Seattle City Council Select Budget Committee Public Hearing 11/13/23

Good evening, thank you very much everyone for joining this Select Budget Committee hearing.

This is the public hearing, the second of two dedicated to solely hearing from members of the community about the 2024 budget proposal in front of us.

We also have a number of items that have been published to our agenda for Wednesday that include additional legislation on budget transparency and possible revenue for the purposes of deliberation after we get through tomorrow's vote.

colleagues your uh comments uh colleagues and members of the community the information that we're receiving here today is very timely because we will be voting on all of the amendments to the proposed budget tomorrow there's 121 proposed amendments in total to the mayor's proposed budget and the presentations tonight and the comments and feedback that we receive from community help inform the deliberations that we will engage with tomorrow and any votes that we take tomorrow related to 2024. We will continue the conversation on revenue and fees and budget transparency legislation starting on Wednesday.

We'll again have a opportunity to take the legislation up on November 30th with the intent to wrap that up in early December.

Again, thanks to members of the community for being here tonight, and my sincere apologies for not being there in person.

I always try to attend in person when there is an opportunity for a public hearing and public comment.

I am under the weather today, so I will be here with you in full.

We anticipate that there will be about four hours tonight of public comment.

We will make sure to give the clerks the opportunity for a break as well, but we have 100 people signed up remotely and about 60 people in person.

so thank you for presenting tonight your thoughts and ideas and want to make sure that we get through everyone if there's no objection the agenda will be adopted to include the public comment for tonight no objection is seen we do have people that are here to provide public comment this evening and some of you might have already provided public comment but i i want to offer this as a reminder to you and to anybody who is new I'm not going to play the video, but I want to remind people that there is a one and a half minute opportunity to provide comment here tonight, just like we've done in the past.

The past public hearing offered a minute and a half as well.

If you have additional comments that you're not able to share, we do encourage you to send those to the full council at council at seattle.gov.

We all receive that email directly.

You can also send emails to our individual email addresses, and we know that there's much more to say beyond what a minute and a half offers.

So thank you so much.

For folks in person, we've also encouraged you to share your support for items by waving your hands.

I can see members of the chamber as well in person.

So if you share your hands, then I'll know if that's something that you support versus not.

either applauding or booing when you hear something.

There's many things that we all like or maybe dislike in what's being proposed, but I'd prefer to be able to see your hands versus having any audible comments about somebody's remarks in person because it's also hard for that to get picked up by the mic.

So I actually visually will be able to see you directly if you have something that you're wanting to support by doing this instead of applauding.

Deputy Clerk Schwinn, is there something that you'd like to offer?

Yes, I'm sorry.

I missed the roll call.

Great.

Let's do that roll call, and then we'll get to write a comment.

Thank you very much.

Council Member Herbold?

Here.

Council Member Juarez?

Here.

Council Member Lewis?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Nelson?

Present.

Council Member Peterson?

Here.

Council Member Sawant?

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

And Chair Moschetta.

Present.

Thank you.

Nine present.

Excellent, thank you and for Seattle Channel.

If you do want to zoom out even further, that's also appreciated, but I can definitely see folks as well.

Thank you colleagues again for your presence here tonight.

I know many of us will be listening and this will help inform our discussions and deliberations tomorrow.

Again, a minute and a half please and we will start with members of the remote public comments and then we will go to in person.

I believe we will be calling 10 people at a time.

So each person will have a chance to provide their full minute and a half comments.

And then as a reminder as well, you will hear a ding chime when you have 10 seconds to wrap up your public comment.

We encourage you to listen to that chime and make sure to get your public comment included before we move on so that everybody can have a chance to be heard tonight.

I do see a comment for the good of the order, and I'll call on Councilmember Sawant here in a moment.

Just want to reiterate to members of the community who are listening, it is my intent to make sure that everybody has the chance to be heard tonight.

So again, a minute and a half, and we will alternate 10 online and 10 in person with the chance to take a break for the clerks and staff on site halfway through.

Okay.

Councilmember Sawant, please go ahead.

Something for the good of the order.

Thank you, Chairman Skid.

I just wanted to let everybody who's there for testifying, whether on Zoom or in person, that I intended to be there in person for the hearing, but I am not feeling well.

And so just to be cautious and not spread germs, I'm going to be listening remotely, but I just wanted to express my solidarity with everybody who's there, who is correctly going to be demanding a budget that satisfies or at least begins to satisfy the needs of ordinary people.

And particularly, I will be excited to hear from all the students and the workers who have come to testify in support of increasing the Amazon tax to support the needs of all students and public sector workers.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Swann and appreciate your comments.

And I too had intended to be there in person, but I'm also under the weather.

I can hear it in your voice and I know that we all have the desire to be there as much as possible.

So thank you so much to everybody who is dialing in and I will be on screen here with you throughout the evening to hear the public comment, both remote and in person.

Thanks again to our community members for continuing to practice good public health practices.

Please do wear a mask if you are feeling under the weather or even if you're not because sometimes you're contagious two days before you start feeling symptoms.

There are masks provided on the diets out there and I think outside the doors as well.

And if you are remote, thanks again for dialing in.

We will make sure to get this conversation started.

I want to thank the clerks as well.

Please do let me know at any point if you need additional breaks or anything like that.

And again, apologies to you, Madam Clerk, and the team for not being there in person.

I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to you, Madam Clerk, if we would like to read the first 10 names remotely, and then we'll do the next 10 names in person.

Thank you, everyone.

The comment is now open.

Thank you.

Our first remote speaker will be Chris Woodward and Chris will be followed by Castile Hightower.

Go ahead, Chris.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Chris Woodward.

I'm the Community Development Director with the Alliance for Pioneer Square, located in District 7. The Alliance is a neighborhood-based community and economic development organization that works to support the district's long-term vitality.

First off, thank you for leading tonight's public hearing.

I appreciate the time.

I'll keep my comments brief.

As you prepare the 2024 budget, the Alliance urges you to maintain investments in public safety, so sale neighborhoods, such as Pioneer Square must be safe and welcoming to all members of the community.

So I'm hoping or urging you to maintain the entire $1.8 million for a suite of advanced technology that will help SPD Seattle Police Department prevent and respond to crime, which is especially important given the city's shortage of police officers.

And this package includes automatic license plate readers, closed caption TVs, and acoustic gunshot locator to help police respond to crime.

in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

So thank you again for your ongoing collaboration with Pioneer Square, and I'll follow up with some more detailed comments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Castile Hightower, and Castile will be followed by Marcus Johnson.

My name is Castro Hightower and my brother, Herbert, was murdered by Seattle police.

Not only did my family feel the tremendous loss of his passing, but we sustained additional and generational harm that continues to be felt to this day.

Harm that was doubled in our struggle to bury him, have a funeral for him, no access to mental health resources, an attorney, or any understanding of how the food works.

This occurred by the city of Bend.

It continues to this day for millions of tax dollars and for the defense of officers like Steve Herjack, who murdered him, like officers like Kevin Day, who murdered John B. Candula just January of this year, and whose family had to crowdfund to send her body back home to India.

Today, I am asking that you ensure HSD 801-A for the effective persons program be included in the budget.

This amendment for the first time allows victims and families, not elected officials, to decipher our support and healing requirements.

We are no longer disenfranchised by the very system whose employees and policies harm and brutalize us.

It is at the least the ethical, the humane thing to do.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Marcus Johnson, and Marcus will be followed by Camille Gix.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Marcus Johnson.

I am the Clean, Safe, and Outreach Manager at the University Partnership.

The organization is a nonprofit business improvement area that represents over 500 small businesses, along with tens of thousands of residents of Seattle's University District.

I'm here today to support the mayor's proposed investment in the technology-assisted public safety pilot project.

This includes a limited closed-circuit television system, an acoustic gunshot locator system, and an automated license plate readers.

