arts organizations across Seattle at a time when federal funding is disappearing and operating costs continue to rise.

We respectfully ask you to include meaningful funding for arts and culture in this budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Teresa.

Up next is Joaquin Uy followed by Amy Bailey and Terry Anderson.

Joaquin, I see you're off mute.

Take it away.

Welcome.

Hello, my name is Joaquin Lee and I'm currently serving as the interim political team representing over 3,300 city of Seattle employees.

In 1980, my family immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio from the Philippines, where my father had worked as a police officer.

However, his commendations and years of experience were not allowed to transfer to the US.

He was unable to become a police officer here.

He would have had to start all over.

But then he got a very lucky break.

He was able to secure a job with the City of Cleveland Public Safety Department as a civil investigator.

He was so proud of his job.

I remember clearly every weekday morning, the time and effort he put into preparing his starch button-up shirt, tie clips and polished shoes.

It was with great awe whenever I visited my dad at his Cleveland City Hall office.

That public sector job enabled us to buy our first house, our first car, and even our first family vacation.

And 40 years later, it allowed my father to retire in comfort.

As dad reached the end of his life, he told me that his city job was a fundamental part of achieving his American dream.

I'm here today to remind you that behind every public servant is a family achieving their own version of the American dream.

A dream preferred should this budget retain the current cuts to city of Seattle public servants.

Behind every employee is a family, a whole universe of people, a community, and a loss of even one job in this current economy would be absolutely devastating in a city as expensive as Seattle.

Council members, these public servants are active members of the city, raising families, supporting their neighbors, volunteering for local orgs, and helping Seattle thrive.

Please do what you can to save Seattle.

Thank you, Joaquin.

Up next, we have Amy, followed by Terry Anderson and then Andy Jensen.

Amy, you're already off.

Take it away.

Welcome.

Yes.

Hello.

My name is Amy Bailey.

I am vice chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, where I chair the housing task force, but I'm speaking personally as a D4 homeowner.

In my civic role and as a community member, our city's lack of affordable housing is terrifying.

Housing is a human right, and as such, we face not just a housing crisis, but a human rights crisis.

It goes without saying that we need more shelter beds and more emergency housing.

I urge you to also use JumpStart funds and whatever resources you have available to invest in affordable housing in every neighborhood across the city and support a living wage for human service professionals.

My husband and I moved to Seattle in 1997. I've worked in nonprofit education and public health sectors.

The people I've worked with nearly all have college degrees and frequently graduate education.

But even highly educated workers in these sectors don't earn enough to pay Seattle's astonishingly high rent.

So they move to Kent, to Everett, to Tacoma.

Coworker after coworker have moved away because of these housing costs.

Many of them reorient their professional lives to their new communities and we lose experienced workers in these critical areas.

The current situation is the result of our historical policy choices and the choices you will make.

So please do the right thing.

Invest in affordable housing.

Make sure our teachers are human.

Thank you, Amy.

And please do feel free to send in any additional comments.

Terry Anderson, I see you're off mute, followed by Andy and then Sept Gurnez.

Terry, welcome.

Good afternoon, City Council members.

My name is Terri Anderson and I work for the Tenants Union of Washington State.

I'm speaking today to urge you to increase funding for tenant services in the city budget by at least $500,000 and to increase rental registry fees by $11 without exemptions.

Tenants in Seattle are experiencing a housing affordability and stability crisis.

For many renters an unexpected expense, missing a day of work or a rent increase can mean losing their home.

Housing instability does not affect tenants equally.

Immigrants, black and brown households, low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable communities are always hit hardest.

These tenants often face additional discrimination and other barriers.

The Tenants Union of Washington State is a critical part of preventing displacement and homelessness in Seattle.

We talk to tenants every day on our hotline and in workshops.

Counseling, legal assistance, and tenant organizing can resolve issues before they become an eviction.

Investing in tenant services not only helps renters, it also stabilizes the health of neighborhoods and everyone in Seattle.

Please increase funding for tenant services by at least $500,000 in order to reach communities that are most vulnerable to displacement and disruption.

Please adopt a full $11 increase in rental registration to pay for enforcement of protections.

Every dollar invested in helping.

Thank you, Terry.

Up next is Andy Jensen, followed by Sept Granez and then Candace Sagan.

Andy, I see you're already off mute.

Welcome, take it away.

Hi, my name is Andy Jensen.

I live in District 3 and I'm a proud Garfield High School parent and PTA member.

The Shield Seattle funding will provide critical funding to cultural organizations in Seattle that serve the region, students, and schools.

Organizations like Teen Tix, Seattle Arts and Lectures, and South End Stories provide amazing access to students who would otherwise not be able to attend these performances, have these cultural experiences, whatever at the organizations or in their schools or communities.

Thank you very much for considering this.

and making sure that students will have access to expand their education.

And while it's my remaining time, I'd like to second Margaret Kiss-Cadden's request to retain the 1.5 of the admissions text from Seattle Center at the Office of Arts and Culture.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you.

Up next, we've got Sept Gurnez followed by Candace and then Castile Hightower.

Sept, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

And council president's been here in person since just about the start of this.

Apologies for not mentioning that on the record.

Sept, we're still waiting on you to hit star six on your end.

Star six to unmute.

There you are, welcome.

Great.

Hello, council members.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you today about the budget.

My name is Set.

I use they, them pronouns, and I'm the advocacy and program manager with Queer Power Alliance.

We work to build queer power for collective liberation.

We have several concerns with the budget, including the need for expanded funding for shelters and affordable housing, community outreach through the Department of Construction and Inspections, and the rejection of the proposed RV parking ban.

With my limited time, I'll focus on the last two.

People experiencing homelessness in RVs need stability and safe parking that meets their needs, not an RV ban.

Criminalizing people's livelihoods and living situations has never addressed the root causes of homelessness.

Instead, the city should invest in safe parking with services, RV storage, while people access shelter and housing, and high-quality community-based outreach that connects people to housing and other services.

Please reject the RV ban and move forward with the helpful parts of that proposal, safe parking, community outreach, and RV storage.

We're also concerned about the lack of funding for SDCI's Community Organization Grants.

These funds enable organizations like ours to connect with renters about their rights and resources.

with knowledge and tools that they need to protect their rights and build more equitable housing systems.

Please increase funding for community organizations through SDC.

Thank you, Sept.

Up next is Cadence Sagan followed by Castile Hightower and then Chris Curia.

Cadence, you're already off mute.

Take it away.

Welcome.

Yes, hi.

My name is Caden Sagan.

I am one of the co-chairs of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission.

I am calling in to speak about the Seattle Disability Commission funding in the proposed budget.

It looks like a significant amount of the budget is going to be cut, specifically the facilitation budget, which somewhat ironically is crucial for helping the disabled folk in that commission to be able to access the civic spaces as well as for others.

And I'm worried that this defunding could violate Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as just being out of alignment with the values that I have felt and Seattle has declared publicly that it holds, and I strongly encourage y'all to find other areas to cut.

I know that the budget is tough this year, but this is not the place to pinch pennies or cut corners.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Cadence.

Up next is Castile Hightower, followed by Chris Curia and then Stephanie Sismet.

Castile, welcome.

Hi, my name is Castile and I am the sister of Herbert Hightower Jr. who was murdered by Seattle police while experiencing a mental health crisis.

My family knows firsthand how re-traumatizing it is to be denied victim compensation funds and have to struggle to find resources while grieving the loss of a loved one at the hands of the police.

So for many years, I and families like mine have been fighting to create an office dedicated to providing that very support.

I'm asking that the city council, especially in the wake of yet another Seattle police killing of Kenan Pearson, whose family is in need of support as we speak, and as the mayor proposes a $68 million budget increase for the police to support the urgently needed legislation that is asking for only $50,000.

Our family should not have to continue to suffer simply because our victimizer is a police officer.

We deserve better and so does the community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Castile.

Up next, we have Chris Curia, followed by Stephanie Sismet, and then Joaquin is a duplicate, so Valen Solomon after that.

Chris, I see you're off mute.

Welcome.

Yeah, good afternoon.

Committee Chair Strauss, council members in the chamber, fellow members of the public, I'm Chris Correa.

I am speaking in my capacity as one of the Chairs of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission to echo my support from my fellow commissions within the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, the Seattle Disability Commission, and specifically to comment on the proposed 27-2028 budget, which as it stands, the proposed budget would cut portions of the Disability Commission's facilitation budget, which are crucial to providing access to civic spaces for people with disabilities.

So I also want to flag that this proposal could infringe on the Disability Commissioner's guaranteed rights under the ADA to fully participate in government programs with fully functional access needs.

And I want to emphasize that my Disability Commission colleagues play a vital role in championing our community's accessibility needs.

Their involvement in funding decisions should be paramount, especially if funding cuts could hinder their ability to fulfill their mandate.

So today I ask the Council to amend the proposed budget to protect the Seattle Disability Commission funding and to maintain continuity of ongoing collaboration with them as vital partners in our civic process.

And then on a different note, I want to close by asking for your support for the Mayor's proposed Trans and Queer Community Stabilization Fund by adopting this ongoing budgetary commitment to LGBTQ plus communities.

So thanks for your time and consideration.

Thanks, Chris.

We'll take the next public commenter, Stephanie Sismet, followed by Valen Solomon and then Alicia Ruiz.

Stephanie, I see you're here, star six to unmute.

I see you're off mute, welcome.

Stephanie, you might be muted on your own phone.

You're not muted on our...

There you are.

We can hear you now.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Stephanie Sismat, and I'm the Assistant Director of the Community Dining Program at Sound Generations.

I am speaking today as a member of the Meals Partnership Coalition.

I am here today to support permanent funding for meal programs.

I want to thank Mayor Katie Wilson for including $1 million in permanent funding for meal programs in the 2027 budget.

Thank you also to Council President Joy Hollingsworth and Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rink for both of your leadership in supporting funding for food access.

I urge the Council to sustain this investment in the final budget.

The Community Dining Program provides fresh, nutritious, and culturally relevant meals to older adults while socializing with others.

In partnership with SITES, we serve hot meals and support community connections at 16 locations throughout Seattle.

Last year, budget shortfalls, staffing challenges, and rising food costs required us to work with half of our meal locations to restrict the number of meals served.

Sustained meal program funding helps offset these pressures by providing valuable food resources, including locally grown items, and reducing the overall cost of our meal program.

Sustaining this modest investment helps ensure that we can continue serving the older adults who rely on our meal program.

Again, my name is Stephanie Sifmat with the Community Dining Program at Sound Generations and I urge you to sustain the funding for meal programs included in the Mayor's proposed budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Stephanie.

Up next we have Valen Solomon followed by Alicia Ruiz and Edgar Espino.

And Valen, you're already off mute.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Valyn Solomon and I am a managing attorney for the Housing Justice Project at a resident of D3.

I am speaking to underscore and highlight the historic demand for tenant services and tenant services funding within Seattle.

Specifically, I urge the council to add at least another $500,000 for tenant services in addition to what is already proposed in the mayor's budget.