With the limited public safety resources the city has today, the mayor's proposal is a common-sense pilot investment that will keep communities like the U District safer from repeat gun violence.

Please pass the mayor's proposed package as is rather than the amendment which proposes redirecting these funds for other uses.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Camille Gix, and Camille will be followed by Jen Muzia.

Hi there.

My name is Camille.

I'm passing my comments off to my neighbor, Adrian.

Yes, my name is Adrian Meese, founder of Fentanyl Awareness, the first black nonprofit to fight against fentanyl and drug overdose.

And I want to say is that we don't need more.

We need sweeps, but we also need education and rehabilitation, more rehabilitation programs for homelessness.

And that's the problem.

That's the major problem of our community is the home and trying to find a house and be that we have sweeps, but we don't have no education and more rehabilitation programs that follow the policy.

The only time that the only count time that King County does a sweep or the city of Seattle does a sweep is when a major, when a major concert is involved or maybe events or major games.

But where, where, what is the end game for that?

okay that's all i'm saying what is the end games we need we need a better end game we need more funding on not just sweeps but more funding on rehabilitation to help get housing because that's the major problem because if if if we don't do it then who will and um and also we also need more we need more uh information on we need more information on um So that's all I want to say.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jen Muzia and Jen will be followed by Marinthea Torres.

Go ahead, Jen.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Jen Muzia.

I'm the executive director at the Ballard Food Bank and co-chair of the Seattle Human Services Coalition.

We are grateful for the investment in wages and services expressed by the Seattle mayor and city council.

We appreciate the Seattle mayor and city council making an investment in services by recognizing the 7.5% inflation adjustment as well as the 2% towards waste equity.

Thank you for also including investment for food banks where that investment is needed so critically at this time.

The HSD amendments put forward by your council colleagues are a lifeline for sustaining critical services for all Seattle residents.

I urge you to support Amendment HSD 001, 002, 005, 012, 013, and 014. The fact is we must invest at the level that is required to meet the need we are seeing in our community.

Folks require critical services such as housing, shelter, food banks, meal programs, services for survivors of gender-based violence.

So many in our community are being challenged by the post-pandemic recovery, inflation, and a rollback of critical life-saving benefits at the federal level.

A budget reflects our values, and an investment in services and wage equity means we value the programs and people that are working day in and day out in our community to help people access shelter, food banks, meal programs, and other critical services.

Thank you for your.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Amarinthia Torres, who will be followed by Vedrana Durakovic.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Amaranthia Torres, and I'm the co-director of the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence.

We support over 35 community-based organizations towards gender equity and end gender-based violence.

I'm speaking today in support of HSD 013 and HSD 014 and many of the other, I don't have them in front of me, but all the other HSD amendments that the previous caller mentioned around food banks and meal programs and wage equity.

The two that I'm speaking to about gender-based violence tonight invest in both critical services to survivors and alternatives to criminalization for people who've caused harm in their relationship.

This balance is so important, and these investments, especially in combination, really highlight how increasing the choices survivors have about how to respond to abuse ultimately supports their self-determination and safety.

I especially want to thank Council Members Mosqueda, Herbold, Morales, and Sawant for your continued leadership and sponsorship of these amendments, and I encourage the full Council's support.

You know, some survivors choose to call police, and some survivors avoid interactions with police.

Some survivors want to see justice proportionate to the harm they've endured, and some survivors just want the abuse to stop, but don't want their partner incarcerated or deported.

There are lots of valid reasons for all of these profoundly hard choices that survivors are faced with.

And it's just so great to see these investments that support the wide range of experiences people have.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Vajana Durakovic, who will be followed by Michael Vitz-Huong.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Vajana Durakovic and I'm the community engagement officer.

at the Multi-Service Nonprofit Sound Generation, and also here representing senior voices with the Seattle Human Services Coalition.

I'm speaking today just to support the council amendments, HSD 001, 002, and 012, to ensure investments and wages are applied consistently to all human service workers receiving city funding.

I'm also supporting HSD 005, providing one-time funding for meal programs, and HSD 13 and 14 to provide support for survivors of gender-based violence.

I want to thank you for your continued support for human services and for our human service workers who have been chronically underpaid and overworked, yet have dedicated their lives to serving their communities and creating a safe, just, and thriving environment for all of those who live in Seattle.

But they also continue to face burnout and be undercompensated.

We are grateful for your solidarity and support in furthering our much needed services and the labor force who delivers these services.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Vitz-Wong, and Michael will be followed by Janice Degucci.

Hi, my name is Michael Vitz-Wong, and I'm a lifelong resident of District 6. I'm a union city worker at the Seattle Public Library, organized in AFSCME Local 2083, speaking in a personal capacity.

I'm calling in today to ask that City Council vote in support of Councilmember Shama Sawant's budget amendments to increase the Amazon tax by $60 million to fund city workers contracts and mental health services for Seattle Public Schools.

Library workers are chronically understaffed and overworked.

We are on the front lines helping our communities dealing with housing insecurity and mental health crises.

Yet we are closing branches on a weekly basis due to understaffing and are facing increased assaults on staff at work.

These are severe safety issues that can only be resolved with increased funding and resources to hire more staff.

And many city workers cannot even afford to live in the communities we serve.

commuting from outside of the city, from Everett, Renton, and beyond.

Record inflation has gotten to our wages while rent and housing costs skyrocket.

But big businesses such as Amazon have made enormous profits during the pandemic.

We can't afford more property taxes and sales taxes.

We know where the money is, and we need city council to vote in favor of increasing the Amazon tax, taxing big businesses.

It would be a fraction of a percent to these corporations.

The MLK Labor Council endorsed Tammy Morales, Dan Strauss, Andrew Lewis, and Theresa Mosqueda in their recent election.

And I'm asking you, will you side with union workers and increase the Amazon tax to fund our contracts and CL public schools, or will you side with big business and protect their profits?

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Janice Degucci, and then we will go to in-person speakers.

Janice, go ahead.

Good evening.

Thank you so much.

Good evening.

My name is Janice Taguchi, and I'm Executive Director of Neighborhood Health and Chair of the Seattle Human Services Raising Wages for Changing Lives campaign.

We help over 12,000 individuals in Seattle and King County facing language, cultural, and systemic barriers to live longer, happier, and healthier lives.

I'm here today to speak in favor of the Council's investment in human services workforce and amendments HSD 001, 002, and 012 to ensure investments and wages are applied consistently to all human service workers receiving city funding.

Naeem is one of our employees.

He speaks Dari, Pashto, Persian, and English.

And for over a decade, he worked in his native Afghanistan for international relief organizations, the UN, and USAID.

People come to see him from throughout Seattle, and yet Nadeem has a full-time second job that he does at night so he can earn enough to support his family.

Nadeem is just one of our 350 staff that speak over 40 languages that connect people to resources like jobs, healthcare, education, and housing.

I urge you to include these increases in the final budget so that all human service workers receive at least a real 2% raise and to fund these increases using sustainable ongoing revenue so that talented human service professionals like Naeem can earn wages commensurate with their talent and dedication.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our first in-person public speaker will be Erin Goodman, and then Erin will be followed by Joel B. Chen.

And you can pick either any of those mics.

Good evening, council members.

You have to speak up real close to it.

Is it on?

Okay.

I'm not as tall as some.

Good evening, Council Members.

My name is Erin Goodman.

I'm the Executive Director for the SOTO Business Improvement Area, representing over 1,200 businesses and over 45,000 employees in the SOTO District.

I'm here today to speak about public safety, specifically two items, and I will keep this short.

One, preserve all funding for the Technology Assisted Public Safety Pilot Project.

with our staffing capacity issues at STD make it essential that we try new modalities and technologies to support public safety in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

It's time for us to try new things.

And two, provide appropriate maintenance for bridge and roadway infrastructure is also public safety.