Without this additional funding, thousands of Seattleites will remain at an increased risk of eviction and homelessness as many organizations struggle to keep up with the increased demand for tenant services.

HAP is a right to counsel eviction defense service provider for Seattle and King County, and our office represents most tenants facing eviction in both Seattle and King County.

Since the lapse of many COVID-era eviction protections around 2023, evictions have continued to skyrocket, and this year is no different.

King County is on track to far surpass the previous record for annual number of eviction cases filed.

For example, in March 2026, we saw over 1,000 eviction cases filed within King County alone, more than doubling the historic averages for the previous decade.

Previously, that 1,000 eviction case number is a number that we never thought we'd see, and now it has become close to the new normal with cases hovering between 800 and 900 per month since March 2026. The most cost-effective way to address homelessness is simply to prevent it.

And its services help renters and their families stay housed.

And this is why we ask the council to add at least another $500,000 to tenant services.

Thank you, Valen.

Up next is Alicia Ruiz followed by Edgar Espino and then Po Lipe.

Alexandra, I see you're off mute already.

Take it away.

Wait, hold on a second.

Thank you.

Alexandra, you got bumped up.

We're going to take your comments since you're here with us and then we're going to go back to Alicia Ruiz.

So Alexandra, apologies for the confusion.

Take it away.

No worries.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

I'm Alexandra Johnson with the Duwamish River Community Coalition, speaking for South Park in Georgetown and a personal resident of D7.

This budget grows police by 68 million and precinct patrol by 41 million, while collaborative policing gets just 1.4.

Shift some of that growth to save the 14 care crisis responder positions plated for elimination.

Protect every dollar of EDI grants and keep overhead dollars off of them.

Anti-displacement is public safety.

Studies show that when neighbors are pushed out, the ties that keep a block safe go with them.

EDI keeps communities rooted.

Last year, the program funded 33 community-led projects, including in South Park.

With MHA reductions on the table and families already stretched to the breaking point, it's more crucial than ever to preserve and expand community-led anti-displacement work.

The Food Equity Fund drops to about $1 million in grants next year with a deeper cut planned for 2028. Restore it or fund the 10 food desert neighborhoods the city itself names, including South Park and Georgetown.

Eat Fresh Bucks and food banks funding ongoing.

Parks Capital is back, but all eight new community center and field projects are north and central.

It might be unintentional, but the consequences of omitting South Seattle in budget plans are extremely real for people experiencing intensified heat effects, exacerbated flooding, poor air quality, and an absence of places to publicly and safely recreate.

Keep SPU's Duwamish Valley sediment and water resilience funding whole, including the South Park pump station, do not further divert jumpstart funds from their intended purpose, and fund trees where they're needed most.

Thank you.

Thank you Alexandra and Alicia is with us and already off mute take it away followed by Edgar and then Poe.

Good afternoon Chair Strauss and members of the committee I'm Alicia Ruiz with Habitat for Humanity Seattle King and Kittitas County.

Every elected official I talk to tells me that affordable housing is one of their top priorities every single one and every budget season when there's a hole to fill affordable housing and home ownership is among the first things you raid.

This isn't a priority, that's a piggy bank.

You can't have more affordable housing without dedicated funding to build it.

Beaches don't build poor foundations and press releases don't hand families keys, money does.

Jumpstart was sold to voters as a commitment to housing.

Treating it as a slush fund for everything else breaks that promise.

If housing is your priority, show it.

Keep your promise to the voters of this city by prioritizing affordable housing and home ownership not just with your words, but with your wallet too.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alicia.

Followed by, next we'll have Edgar followed by Poe and then Cynthia Irvin.

Edgar, welcome.

And I see you're already off mute.

Take it away.

All right, sweet.

Thank you.

Hello, council members.

My name is Edgar Yuskino.

My pronouns are he, him.

I'm a resident of district five and I work in district one, two, and three, and I am the policy community engagement manager for neighborhood house.

and a human service non-profit that serves thousands of community members across Seattle and King County, I'm here today to express strong support for the shelter expansion proposed in the mayor's budget.

Seattle's response to unsheltered homelessness has been lacking.

Through no fault of the work being done, but rather due to a lack of investment and a strong strategic framework to back up said funds.

This is our chance to change that.

We know that a better response to unsheltered homelessness is possible.

Just this year, the Pioneer Square Street to housing project puts 87% of individuals to appropriate shelters and housing.

Let's make actions like this into policy and then just a one-time thing.

Funding programs like this makes that possible.

Shelters and housing investment cannot come at the expense of others.

We need both.

And we don't have enough of either.

The mayor's budget creates a buffer top set the expected impacts of the Trump's funding shifts in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

crucial piece of the said puzzle.

I urge the council to consider shelter expansion proposed in the mayor's budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Edgar.

Up next, we have Poe Lipay followed by Cynthia Irvin.

and Kimberly Harrell is not present still.

And so before we move on, I do see that Rose Legionnaires has joined us.

So we will go Poe, Cynthia, and then Rose.

And Poe, I see you're already off mute.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Hello, council members.

I am Poe Lea Pai with the Washington Housing Alliance.

Tenant protections need strong enforcement to be effective.

Tenant protections with little to no enforcement is legislation that is missing teeth and vulnerable to exploitation by those who oppose tenant protections.

And while profits go up for them, evictions go up for us.

In addition to what Mayor Wilson has proposed, at least another $500,000 for tenant services is what's needed to prevent further collapse of vital services that tenants need just to thrive.

The 2026 level alone does not provide the capacity needed to meet current demand.