And it is essential that we increase the budget to the bare minimal annual amount identified by the bridge audit to avoid catastrophic failure like we saw this in the past few years with the West Seattle Bridge.

Public safety is the most important thing that we need to be working on.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joel B. Tan.

And after Joel will be Victoria Beach.

Thank you, Joel.

Thank you, council members, and thank you for your kind consideration.

I am Joel Barak Yeltan.

I use all pronouns, and I'm the executive director of the Wing Luke Museum in the Chinatown International District.

I'm here to advocate for support of the Arts 003A1 Chinese American Legacy Arts Project with Wing Luke Museum funding item on the budget proposal.

As the nation's only Pan-Asian and Pacific Islander American museum, and the nation's only Pan-Asian and black indigenous people of color neighborhood, it's an honor in our mission to champion the hope, equity, and social justice that the Chinese American Legacy Artwork Project inspires.

In response to the recent September 14th hate crime we experienced when nine out of our 10 windows in our historic building were sledgehammered due to anti-Chinese hate, we are also facing increasing and accelerating targeted Asian hate.

at the same time that the neighborhood, the Chinatown International District, clearly an American cultural treasure, has been listed among the nation's top endangered places by the National Historic Trust.

Ultimately, the Chinese American Legacy Artwork Project sets the counterbalance with a permanent legacy artwork designed by local artist Stuart Wong that communicates a true and complex history, as well as a fierce pride of not only Chinese Americans or Asian Americans, but all of us who contribute and make up the vibrant diversity of our beloved Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Our next speaker is Victoria Beach, and Victoria will be followed by, I believe it's Enos Nelson.

Hello, I'm Victoria Beach, and I'm not only speaking for myself, but for my black community, especially the parents that have lost kids to gun violence, our black kids, my community.

I'm tired of progressives coming up and speaking for us that don't look like us, don't live in our neighborhoods and shoots down everything about safety for us.

They don't speak for us.

We need to be protected.

I support shot spotter, sound thinking, whatever you want to call it, whatever the mayor wants to bring in to keep our community safe, I'm for it.

A lot of the people that think they speak for us, they haven't sat with the weeping parents.

I don't say cry anymore, they weep.

I've heard it, I've been to the funerals.

I'm tired of it.

We need help.

We sit back and do nothing.

but we lose our community.

The ones that speak for us, they get to go home.

They don't hear the gunfire.

They're not losing anyone.

They get to go to their nice neighborhoods and hear nothing.

Another thing is the trauma that our kids hear, hearing the gunfire, that is going to be with them forever.

So I want you council members to have some integrity.

I've talked with you before, about doing the right thing.

Please do the right thing.

Shame on you, Tammy Morales and Herbal.

You have shown our community that you don't care.

You've shown us over and over and I'm sick of it.

It may not pass now, but I guarantee it will again when we have our new city council members that have common sense.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is either Eros or Enos Nelson.

It's number B2.

And that will be followed by Reverend Walker.

Thank you so much.

And I appreciate Seattle Channels offering the chance to see members of the community.

So I appreciate when I've seen some hands.

I also would encourage folks, thank you for commenting on budget amendment items.

As a reminder, we do try to refrain.

We want to encourage people from refraining from and puning the motives of any council member.

We are here to hear everybody's perspective.

So please keep the comments directed to the budget items and not individual members.

Greatly appreciate it.

And we are here to listen.

And thanks again to Seattle Channel for having to accommodate the hybrid meeting.

I see all of you and appreciate the conversation tonight.

Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Eros Nelson.

I am here to advocate for more funding towards human services in the budget.

This city built me, but it also tore me down.

Long hours spent on hold, waiting for good news that never came, hoping for a shelter that was never built.

Forced to rely on those close to me, forced to survive but not thrive.

Just an unhoused kid, forgotten, pushed to the side to become a single number in a statistic.

Please landing on deaf ears, unwilling to listen, getting A's, feeling pointless, feels pointless when you don't know where you're going to sleep for the night.

A lack of stability, a lack of care is all this city brought me.

Crying on the phone with the guy from the helpline, sad that he can't do more than throw resources my way.

I've looked into a million times.

I, a kid who grew up with the understanding of survival, but never care within the city that promised I would be cared for, that claims they're trying, but I don't see it.

So I ask you listen and show me that the city can do more than just build me up only to tear me down.

Show me the city can help me thrive.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Reverend Walker and Reverend Walker will be followed by Rice and Summerquist.

Good evening.

Thank you City Council for holding this hearing.

My name is Reverend Harriet Walden.

I'm the founder of Mother's Police County, speaking in that capacity tonight.

I'm here to support the Mayor's budget for public safety.

The technology assisted public safety pilot project I believe we who live in the black community and other communities sometimes need to speak for ourselves.

And this is a pilot program.

As one of the previous speakers said, we've sat with mothers, weeping mothers.

We talk to young people who hear gunshots every night down in certain areas.

And we want to stop normalizing violence for black people.

I mean, it's time to just stop it and we can do something about it here.

Also, some of us remember when Seattle was a kid's place.

Seattle was a place where kids had good opportunity and it was less violence and actually you didn't have to worry about your children as much as you do today.

So I think we can do that again.

I mean, maybe in the coming years, some of the polarization will leave and that people can work together to form a city that works for all people.

And also, there's just a lot of issues.

But again, I support the mayor's budget, public safety.

I've sat with mothers who have gone to funerals.

And a lot of times when people who are speaking, they're not speaking for us.

They're not speaking for us, and you need to understand that.

They have not had a lived experience, and they talk about us, but they're not speaking for us.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number B3.

I believe it's Rison Summerquist, and Rison will be followed by Joelle Kraft.

Hello, I'm Rison Summerquist.

Yeah.

This city built me, so I will rebuild it, and I urge you to join me.

Since 2020, homelessness has grown by 12%, and it increases, and the increase is evident, and so is the impact.

I am privileged to be housed because it gives me the resources that my unhoused peers cannot get.

Although the number of homeless youth has decreased, it's still, it is, it still doesn't take away from the lack of help that we give them.

One of my peers is one of the hardest workers who is unhoused, and they struggle to get services.

They call just to be hung up on.

These These struggles aren't helped by the fact that human services are underfunded, which results in these workers not being paid enough.

Based on the notion that we don't pay human services workers enough, we fail to help the people that we need to.

So I ask you now, please open your eyes and see us.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joelle Kraft, and Joelle will be followed by Finn Forgey.

Hello, council members.

A lot of you know me very well because I've been coming to these council meetings for what seems like a decade and actually it's probably been about that long.

I'm a lifelong Washingtonian and a gig worker with Rover.

I'm here in regards to the legislation of the 10-set fee for OLS.

This is important to me because those of us gig workers who are on the bottom need to be protective as much as everyone on the city council is and everyone else in Washington State and in this city particularly.

These companies have already shown us that they will break the law at any chance they get.

They've taken money from workers.

They've lied to their customers about this particular legislation, lying and saying it was a tax and it was on groceries, which was all a blanket lie.

And this is urgent because we know that the new council is about to see some major changes following this last election.

And many of yourselves have touted that you're pro-labor, and this is probably your last chance to add your legacy in this council.

And you are our last chance for this protection.

We need this now.

I'm here asking the council please vote yes on this 10 set fee.

As you know, we keep the company's lights on.

You know, we're the ones that make their ends meet and we need to make ends meet.

Please don't take out the pay standards either because without the enforcement, we're not gonna be able to do this and you've shown by voting yes for the pay standards.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Finn Forgey and Finn will be followed by Bobby Bourne.

Oh, you might have to, a little bit closer, like, eat the microphone.

Sorry.

Try it.

Oh, the other one?

Sorry about that.

Does this work?

Oh, there we go, that's good.

My name is Finn Forgey, and this city built me, and it is our responsibility to fix it.