I encourage doubling this funding in the future.

We want to prevent loss of housing and prevent homelessness at the same time.

For the many at risk households who are in harm's way because they barely afford to make ends meet every month.

That's heavy on anyone and in the long run impacts everyone.

Families like mine rely on food banks and EBT cars just to keep food on the table.

And I know that there are many households that relate to being stretched thin.

Lastly, we also urge you to adopt a full $11 increase in rental registration fees paid by landlords biannually to pay for enforcement of rental protections without exemptions.

Thank you very much, y'all.

Thank you, Poe.

Up next is Cynthia Irvin followed by Rose Legionnaires and then Hallie Willis.

Cynthia, welcome.

Star six to unmute, Cynthia.

On your end, Cynthia, you'll need to press star six at this time.

Why don't we leave Cynthia promoted, but let's also promote Rose.

Rose, star six to unmute.

Rose?

There you are, Rose, welcome.

Hello, council members.

Yes, thank you for joining me at the council session today.

As we're looking at the budget, there's some very important things that we should be looking at.

One of the things is that as we're looking at the homelessness response, these sweeps have continued with unbridled vigor and destruction.

Just this week we have footage of SPD taking people's belongings and throwing them in city dumpster trucks where they can no longer have them anymore.

We have non-profits that are giving people tents The tents are then taken by the police that are now thrown in the dumps.

We are having money taken from the community that is just thrown out for no reason.

It does not help anyone.

It does not serve any of our purposes or our needs.

We need an understanding that the homelessness response cannot exist in this current paradigm.

It needs to exist in such a way where you see people as individuals with compassion and respect.

If there is not shelter space, we cannot afford to throw people from place to place.

This is unconsciousable and it is unethical.

And I think all of you all know this.

We need to have the understanding that each of these individuals is a person that somebody cares about.

and we need to show them that, that this is a Seattle for us all, not just a Seattle for those who are housed and those that have made it, but all those who haven't.

There are individuals that are supposed to be doing things.

There is a $1.2 million grant from the Salvation Army that's supposed to be serving us, and I have never seen them.

I have done more for the people of Seattle than I've seen them do.

Thank you, Rose.

Up next is Cynthia Irvin, followed by Hallie Willis and then Scott Nelson.

Cynthia, you're still with us, so star six to unmute.

Cynthia, Cynthia Irvin.

We're gonna move on to the next couple speakers and then we'll come back to Cynthia at the end.

Up next is Hallie Willis followed by Scott Nelson and then Jessie Simpson.

Hallie, welcome.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Hallie Willis, policy manager with the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, which includes over 50 member organizations who shelter, house, and care for people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County.

We're thrilled that the mayor's budget significantly expands shelter, and we urge you to protect this historic investment.

These new shelters will serve hundreds of people living outside with significant unmet needs.

It'll save lives and give people a safe place to rest to heal and connect to a permanent home.

While we expand shelter, we need to protect the permanent homes that people live in right now.

We urge you to protect contingency funds to keep Seattle residents housed when the federal government cuts our continuum of care funding.

It takes people to do all of this work to help people.

We urge the council to build on recent progress and invest in wage equity for the staff who keep shelters, homes, and services running every day.

that will reduce turnover and vacancies and allow staff to build the expertise that makes these services most successful.

As we look towards 2028, we look forward to working with you to raise the progressive revenue that we need to help more people get all the way home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Hallie.

Up next is Scott Nelson followed by Jesse Simpson and then Walter Hatch.

Hey, hello.

My name is Scott Nelson and I live in the CID District 2 and I am a co-chair of the Seattle Disability Commission.

This budget proposes to defund the accessibility budget of the Seattle Disability Commission, slashing the funds available for facilitation for accessible accommodation in cap.

This budget item was instated back in 2022 after years of relying on uncertain underspend funds to make the Commission accessible to its majority membership with disabilities.

I asked Council to support an amendment to preserve this funding and to oppose the defunding of the accessibility budget.

Thank you for your time and for Council's continued support and attention to matters of disability rights.

Thanks, Scott.

Up next is Jesse Simpson followed by Walter Hatch and then David Mintz.

Jesse, I see you're here and off mute.

Take it away.

Good afternoon, council members.

I'm Jesse Simpson with the housing development portion.

First, I want to thank Mayor Wilson for proposing a budget that makes significant investments in affordable housing in what is a difficult budget year, just under 350 million.

The payroll expense tax is a major reason that this investment is possible.

It works across the full continuum of affordable housing, helping build new homes, stabilize affordable buildings with debt restructuring, keeps supportive housing staffed and operating, and helps families buy permanently affordable homes.

Additionally, PET investments in the Equitable Development Initiative have helped community-based organizations secure permanent spaces, keep cultural venues, services, and anchors rooted in neighborhoods facing displacement pressures.

but we're still falling short of the original promise of Jumpstart, the plan that would have dedicated 62% of the revenue to affordable housing, compared to just over 30% in this biannual budget.

Over the past few years, overall affordable housing investment has stayed flat as both needs and costs have risen substantially.

I respectfully ask Council to do two things in this budget.

First, to invest as much as possible in affordable housing and EDI with the budget.

and second to pass a resolution that charts clear course back to dedicating 62% of the payroll expense tax to affordable housing in future budgets.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Up next is Walter Hatch followed by David Mintz and then Ethan Briscoe.

Walter, welcome.

Hi there.

Thank you very much.

My name's Walter Hatch and I'm a volunteer with the Ballard Task Force on homelessness and I'm here to support the mayor's budget proposal for shelter expansion.

We have 18,000 homeless individuals in King County and only about 6,000 shelter beds.

The math is just wrong.

The need for greater capacity is obvious.

People are dying on our streets because we are failing to provide better options.

At the same time, I want to quickly suggest that over the next year, before we enter another budget cycle, We really need to develop and implement an actual Housing First plan to solve this crisis of homelessness.

Seattle and King County are now responding to this crisis in a chaotic way.

I deal with individuals who are frustrated to the point of exhaustion by our incoherent system, moving people from caseworker to caseworker without ever comprehensively addressing their needs.

We have as many as 150 to 200 nonprofits in Seattle.

chasing contract dollars bumping into each other.

We have no coordination, no oversight, no real plan.

What we have here is a non-profits first system, not a housing first system.

It is not working for anyone except maybe the big providers.

It's way past time for an actual plan, for actual leadership.

It requires political will.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Walter.

Up next is David, followed by Ethan Briscoe and then Will Oberst.

David, you're already off mute.

Take it away.

Great.

Thank you, Chair Strauss and hello, Council Members.

I'm Dave Nance and I'm here to largely echo what many prior callers have stated, and that is to express my support for continued investment in shelter and services.

As we know, those are in critical short supply in our community.

and we also know that shelter and services provide an essential foundation in our overall response to homelessness.

We simply need more safe inside places for people to go and we need those places to connect people with housing, behavioral health care, substance use treatment and other services.

And we also need to acknowledge that perceived trade-offs between shelter and affordable housing really present a false choice.

We must have both and we can do so.

We need to prevent people from becoming homeless.

We need to build deeply affordable housing and provide shelter for people who are already outside.

Seattle's current budget proposal recognizes this comprehensive approach by combining nearly 1,000 new shelter beds with rental assistance, prevention and housing investments.

So I urge you to preserve and strengthen these investments.

If we in Seattle expect people to come inside and to move towards stability, we have to make sure there is somewhere to go and that there is a meaningful support available for those in here and permanent housing.

Thank you.

Thank you, David.

Up next is Ethan Briscoe followed by Will Oberst and then Sasha Jacobson.

Ethan, you're here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Take it away.

Ethan Briscoe Hey, how's it going?

My name is Ethan Briscoe.

I'm a long-time Seattle resident, a homeowner up in District 5, a Seattle fireman and a shop steward for IFF Local 27 Seattle Firefighters Union.

I'm currently assigned up to Ladder Company 5 at the Fire Station 31 in Northgate and live in the fire district that I serve.

I see the value firsthand in all the programs that have been mentioned so far today.

that are part of this proposed budget to include Mary's Place, Lehigh, the expansion of shelters, housing, and safe spaces.

My time in Seattle Fire Department started in 2018, and I've served the City of Seattle through the COVID-19 pandemic and our hiring woes that we've faced within recent years.

Since my employment, I've regularly worked a minimum of 500 hours of off-shift work or overtime every year, often exceeding that number.

Those hours were spent serving the citizens that I've sworn to protect Ensuring safe staffing levels on EMS and fire suppression units, working with case managers to outreach disenfranchised members of our community with the health loan program, including many hours at our training division with new firefighters.

As it sits, this manifestation of Mayor's proposed budget will have a dramatic effect on the department's staffing.

It will impact all of the programs listed above, but will more importantly impact the citizens whom I serve.

Seattle Fire Department's been utilizing overtime hours to supplement short staffing since the beginning of my employment.

And while as a taxpayer bulk of the impact on the city's coffers as a firefighter and citizen, I appreciate greatly the continued coverage.

Please increase the Seattle Fire Department's budget for 2027-2028.

Thank you, Ethan.

Up next is Will Oberst, followed by Sasha Jacobson and then Victoria Watts.

Hi, my name is Will Oberst, your Director of Drinks and Democracy.

As a renter in District 3 with multiple jobs in both retail and hospitality, I fully support the $11 increase in annual landlord fees without amendment, even if the fee is passed on to Maine.

This nominal fee spread across our nearly 200,000 eligible rental units should fully fund the full-time employees who will help enforce and educate about our new renter protection laws.

I stand in solidarity with the Stay House Stay Healthy Coalition Thank you, counsel, for your continued support of renters' rights, and I hope you get to go enjoy some of this beautiful day.

Thank you.

Thank you, Will.

Luckily, we have windows.

We're going to be here until 8 or 9 p.m.

tonight.

With that, we're going to move...

I appreciate the note, though.

Off to Sasha Jacobson, Victoria Watts, and then Lydia Rubenstein.

Sasha, you're already here and off mute.

Take it away.

Welcome.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Sasha Jacobson.

I'm a resident of district to a nurse case manager at a local hospital here and echo a lot of what I've heard today.

I want to appreciate people for bringing things up.

I am actually today talking as a musician, artist, and want to discuss the open letter that has been sent from the Seattle Arts and Culture community with over 800 signatures and over 100 represented organizations requesting that a minimum of $8 million be redirected from the proposed $68 million SPD budget.

We found over the summer that investing in arts and community during People World Cup created a reduction in violence and that needs to keep happening even when we're not on the world stage.

We know that research shows exposure to arts and culture helps children process trauma, it helps people engage with community, it decreases violence, and with the constant onslaught of increasingly worsening attacks on all of our rights in this country right now, especially those being directly impacted, arts and culture provide relief, distraction, engagement, connection, growth and support, Please move this money where it needs to be.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And thank you, Sasha.

And then up next we have Victoria Watts followed by Lydia Rubenstein and then Mr. Alvarez.

Victoria, welcome.

Victoria, star six to unmute.

Victoria?