Human services are the tools we need to do this, but we have failed to give them the funding that they need to help us in the ways that they are supposed to.

By focusing more of the budget on human services, you can help rebuild this city.

Food banks, shelters, and helplines are just a small portion of the resources that are needed for people to thrive, but they need more funding to continue.

This city is failing to care for its future generations, and if you don't do anything to help, people will only continue to suffer.

Stay true to your word and prove to this city of struggling youth that you are not going to abandon them again.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Bobby Bourne.

And then following Bobby, we'll have one more in-person before we go back to remote.

So Bobby, and then it'll be Cat Lasarte.

Hello, council.

My name is Bobby and I'm a gig worker on various delivery apps such as DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.

I'm also a member of the PayUp campaign.

I'm here to show my support for the proposed fee for funding of the enforcement Seattle gig worker ordinance.

This issue is important to me because I have personal experience with these gig app companies, not following the rules.

For example, I know of at least two companies that I currently work for that have not been abiding by the PSST ordinance since it was legislated.

PSST has made a huge difference in my ability to take time off work when I'm sick, or need to take care of a loved one who is.

Without it, I'd be forced to go to work while sick and jeopardize not just my own health, but the health of the people in my community.

I'd also have to put myself in more of a financial hole, not just with bills, but also with medical care.

We need this funding so that we can address these issues and go after companies that do not comply.

We created these laws and now it's time to give them some teeth.

If not, these companies will continue to abuse the independent contractors that are the lifeblood of their organization.

The Seattle community, which includes small businesses such as restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops, as well as the residents living and working in this city, depend on us to provide services they need on a daily basis.

We support them.

Can we count on you to support us?

Thank you.

Our last in-person speaker for this group is Kat Lesarte.

Hello, my name is Kat Lassart and I am a lifelong resident of District 2. The city built us.

When I was in seventh grade every day for nine months, my family and I would drive past an unhoused woman on the way home from school.

Her cardboard sign mentioned her teenage son.

unhoused alongside her.

One day I saw her son instead of her before they both disappeared altogether.

I haven't seen them since.

Even at the age of 13, I feared for the houseless mother and her son.

As I financially secure and housed American Indian, of which a disproportionate amount are impoverished and unhoused, In a city which boasts its roots with native people by using our image as its seal, my first instinct should not be fear when an unhoused family disappears from the streets.

I have grown up watching sweeps wipe tent cities off the map.

Is this the city you want for us?

The only way public safety, that means police, will solve our homelessness and gun violence crisis is by displacing and killing our unhoused people and people of color.

This is not humane action.

It is no longer time for baby steps.

We need radical changes to the budget now.

We need to prioritize funding for human services today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll now move back to remote speakers.

Our first remote speaker will be Brian Tainter, and Brian will be followed by Mike Stewart.

Hello, my name is Brian Tainter.

I'm a District 3 voter and the program manager with the Meals Partnership Coalition.

I'm here today to speak in favor of Budget Amendment HSD-005, adding a one-time investment of $300,000 in 2024 for food and operational expenses for meal providers.

Thanks to Councilmember Strauss, Lewis, and Herbold for their support.

Rates of food insecurity and hunger in Seattle increase every year, and each year, meal providers in every district serve more than 5 million safe, nutritionally dense, culturally relevant meals.

These meals are served in open meal sites, youth and adult shelters, after-school programs, and tiny house villages and through street outreach programs.

We hear every day in Pioneer Square, South Lake Union, Belltown, Ballard, South Park, Capitol Hill, that many folks, housed and unhoused, rely on the network of meal providers in Seattle for every hot meal they eat day to day or week to week.

Many meal providers are one broken freezer compressor or smash van window away from having to pause or scale back their daily services.

Providing food purchasing and operational support for hot meal programs means that meals will keep going to communities experiencing food insecurity because meal providers won't have to worry about paying to fix broken equipment or still being able to serve lunch that day.

It means the programs that provide meals for shelters, day centers, tiny house villages, and housing programs can afford to prepare and deliver meals to sites where people experiencing food insecurity and hunger already access shelter and other essential services.

We also urge you to support and approve amendments HST 001, 002, and 012 to ensure investment wages are applied to all human service workers receiving city funding, as well as HST 13 and 14 providing support for survivors of gender-based violence.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mike Stewart and Mike will be followed by Anna Powell.

Good afternoon, city council.

My name is Wyatt Hoffman and I'm speaking on behalf of Mike Stewart, executive director of the Ballard Alliance, an organization that represents hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents in Ballard.

I'm here today to support the technology assisted public safety pilot project as originally proposed by the mayor's office.

We are concerned about the increase in gun violence that is trending towards a historic high this year, as well as the high concentration of gun and other crimes committed at specific places in our city, such as Aurora Avenue North and 3rd Avenue Downtown.

With the current shortage of police officers, it's important that new strategies be employed to help solve and potentially deter these crimes.

The cost of this pilot program is modest, particularly when measured against the cost and impact of gun violence and other criminal activity in our community that this program will help address.

While this program doesn't have a direct effect on the Ballard community, it is a worthwhile pilot that could be adapted in the future to other parts of the city and, like the recent launch of the city's care department, has the potential to free limited resources to address needs in other neighborhoods such as Ballard.

I encourage you to approve this budget item as originally proposed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Anna Powell, and Anna will be followed by Jen Zuk.

Hi Council Members, my name is Anna Powell and I work for DoorDash in Seattle.

We are opposed to the network company license and fee proposal because it is actually a backdoor tax that serves as yet another looming delivery cost increase for customers in Seattle.

In fact, this City Council has now passed at least eight new regulations on delivery network companies in the past three years, many of which will take effect in 2024. We estimate that the average delivery costs for Seattle families will be more than four times higher than the average delivery costs in neighboring jurisdictions if the full cost of pending Seattle regulations under existing operations are passed on to the customers.

More than a quarter of DoorDash deliveries in Seattle went to low-income communities in 2022. These households are impacted most by increased costs because of city policies.

We also know that higher consumer costs means fewer orders for restaurants and fewer earning opportunities for dashers.

New fees on platforms are not the right approach.

Instead, the city should work with platforms to implement or revise regulations in a manner that limits burdens and costs for all parties.

At a minimum, you should limit the scope and collection of this backdoor tax to make it a true fee and to protect Seattleites who rely on delivery.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jen Zug and Jen will be followed by Mimi Baer.

Hi.

My name is Jen Zug and I live in District 5. I have worked in nonprofit fundraising for seven years and I'm currently a grant writer at Solid Ground Wallingford in District 4 working to end poverty.

I'm calling today to ask the council to strengthen the city's investment in essential human service workers.

The wage increase included in the mayor's budget and balancing package is an important first step in correcting decades of systemic underfunding of human services and its workers.

But we still need to ensure that both inflation and wage adjustments apply consistently to all homelessness and human service workers.

Please pass the amendments that would ensure KCRHA continuum of care contracts and homelessness programs on fiscal cliffs also benefit from the inflation adjustments and wage increase.

Human service workers should not be left out of these investments simply because of where their contracts lie.

And on a personal note, over the last few years, I've seen friends and colleagues leave direct service nonprofit work due to burnout and unsustainable wages, and Seattle can't afford to continue losing folks who do this important work in our community.

So please support critical services and essential workers that we all rely on.

Thank you.

Thank you, our next speaker is Mimi Bear.

Oh, I'm sorry, Mimi's not present now.

Katie Jay will be our next speaker, and Katie Jay will be followed by Katherine Holm.

And Katie, you may need to hit star six.

Okay, we'll come back to Katie.

Is Katherine Holm available?

And of course, you may need to press star six when you first are granted access.

I see both Katie and Katherine present, but their phones are not.

So we will move on to, oh wait, here's Katherine.

Go ahead, Katherine.

hi um i actually need just a minute because i'm pulling over and so could i just have could i be the next caller right afterwards so i'm not driving that sounds good thank you is katie back on yet katie j okay we are going to move to karen oh here's katie j great katie

Hi, this is Katie Jay.

The Unified Care Team is just a lazy attempt to restructure streets for greater efficiency under the guise of compassion when in truth there's not nearly enough appropriate shelter, housing, or resources to match the ongoing needs.

Instead of assessing the needs of most vulnerable people living outside...

Can you hear me?

One second, Katie.

I think we need to ask Catherine to mute.

Okay, great.

Katie, sorry about that.

Let's go ahead and start you over, Katie, and then we'll go to Catherine.

Go ahead, Katie.

Just a little bit of background noise, yeah?

Okay, sorry, Madam Clerk.

It looks like we lost Katie, but if she comes back, we can go back to her?

I'm not seeing her, so we will go back to Catherine.

Let me unmute her.

Catherine, go ahead, please.

Good afternoon, members of the committee.

My name is Catherine Holm, and I'm the Western Region Deputy Government Affairs Manager for Inscart.

Thank you for understanding since I am driving home.

We are here today to oppose the proposed delivery tax.

Inscart has consistently been on the record opposing cost increases for Seattle consumers.

This delivery fee is yet another instance of the council raising costs on Seattle families who are already struggling to manage their budget through a period of record inflation in Seattle with the cost of living increasing a staggering 20% in the past three years.

We are especially disappointed that the amount expected to be raised by the proposed fee far exceeds the city's own estimates.

of what is needed to implement already approved regulations on the app-based industry.

Initially, OLS indicated only $200,000 was needed to implement, while $800,000 was needed for enforcement, both numbers that we believe are worth the overstated.

Yet somehow the amount has ballooned to include more laws and other unrelated administrative costs and full-time employees to administer a simple license for a small number of companies.

The further as we've stated previously, the ordinance is in direct violation of keeping groceries.

Thank you, Catherine.

Our next speaker is Karen touring and Karen will be followed by Alex fair.

Greetings all.

My name is Karen Turing, and I'm the Director of Advocacy at Magic Cabinet, which is a private foundation based here in Seattle.

Magic Cabinet is a member of the Statewide Capacity Collaborative, a group of private funds that's working in communities across the state.

And today I want to emphasize the importance of wage equity for our nonprofit human service workers.

Wage equity isn't just a buzzword.

It's a fundamental principle that speaks to our commitment to fairness, justice, and the well-being of every member of our community.

Non-profit human service work fills a critical gap in direct service for our most vulnerable community members.

And at Magic Cabinet, we understand that fostering an environment of equal pay for equal work is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic necessity for our whole community success.

And our pursuit of wage equity, we've been reflecting on how we as a private foundation can better support nonprofit efforts to close the gap in grant making and address inflation and cost of living for our nonprofit human service workers.

And I'm proud to say that along with our fellow FCC members We have been signatories on a call to action, which you have received that underscores the importance of this.

So in conclusion, I urge all of us to urgently study this matter, government, the private sector and foundations, and let's continue to work together to make sure that our human service workers have.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Fair and Alex will be followed by Lauren Fay.

Alex, you may need to press star six.

There you go.

Can you hear me now?

Yep.

Hi, good evening, council members.

My name is Alex Thayer, and I'm also calling representing Seattle Indivisible.

Today, I want to express some gratitude and, of course, ask for more funding.

So first off, thank you to Council Member Mosqueda for including the $200,000 to support asylum seekers in the most recent budget.

However, as we speak, Hundreds of people, including vulnerable groups like pregnant individuals, children, families are sleeping outside and it's happening while potential shelters are vacant.

A notable example is a family shelter in North Seattle, a city owned property currently unused.

So we propose a practical and humane solution.

We request an allocation for 2 million to not only reopen this North Seattle shelter, but also to ensure it's efficient operation.

This funding would also provide vital culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate case management support from asylum seekers.

Our city has the resources, so let's use some of those to uphold the dignity and safety of those seeking a new life as our neighbors.

Thank you for listening and make good budgeting decisions.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lauren Fay, and then we'll go back and try Katie Jay one more time, but go ahead, Lauren.

And Lauren, you may need to press star six.

There we go.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Lauren Fay, and I am here tonight representing DESC, the Downtown Emergency Service Center.

DESC was grateful to see that Mayor Harrell's proposed budget included cost of living adjustments for human service workers, as well as 2% wage increases for many human service workers.

To make this a reality and truly apply these needed adjustments and increases, some crucial amendments are needed so some workers in some programs don't get left behind.

We encourage Council to please pass HSC Amendment 1, proposed by Councilmembers Mosqueda and Herbold, and HSC Amendment 2, proposed by Councilmembers Lewis, Morales, and Strauss.

These amendments will make it possible for supportive housing programs in the city to receive much needed cost of living adjustments and will make it so shelter and day programs will not lose ground on inflation and wage adjustments.

For HSC Amendment 1, we want to make it very clear that this has direct positive impact on programs within the city of Seattle that support the city's residents and workers.

DSC is one of a handful of organizations to receive what's known as HUD, federal COC, or continuum of care money that helps provide housing in the city for people living with disabilities and long histories of homelessness.

Even though the origin of these funds is the federal government, the money largely remains stagnant, meaning the amount we receive covers less and less of our actual cost as the years go on.

Up until this year, the city has covered these inflation adjustments, knowing that in the end, it benefits Seattle residents and workers to have these programs adequately funded.

And just due to some switching of contract management, these have been left out.

So please pass, vote yes on HSC Amendments 1 and 2. Thank you so much for all your work on this budget.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Katie J. And if Katie's in, then the last speaker in this session will be Thomasina Schmidt.

Katie J., go ahead.

Hi, thanks for inviting me today again.

My name's Katie.

I'm calling a public comment today to comment that the Unified Care Team is just a lazy attempt to restructure sleep for greater efficiency under the guise of compassion, when in truth, there's not nearly enough appropriate shelter, housing, or resources to match the ongoing need.

Instead of assessing the needs of the most vulnerable people living outside and implementing an equitable system to prioritize them for these limited shelter resources, the city hoards them almost exclusively for heat.

When and where encampments are swept is determined primarily by complaints from the business community and house people who demand that unhoused people be removed from site, regardless of their readiness to transition inside or the consequences of being forcibly displaced.

Sleeps should not be the means to access shelter in Seattle.

When Mayor Harrell released Executive Order 2023-06 following the passage of Ordinance 126-896, it proved that outreach could be incorporated into the criminalization of unsheltered people using drugs.

I will not collect data that could later contribute to the criminalization or harm of people who trust me.

Why was waste management granted access to HMIS in April 2023?

For these reasons, I have resigned from city-contracted outreach work.

As a person who believes deeply in harm reduction and trauma-informed care, I cannot work as a contractor with the UCT as soft police for SWEAP 19-2.0.

I am not willing to spend the trust before I have built the people.

I must stay true to myself and my values.

Valid is my community and unsheltered people here.

Thank you.

And our last remote speaker for this session is Thomasina Schmidt.

You may need to press star six to unmute your phone.

Hello, my name is Thomasina Schmidt, and I'm the Executive Director for Seattle Neighborhood Group, a local nonprofit focused on community safety and crime prevention.

I'm reaching out to voice our support for Amendment CBO-001B, which is sponsored by Councilmember Peterson.

This amendment will help support our Rainier Beach A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth initiative, which is an innovative community-led, place-based violence prevention initiative to help reduce youth victimization and crime in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

This amendment will also help support our Safe Communities Contract, which includes conducting crime prevention through environmental design assessment reports, hotspot organizing, business safety outreach, safe rental property workshops, and our signature Impact Safe Schools Student Leadership Conference for middle and high school students.