Alright, we'll leave Victoria here and we'll go on to Lydia Rubenstein followed by Mr. Alvarez and then Olivia Lindstrom.

So Lydia Rubenstein, I see you're off mute, take it away.

Hello, my name is Lydia Rubenstein.

I'm a renter living in District 3 and a tenant educator and advocate with the Tenant Dean of Washington.

As renters, we've passed some really vital tenant protections just this year, and in order to ensure these protections and all the other ones we've fought for are effectively enforced, we must support and provide resources for tenant services.

You can do this by ensuring at least $500,000 for tenant services get added to the Mayor's proposed budget amount.

It's no surprise that as our renter majority city grows, the tenant services resources should match.

That's not happening at this time.

Many services have had to reduce incapacity, as you've heard, despite the need being greater than ever.

For these reasons, we also urge that you adopt the very minimal $11 increase in rental registration fees paid by landlords biannually to actually ensure enforcement of these tenant protections that we all know will help keep people housed, healthy, and make our community stronger in an effort to support everyone in Seattle.

I'd also like to echo all the demands that every other service provider on this call has stated.

Some of the most important ones are homelessness services.

These are all connected.

The more services you provide to keeping people healthy and safe or trying to provide support, make sure that everyone in the city benefits and anything that goes towards criminalizing or hurting people is only going to make things worse.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lydia.

We're going to try Victoria again.

But we see Mr. Alvarez is already off mute because he knows what to do.

Take it away, Mr. Alvarez.

Welcome.

Good to hear you.

Thank you.

I want council to invest in people across all communities.

I want my neighbors to have their basic needs met.

As rents keep rising, I want our city to help them stay in their home.

I want shelter in tiny homes for unhoused people.

If people need help with their physical or mental wellbeing, our council must provide the services needed to stave off that crisis.

I want families to thrive in our city and commute less so that parents can be involved in their children's lives.

I want all kids to have more enrichment programs after school and on weekends.

I want our local government to work for all of us just as hard as we all work to make Seattle the greatest city in the Pacific Northwest.

Thank you all and have a great day.

Thank you, Mr. Alvarez.

We're having trouble finding Victoria Watts, and so we'll come back at the very end.

Victoria, you may need to call back in.

At this point, I'm gonna call through our remaining public speakers who are present, and Olivia, I see you're off mute, so just hang tight with me real quick.

The speakers who are not present, so if you hear your name called right now, that means you need to call in.

That is blue-gray.

William Kelly, Pamela Seamonster, Laurel H, Edward Dumas, Nicole Robinson, David Haynes, Wyking Garrett.

I'm now gonna call the folks who are here and in the order or I'm gonna call everyone in the order in which they are signed up.

If you are not present, we are gonna continue moving through and then come back to those not present at the end.

Up next in the following order, we have Olivia Lindstrom, Aaron Tulick, Blue Gray, Kay Van Petten, William Kelly, David Toledo, Pamela Seamonster, Laurel H, Edward Dumas, Joseph Wakeman, Nicole Robinson, Sam Wolfson, Elle Cree, David Haynes, Wyking Garrett, and Shirley Lung.

With that, we're gonna move forward and through Olivia Lindstrom, you're up next.

Welcome.

Thanks for being off mute.

Thank you.

Hi, Council.

My name is Olivia and I'm a renter living in North Beacon Hill.

I'm here to specifically urge the Council to add at least another $500,000 for tenant services to what is proposed in the mayor's budget to adopt the full $11 increase in rental registration fees paid by landlords annually to pay for enforcement of renter protections without exemptions and to redirect the $68 million earmarked in the budget for more police towards social services and other programs.

Instead, we need to prioritize investments in stable housing, tenant protections, public space, our schools and children's programs and the arts, we can prioritize stability, safety, and affordability by keeping people housed, keeping people engaged in their community, and keeping public space welcoming, beautiful, and well-loved.

As a member of a diverse, working-class neighborhood where many people are renters, we absolutely need the kind of investments which strengthen the social fabric of our community When people feel like they belong and are grounded in place, people can make the changes necessary to improve their lives and build connections and communities.

Again, I am urging City Council to add at least $500,000 to tenant services funding and adopt the $11 fee and

Thank you.

And up next is Aaron Tulloch, followed by Blue Gray, who's not present, followed by Kay Van Petten, who is.

Aaron, welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair Strauss and members of the Select Budget Committee.

My name is Aaron Tulloch.

I'm legislative aide with FMS Global Strategies, testifying on behalf of We Build Back Better Alliance on the Mayor's 2027-28 proposed budget.

We support this budget with amendments.

Equity is not a statement of values.

It is a set of choices written into a spending plan, and we ask you to make three.

First, protect the Liberty Project.

This council invested $500,000 to the work in 2026 in the budget, and the mayor's proposal continues that commitment.

We ask you to keep it intact.

The Liberty Project gives black-owned and other unrepresented small businesses hands-on support in accounting, marketing, business strategy, and contracting.

This is not an abstract economic development.

This is capacity, revenue, ownership, and wealth building for businesses that have historically had less access to all four.

Second, add at least $500,000 to tenant services.

That money pays for a lawyer at an eviction hearing, mediation before a case is filed, and education on tenant rights.

The proposal holds it flat while eviction filings have reached record highs two years in a row.

Third, adopt the full $11 rental unit fee.

It pays to enforce the city's new limit on fees landlords charges tenants.

The owner behind the counter and the renter upstairs are often in the same family.

We ask that the council protect the Liberty Project, add $500,000 for tenant services, and adopt the $11 rental unit fee.

Thank you.