I want to thank Council Members Peterson, Morales, and Lewis for sponsoring and co-sponsoring this amendment.

We urge all city council members to vote yes on Amendment CBO-001B to ensure that these vital community safety programs continue.

We thank you for your support and consideration.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Our next in-person speaker, and we are now on line 6A, is Carmen Figueroa, and Carmen will be followed by Peter Contid.

Go ahead, Carmen.

Hello, my name is Carmen, and I'm a gig worker in Seattle.

Gig companies do not have an incentive to abide by the ordinance that this council has voted into law.

The Office of Labor Standards is the only agency that holds gig companies accountable and must be funded by the proposed $0.10 per order fee.

When gig companies and their lobbyists were not able to get their way during the stakeholder negotiation process, they reached into their pockets and pulled out a few politicians.

It is disappointing to watch this council offer amendment after amendment that undoes all previously agreed upon negotiated items.

It is a betrayal to your constituents who negotiated in good faith.

Gig companies and their lobbyists also resorted to lies in an effort to distort public perceptions regarding the new laws to pay gig workers fairly.

They know that there is no agency that will curtail their behavior.

Gig companies cannot be trusted to police themselves.

They have a history of cheating gig workers out of tips, mileage, and pay.

A dime is a small price to pay for gig workers who need an agency to turn to when gig companies cheat us.

Please fund the OLS...

Please find the office of labor standard with the proposed 10 cents per order fee.

OLS is the only agency that will hold gig companies accountable and ensure they obey the ordinance that this council has voted into law.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Peter Condit and Peter will be followed by Wee Lin.

Good evening council members.

I'm Peter Condit and I support the solidarity budget.

I have experienced multiple instances of violence at the hands of the Seattle Police Department.

I've also been living with depression for over a decade, and the impact of state-funded violence on me personally has been destabilizing and debilitating.

Policing allows for an inhumane and unjust distribution of resources, which causes acts of desperation and early death in our community.

Policing kills people.

ShotSpotter in particular is reactionary and has been proven ineffective in achieving its stated goals.

ShotSpotter should not be funded.

We need to instead address the root causes of harm in our community.

Sometimes the solutions are only too clear.

Instead of paying the officer who ran over Janavi Kundula, you could increase funding for ADA, Vision Zero, and pedestrian and school safety infrastructure.

Instead of spending money on sweeps, you could create more housing.

You can and should remove the hundreds of ghost cops in SPD's budget and defund SPD by $31 million.

With that money, you could fund a guaranteed income, eviction protections, renters' rights, raises for human service workers, food security, immigrant and refugee support, community-based violence interrupters, and survivor-led non-carceral interventions to prevent domestic violence and gender-based violence.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Wei Lin and we will be followed by Clara Cantor.

Hi there.

My name is Wei Lin and I'm standing before you as both a gig worker for GoPath and Uber and a proud member of the PayUp campaign.

Today I want to share a line of the essential initiative that has directly impacted gig workers in Seattle.

Proposal fee for the enforcement of Seattle gig worker awareness.

As a gig worker in Seattle, we deserve protections.

The enforcement of those protections are crucial and why I'm advocating for supporting this proposal fee.

In my experience, app companies have demonstrated a consistent ability to follow the rules.

and they're discouraged for regulations that necessitate the laws that we now have in place.

I never know the app I've been working for three years and not following PSST ordinance until OIS reach out for me and show me the info and help me go through many challenges for the company to deny and misleading informations.

It's time today to take responsibility for the enforcement that's only necessary because of their behaviors.

ADDITIONALLY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH WORKING WASHINGTONS, HAS PROVED TO BE MORE EFFICIENT IN OUTREACH THAN THE OFFICE OF LABOR STAND ALONE.

THEY HAVE EXISTED A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WORKING COMMUNITIES AND TRIAL RECORD OF SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTING WORKERS' EXPERIENCE VALUATION TO THE NECESSARY RESOURCE.

We fought for these laws, and now we need to ensure they're enforced.

The proposed fee is a reasonable measure, especially considering that $14 million has already been recovered by the Office of Labor Standards, but only from specific orientations.

These fees are crucial for the border enforcement of gig workers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Clara Cantor, and Clara will be followed by Trina Hernandez.

Hello.

Hello.

Hi, my name is Clara Kanter and I'm an organizer with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Whose Streets Are Streets.

I support the Seattle Solidarity Budget in its entirety.

And I'm here to speak specifically about two of the transportation amendments that you're considering this week for funding for accessible Mount Baker and for South Henderson Street projects.

These are both projects that are desperately needed in the South End, projects that local communities around them have advocated for for years and have been put on hold and delayed, watered down and ignored for years and years and years.

Both projects will make it safer for school kids to get to school, for people to access business districts, to improve safety on and around one of Seattle's most dangerous streets, Rainier Avenue, which we've also been advocating for safety for for years and years and years and years, which addresses a crash every day of the year.

Businesses have been hit by cars.

There's sometimes multiple crashes in the year or in a day, people, hurt and killed who are our neighbors every single day of the year on this street.

I'd also like to add that the amendments funding both of these projects, both of them only cover a very small portion of each project.

And those projects address a very small part of the problem in each of those areas.

We need safe streets in South End and we need it now.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, our next speaker is Trina Hernandez and Trina will be followed by LaTanya Savare.

So there's interpretation for this one.

Oh, thank you, okay.

Buenas tardes.

Mi nombre es Trini Hernandez.

Yo trabajé para DoorDash y fui desactivada en octubre del año pasado.

Estoy aquí acompañando a mis compañeros Geekworkers porque es importante para mí que las apps sigan y cumplan con las leyes que ganamos en la ciudad de Seattle recientemente.

Necesitamos que estas leyes sean seguidas y respetadas por todas las apps.

La única manera de asegurar que las leyes sean seguidas es proveer los fondos en la forma de esta tarifa propuesta.

Todos los gig workers necesitamos piso parejo.

Para poder trabajar con las apps, merecemos saber quién está y no está respetando nuestros derechos.

Sabemos, por ejemplo, que a las apps no les importamos los trabajadores geek como yo.

Ellos no van a seguir las reglas sin un mecanismo que va a asegurarlo y este mecanismo necesita ser fundado.

Por esta razón le pedimos a este consejo nos apoyen para exigirles a las compañías que cumplan con las leyes de pago.

Gracias.

Good afternoon, my name is Trini Hernandez.

I worked for DoorDash and was deactivated in October of last year.

I am here to stand with and support my fellow gig workers because it is very important to me that apps follow and comply with the laws that we recently won in the city of Seattle.

We need these laws to be followed and respected by all apps, and the only way to ensure that the laws are followed is to provide funding in the form of the proposed fee.

All gig workers need a level playing field to be able to work with the apps.

We deserve to know who is and who isn't respecting our rights.

We know from my example that apps don't care about workers like me.

They are not going to follow the rules without a mechanism that will ensure it, and this mechanism needs to be funded.

For these reasons, we ask this council to support us in demanding that companies comply with payment laws.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Latanya Sivari, and Latanya will be followed by Jake Laundrie.

I'm taking LaTanya's spot because I have to go to work.

Hello, I'm Shannon Chang, chair of People Power Washington and a District 7 constituent.

People Power Washington stands with the Solidarity Budget Coalition.

I am here today speaking in opposition to SBD-002A.

Five years ago today, on November 13th, 2018, I stood in these very chambers along with a packed room of community members in opposition of a SPOG contract that rolled back accountability measures passed by the city in 2017. I was dismayed the city passed the contract anyway.

We have been waiting anxiously for the past five years to see if what emerges from the black box of negotiations for the next SPOG contract will be better.

Last week's MOU was our first look at how that's going.

You are looking to fund it with $4.5 million through 2024 and then $3.6 million a year ongoing.

The gist of this MOU is a payoff to SPOG to do less work.

In a time of budget shortfalls and police understaffing, this is an unconscionable ask by SPOG.

The firefighters are considering a contract that is a pay cut with inflation and negotiations with the coalition of city unions are stalled over similar issues.

Of all city unions, why does SPOG get special treatment while other city workers suffer?

Unfortunately, the trade the city is making with SPOG is extremely disappointing.

The specifics of the dual dispatch pilot that gets spelled out in this MOU are troubling, as SPOG retains a stranglehold over every aspect of the program.

When communities poured into the streets in the summer of 2020 asking for civilian-led alternative response, it's because they didn't trust SPD to handle the task.

Don't let SPD store more money out of our stretch city budget and write a flawed dual dispatch into their contract.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jake Laundrie, and Jake will be followed by James Pekus.

Hi, my name is Jake Laundrie.

I'm a city of Seattle stagehand with IATSE Local 15, who is proudly queer, partially disabled, and in support of the solidarity budget to fund greater earnings for city workers like me by increasing the Amazon tax by $60 million and by cutting the SPD budget by $31 million.

I've also done thousands of last mile deliveries as a gig worker since 2017 on a part-time basis, and I'm speaking in support of the OLS fee in its highest amount possible to fund the enforcement of these protections against wrongful driver deactivations and violations of the pay standard.

I'm also against all the amendments being proposed to weaken and negate this necessary fee.

For years, I have heard from other workers who were mistreated by these apps and helped them get in contact with Seattle's extremely helpful and effective Office of Labor Standards.

I have seen OLS help many drivers get back to work, and I have shared in receiving the many thousands of dollars of back pay that result from these en masse investigations by OLS of the apps for skirting minimum pay standards, sick pay rights, or wrongfully deactivating drivers.

Without this fee, the new pay app laws will have no teeth to protect gig workers from too often bigoted algorithms and customers who can currently strip workers of their livelihoods much too easily and without recourse for the driver victim.

I beseech you to pass this fee and not listen to the app's gaslighting public relation campaign that is on display today about being a chamber of progress.

These apps are a chamber of doom for this economy if they continue to try to dismantle enforcement mechanisms

Thank you, our next speaker is James Pikas, who will be followed by Natalia McConnell.

Hello, my name is James Pikas.

I've been a renter at Cal Anderson House for 15 years.

I'm here to express gratitude to council members Morales and Mosqueda for sponsoring the budget action for the tenant work group to focus on protecting the health and wellbeing of Seattle renters.

Two years ago, Providence purchased our building.

Since then, they've steadily removed essential building amenities and neglected security measures.

Break-ins and a home invasion have occurred due to Providence's failure to maintain a safe environment and address reported issues promptly.

Additionally, Providence repeatedly threatened my neighbors and me with eviction over rent that we did not owe.

Providence routinely ignores our repair requests and grievance reports and has refused meeting requests from our tenants association.

This mistreatment goes against the intended purpose of Cal Anderson House to provide housing for low-income individuals with AIDS and tarnishes the legacy of Cal Anderson himself.

Thank you for taking steps to empower and protect us, ensuring a voice in shaping our housing rights.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And our last in-person speaker for this group will be Natalia McConnell.

And then we'll go back to remote, starting with a Kristen X, but go ahead, Natalia.

Hi, I'm taking Natalia's spot.

Okay.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Catherine Becerra Hanson, and I'm here to speak in favor of the Amazon tax to help pay for school counselors and social workers in schools.

I am the counselor at TOPS K-8.

This is my 12th year in Seattle Public Schools.

I have spent many years working 14-hour days with a caseload of over 1,100 students.

In my years, I have supported students who have experienced shootings, family deportations, housing instability, and who have experienced profound neglect and abuse.

I have helped many suicidal students, students who self-harm, and students with numerous diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health challenges.

There is ample scientific evidence to show that students cannot learn if they are struggling with mental health and behavioral challenges.

School counselors, social workers, and nurses are the only people with specific training to support these mental health needs.

And yet we are the very professionals who are the first to be cut or whose funding is taken away whenever there are budget shortfalls.

Please help us help our students by providing this critical funding by increasing the Amazon tax.

This funding is an investment in our entire city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I will now move into our remote speakers.

The next speaker remotely will be Kristen X and Kristen will be followed by Haley Willis.

Go ahead, Kristen.

Hi, my name is Fatima Zen and I am a resident of District 7. I'm calling to ask council to support a guarantee of defunding the police to secure housing for the vulnerable.

and sustainable income for the community and health insurance for all.

Defunding the police will bring in a guarantee of all housing and health needs.

I urge the council to prioritize those of us who are most impacted by this budget.

I don't understand how you can live comfortably while our most vulnerable freeze outside in the streets.

What do you think will happen to our low-income community while prices for food and rent continue to rise?

Where is the support to uplift our people?

Give us a guarantee of defunding the police so that all marginalized people can thrive.

When we thrive, you thrive as well.

You have to remind yourselves of that.

I want you to do your job.

I'm tired of having to come in every year listening to the same demands.

I'm tired of you guys not doing your job.

I don't understand why you keep getting reelected.

If you don't do your job, I'm going to make sure that none of you get reelected next year.

You need to commit to the people.

Thank you.

I already offered folks to have the chance to speak to items on the budget, but please refrain from speaking about any individual council member and impugning anyone's motive.

You can have another 30 seconds left if you have more to say, please.

No, just do your job.

Feel with your heart.

Guide yourself.

Stop being so greedy.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Hallie Willis, and Hallie will be followed by, or Haley, excuse me, will be followed by Joy R. Good evening.

My name is Hallie Willis.

I'm the community policy manager for the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, and I live in Pittsburgh State.

Do you have amendments before you that would allow homelessness services to keep up with rising costs?

to start making progress on the tremendous pay and equity faced by essential workers who make these programs go.

They vote yes on HSP 1 and 2, as well as HSP 805 and 809 in the term balance package.

Essential workers have been dramatically underfunded by public policy changes.

With high turnover, the clients struggle to build trusting relationships with the changing cast of staff and an alarming number of vacant positions.

so agencies can't always deliver services even if they have some funding to do it.

We've seen huge improvements when agencies can pay essential workers better wages.

Raising wages works, and we need to make progress now.

Please vote yes on these amendments, and thank you for investing in essential workers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joy R., and Joy will be followed by Katie Beeson.

Go ahead, Joy.

Hello?

Hello.

Hi there, council.

Hi.

I am passing my phone to my friend, Michael Williams, who is speaking for us.

Here he is.

Yeah, hello.

This is Michael.

Hi, Michael.

Hi, Michael.

It's Teresa Mosqueda from city council.

Did you want to offer public comment to the city council tonight?

I say fuck the police.

That's my opinion.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony tonight.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Katie Beeson and Katie will be followed by Diane Cortez.

Good evening members of the Council.

My name is Katie Beeson and I'm the Government Affairs Director for the Washington Food Industry Association.

I'm here tonight testifying in opposition to the proposed delivery fee.

WFI member grocers, community stores, and neighborhood stores continue to struggle against the cost of inflation.

The cost of food, fuel, and labor has all increased and our stores are doing everything they can to keep customers coming back.

Delivery is an important way for our stores to remain competitive.

As customers are increasingly cost-conscious, we're not looking to add another cost that will ultimately impact orders.

We do not believe additional taxes or fees are needed.

Instead, we encourage the council to revisit the budget and re-examine spending priorities within existing revenue.

Please reject the fee on deliveries in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Diane Cortez, and Diane will be followed by Matt G., Go ahead, Diane.

Hello, council members.

My name is Diane Cortese.

I live in District 5 and I work in District 4. I work at Solid Ground as the community organizer for Poverty Action Network to foster relationships with people living in poverty, build their advocacy skills, and bridge communication between community members and legislators.