Thank you, Aaron.

The next person present is David Toledo, followed by the next person present, Joseph Lakeman, Sam Wolfson, El Cree, Shirley Lung.

David, I see you're off mute.

Welcome, my friend.

Good to hear from you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm here to represent Unified Outreach.

There's two other speakers behind me, Pamela Seamonster and Edward Dumas.

I will be representing them, so they won't be calling in.

We're here to ask for Unified Outreach to receive a one-time allocation of $100,000.

Unified Outreach is a BIPOC-led 501 which has been serving Seattle for over 25 years.

We are a big umbrella.

We do art-infused behavioral health services which include working with at-risk youth, gang intervention, violence reduction, homeless outreach, work readiness in the arts programs, enrichment, cultural events.

Again, we serve BIPOC, ESL, special needs students.

So again, it's a big organization.

It's a lot to wrap your heads around.

But again, we have 25 years of service.

We are asking for a one-time allocation to keep our grassroots organization running.

We feel that we are a proven entity and that it doesn't take much research to find out that our programs are running and succeeding.

There's been a lot of talk about homeless outreach, how important arts and culture are, violence reduction.

I hope my time is going to go over as I'm speaking for Pamela and Edward as well.

But again, our outreach is a big umbrella.

We reach a lot of the organization.

We're gonna pause real quick.

David, unfortunately, it was groups of people together.

There's not the opportunity to speak in lieu of, but what I'm gonna do is we're gonna run the clock for another 10 seconds.

for you to have an opportunity to close your comments at this time.

So apologies for that miscommunication.

Yeah, we misunderstood.

Okay, thank you.

So again, please, council members, please love on unified outreach.

Unified outreach, love on unified outreach.

We're 25 years of serving the city.

Please support us.

Thank you.

Thank you, David, and thank you for jesting with me right there.

Up next we have Joseph Lakeman, Sam Wolfson, Elle Cree, Shirley Lung.

Joseph, you're here with us, star six to unmute.

Joseph?

Joseph?

All right, we're gonna keep on moving.

Sam Wolfson, El Cree, Shirley Long.

Sam, I see you're with us.

Star six to unmute.

Hi.

Sorry, one second.

Hi, my name is Sam Wolfson.

I'm a district three resident and I'm a member of the executive committee on the Seattle Rangers Commission.

But today I'm speaking in a personal capacity.

I want to urge City Council to increase the proposed funding for tenant services in the Mayor's budget by at least $500,000 because the proposed budget does not take into account the increased costs of providing those services over the past year and should be increased to at least match the current demand.

I also support fully adopting the proposed $11 biannual rental registration fees to support Junk fee enforcement and other kinds of enforcement and I don't support allowing any exemptions to these fees.

Renter protections are only as good as their enforcement and the most effective way to reduce homelessness is to keep people housed in the first place.

Seattle is the majority renter city and furthermore, renters represent lower income populations with fewer resources at our disposal.

We deserve for our well-being to be prioritized by city government.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sam.

Up next is Elle Cree, followed by Shirley Leung, and then we'll go back through those who are present but have not come off mute.

Actually, Elle, if you could hang tight with me since I know you're a pro here.

Joseph Lakeman is now off mute.

Joseph, can you confirm you're able to speak right now?

Yes, can you hear me?

Yep, we're gonna roll with you, Joseph, and then we'll come back to you, El.

Thanks for your patience, El.

All right, thank you.

My name is Joseph Lachman.

I'm here on behalf of Asian Counseling and Referral Service.

First of all speaking, in strong support of the Equitable Development Initiative, deeply appreciative to Mayor Wilson for proposing a budget that fully preserves the funding.

I'm concerned that some of the council members or might be using this as an opportunity to cut EDI for other priorities that are not in alignment with the intent of the Jump Start Tax.

I'm just asking to protect and preserve this proposed funding.

It's a deeply important program that's helping to anchor some of the most vulnerable communities that are at risk of displacement in our city.

We know the program is successful.

It's highly valued and it's serving some of the most vulnerable communities, low-income communities of color, many of whom are very important to and a part of the communities we serve as Asian Counseling and Referral Service.

I might also like to note that we strongly support shelter expansion proposed in the mayor's budget, noting that we really know that this works and we need to invest in shelter that meets the needs of the high security neighbors, especially those in the neighborhoods that we're serving.

I'm sure that they're throughput to housing and fully funding the strategy to support the neighborhoods and embrace more expanded shelters.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joseph and L.

Thank you for your patience with me as we were doing that real time moving around.

No problem.

I see you're already off mute.

Can't can't wait to hear from you and take it away.

Oh, my gosh.

Thank you so much, everybody here.

it's simple you know next to 66 I'm old-school and I came up with that you know it's very easy 66 new cops you know look I understand the need for public safety but we're struggling out here and when you add 66 the payroll it's going to end up to be like eight million dollars over this budget cycle that she that the city has proposed and I think what we're dealing with is a management issue.

You have six cops showing up to unlock a bathroom in Cal Anderson.

You have a number of different things going on that just don't justify this.

In 66, for my years as a budget analyst, how do you come up with that number?

It reminds me of the old days being in defense contracting.

It's sort of a swag.

Anyhow, I'll get off of that.

Please look at your emails.

I've emailed you all some of the proposals.

I would ask that as we look at this budget cycle, look at the organizations that are actually headquartered in Seattle and let's keep the funds here.

And let's take out these 66 COPs and start funding some of these organizations.

Organizations like Stone Soup Crew, the return on investment is so massive.

The avoided cost of supporting us and organizations like us and KOI is incredible.

Thank you all very much for your time.

Please look at your emails and look at the information that I've passed on to you.

I absolutely...

Thank you, Elle.

And following Elle is David Haynes, who's now present, followed by Shirley Long.

David, star six to unmute.

Welcome.

David, star six.

There you are.

Welcome.

All right, thank you, counsel.

You know, I'd like to point out that George Floyd protesters shook down City Hall way back in the day, and they shifted roughly $100 million, and that is still taking place.

And I want to point out that it's not right that you invest in running interference for repeat offenders that are connected to the criminal underworld.

We need better oversight and legislation in the public safety realm and the oversight and interpretation of what all these nonprofits are doing that have basically infiltrated the 911 civilian dispatch and are getting in the way of proactive crime fighting, still running interference for misdemeanor drug crimes that the city attorney has told the police chief that she's not going to prosecute and that council keeps lying to themselves about their public safety legislation that has completely failed the people.

You know, pushing people out of one side to another side and manipulating the statistics is not going to work.

But spending $100 million to pay off Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protesters running interference for felons, you're just going to continue to exacerbate the crisis and take away the capacity that's needed for innocent homeless.

But you all need to reimagine what regional responses and use the state resources and the federal resources to save money on the $37 million for 1,000 measly capacity shelter beds.

and build way more than that at a lot less cost.

That'd be a lot more first world if you need the National Guard to help you stand up the authorized encampments instead of relying on Sharon Lee hired a subcontract with a used tractor to move up some dirt.

Thank you, David.

Up next is Shirley Lung and then we'll go through those that are signed up but were not present previously.

Shirley, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Hi everyone, my name is Shirley and I live in Lake City.

Please add at least another $500K for tenant services to the Mayor's proposed budget.

Tenant services, rental assistance, and stronger renter protections prevent people from falling into homelessness.

We know that prevention is always the best medicine, so let's take good care of our renters by funding the things that keep them housed.

Please also adopt the full $11 increase in rental registration fees paid by landlords every two years to fund rental junk fees and enforcement.

I also urge the council to deflate our bloated police budget, which takes money away from meeting the real needs of the people, like shelter, food, education, sidewalks, parks, libraries, affordable housing, and more.

The only things I've ever personally seen Seattle cops do are, one, terrorize, hurt, and kill my unknown house neighbors, two, draw their guns while running after teenagers shouting, you're gonna get shot, and pointing the gun at me while I'm in the way, drive recklessly, hit my neighbors' cars, and pollute my neighborhood with motor oil.

And of course, standing around doing nothing and wasting my money.

All of this makes me less safe.

And for the privilege, it costs 25%, over 25%, or over 600 million of our budget.

Spending this money in literally any other way, but especially on housing, would completely transform our city for the better.

Thanks.

Thank you, Shirley.

We're gonna go back to the top and work our way through.

We have Cynthia Irvin and Kay Van Petten who have called in.

I'm gonna read the names of those who are not present.

It is now after 3 p.m.

and so registration is now closed.

So if you hear your name, you have about four, five minutes at most to call in.

You can check your email for the call in instructions.

Michael Herschenschon, Kimberly Harrell, Victoria Watts, Blue Gray, William Kelly, I heard Pamela Seamonster, Laurel H and Edward Dumas are not calling in, Nicole Robinson, K.Y. King Garrett, Those are the folks that are listed not present and have signed up.

I will now go through the remaining two that we have present, Cynthia Irvin and then Kay Van Petten.

Cynthia, we have two different phones for you calling in right now.

Whichever one you're on, press star six to unmute and you'll be live with us.

So Cynthia Irvin, star six to unmute.

Cynthia?

All right, we're gonna pause on Cynthia.

Kay Van Petten, I see you're with us.

Star six to unmute.

You're off mute.

Welcome.

Hey y'all, good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

I'm Kay Van Petten.

I'm a working musician and Seattle Music Commissioner speaking in my individual capacity today.

Music makes Seattle feel like home and the people creating it need to be able to afford it.

So I stand with artists and cultural workers asking for paid community-led programming year-round.

Please fund neighborhood music performances including artist fees and production costs while protecting existing music programs and direct artist grants.

This is economic development, paid work for musicians, customers for neighborhood businesses, and support for independent venues.

To advance OED's music mission, please sponsor a council budget action funding a one-year musician laureate pilot in its 2027 budget with central staff and OED confirming costs and a funding source.

I'm advancing this proposal through my commission work, a visible champion for Seattle music through paid performances, community engagement, and venue partnerships.

Please help us turn our city of music vision into paid opportunities for working artists.

Thank you so much for all your work on this.

Thank you, Kay.

We're going to give Cynthia one last try here.

if you wanna re-promote Cynthia.

She's no longer called in?

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, this is me trying to stall just a second to see if somebody calls right back in.

Good to see you, Council President.

Here we are.

So if Cynthia still has not called in, then we will end the virtual public comment period.

And so we have reached the end of the scheduled time for remote public comment, and we have gotten through everyone who is virtually present.

and so we will now move to recess.

And if you spoke this morning, please know that that was your opportunity to speak.

So please save yourself the trouble of coming down here for the in-person public comment, which is reserved for folks that did not provide public comment already today.

And so if there is no objection, the Select Budget Committee will be in recess until 4.59 p.m.

So we'll start right at five.

And so council members, please be present at 4.59 PM.

Again, my apologies for a little bit of a late start and I appreciate everyone's patience.

With that, we are hearing no objections.

This meeting is in recess until 5.00 PM, 4.59.

Thank you.

Thank you, council member.

Thank you.

Can you hit the mic?