I'm calling today to ask that the council strengthen the city's investment in human service workers.

I appreciate the wage increases, but it's not enough.

I'm a full-time worker and have still needed to access public assistance.

Months into my job, I was still using discount utility and internet program.

It took me over a year and a half to pay my back grant from the COVID relief program, which I just paid off last month.

I got relief from my student loans, but I still owe.

Six months into my job, I was still doing gig work for Uber Eats, working two jobs just to pay my bills.

Please do better for service workers like myself who are trying to become financially stable.

I'm asking you to apply maximum inflation adjustments to wage increases for all homelessness and human service workers so we can continue to do our jobs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Matt G. And Matt will be followed by Melanie X. Matt, you may need to press star six.

There you go.

All right.

Can you hear us?

Yep.

Thank you.

Should be good to go.

Hi.

I just want to speak on homeless sweeps.

As a homeless man, I can't tell you what it feels like.

to not feel like a human being as a sweet dust.

It doesn't make you feel American at all.

It makes you feel like nothing at all.

You're pushed.

You're shoved out.

You're forced.

It doesn't matter if your face is ragged.

You've been washed up for the day.

Your teeth are brushed.

You're awakened no matter how hard a night that it has been.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if you have social disorders.

It doesn't matter that you can't carry all of your stuff that you've worked years and years and years to stack up for what is left from the thieves, what is left from times you've been sick, you know, that you've lost things, your bags are ripped, what you have left is all that you have is sitting right there in front of you.

And if you can't carry it, it goes into the garbage like it's absolutely nothing, like you didn't even work for it.

You're nobody.

You're nothing.

You're expendable.

The people that are housed that are surrounding you say that you look ugly.

And they want you gone right now.

They don't care where you're going, but up out of here.

Be gone.

Sweat.

Thank you, our next speaker is Melanie Kaye, and Melanie will be followed by Sharon Kosla.

And Melanie, you may need to press star six.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay, great, thank you.

Hi there, my name is Melanie Carter, and I am going to speak on behalf of a community member ALPHONSO.

HE IS UNHOUSED AND UNDOCUMENTED AND HE IS A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 7. HE DID NOT STAY OUT IN THE COLD TO MAKE A COMMENT.

HE IS CALLING TO ASK THE COUNCIL TO SUPPORT GUARANTEE OF SAFE TRANSPORTATION AND RELIABLE FOOD ACCESS OPTIONS.

SO ALPHONSO, AS I MENTIONED, IS UNHOUSED AND LIVING IN DISTRICT 7.

and he is unable to find a job because she lost his green card.

And as you may be aware, if you don't have an ID, it is nearly impossible to find work and find housing.

And he's just asking that you support the amendments for food programs and also safe transportation programs.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sharon Kosla, and Sharon will be followed by Matt True.

Hi there.

I'm calling in to support Councilmember Morales' amendment for Arts 2A1 to add $150K to the arts budget for a one-time grant for African Cultural Arts Center.

I'm so excited to see Councilmember Morales and Councilmembers Lewis and Pedersen and Herbal supporting this effort.

ACAC is an invaluable part of the South Seattle community, and I can't wait to see it thrive at its new home in the Brighton neighborhood.

This funding is critical to making this vision of an accessible cultural arts center a success.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Matt True, and Matt will be followed by Chloe Simone Alvarado.

And Matt, you may need to press star six.

Okay, let's move on to Chloe Simone Alvarado.

And Chloe, you may need to press star six.

There you go.

Okay, can you hear me?

Yep.

Wonderful.

Hi, hello, council members.

My name is Chloe Simone.

I live in District 3 and I work in District 4. I work at Solid Ground in the finance department.

However, my first job here in Seattle was not at all related to accounting.

It was within the human service workers sector.

I worked for the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

And in that capacity, I was able to help countless youth in our area and within King County.

But unfortunately, due to rising cost of living and the simple fact that even living anywhere within Seattle costs about $1,300 a month if you don't qualify for low-income housing, I had to leave that job.

I had to leave something that I truly was passionate about in order to make ends meet.

And so I'm here today in my capacity as a accountant, um, to please ask that you ensure that KCHRA or KCRHA, sorry, um, continual care contracts and homelessness programs on fiscal cliff also benefit from the inflation adjustment and wage increase, um, for human service workers.

Um, and they should not be left out of these because they are vital to the city's vibrant culture, um, and the way that it operates.

And without those programs, many things would not have been possible.

for some of my friends who live here currently and many of my friends are experiencing burnout.

Those people who work in those capacities.

I did so, thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Matt True.

Matt will be followed by Afua.

Matt, I'll give you one more second to press star 6 please.

Okay, we may come back to you.

Our next speaker is Afwe Kuate.

Go ahead.

Hello, greetings council members.

My name is Afwe Kuate.

I live and I work in District 2 in Rainier Valley.

I'm also the Executive Director of Adepua Cultural Education Workshop for 38 years right here in Rainier Valley.

I am in full support with council member Morales, her amendment art 2A1 to add the 150K to the budget for the African Cultural Arts Center.

I'm excited to know that other council members are also in support of this as well.

For all of those 38 years, we've performed, we've taught in schools, we've all throughout the community, and we've never had our own home after 38 years.

So we're asking for your support for Adi Spua to have a brick and mortar that's street present and that lifts the accessibility for our programming up on the hill for cultural engagement and performance space.

The renovation of this existing space is a thriving center.

It will be artists live and work spaces, gallery spaces.

It will also have our learning center that continues our study of African music, song, and dance, of girls' rights of passage programming, and other critical conversations that need to continue throughout the act.

ACAC is a Black-owned and operated center of Black culture that have grown out of the

Thank you.

We'll take two more remote speakers and then we'll move back to in-person speakers.

Our last two remote speakers for this group will be Ashley Sutton, followed by Molly X. Ashley and then Molly.

Good evening, Chair Moschetta and members of the committee.

For the record, I'm Ashley Sutton, the Executive Director for Washington and the Northwest at TechNet.

testifying, unfortunately, in opposition to a new fee for food delivery and other essential items today.

If approved, this would be the ninth new regulation that Seattle has passed on app-based delivery services since 2020. Food delivery services became a crucial resource for people from all backgrounds during the pandemic.

Today, delivery services remain vital for vulnerable populations, such as seniors, people with disabilities, and those relying on food banks for fresh food and essential items.

Small businesses and retailers who depend on delivery apps to reach customers will lose orders and deliveries due to the city's increased food and delivery costs.

Based on the data, the city's income is sufficient to support the new earnings standard and deactivation regulations.

Therefore, there is no need to impose additional taxes and fees.

Our recommendation is that the committee reconsider its current revenue sources and allocate funding accordingly.

rather than imposing additional regulations on delivery services and burdening Seattle residents with additional costs.

We urge you to reject this new fee.

We thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

After we call on Molly X, then we'll be starting on line 11A for the in-person sign-ups, and we'll be going probably 11 through 15 to possibly 20. So we'll now take Molly X remotely, and then we will change back to in-person.

Go ahead, Molly.

Thank you.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Yeah, Molly, I would just ask you to turn down the volume maybe a little bit because there was a little bit of echo.

Absolutely.

Thanks.

Sorry about that.

Hi, council members.

My name is Molly.

I am a resident of District 7 calling in on behalf of the solidarity budget and specifically just to emphasize points around how mobility is a human right.

So just importance of transportation.

So not just funding transit systems, but building safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and curb ramps across the city.

And working with transit agencies to ensure fully ABA accessible platforms at all transit hubs.

Pedestrianized streets to create a safer, healthier, and more welcoming environment.

And increased public park space for people, such as making the pilot Lake Washington Boulevard Keep Moving Street permanent.

Building a city-wide bike network with robust protection from cars to allow for convenient access to high-capacity transit hubs, neighborhood commercial and employment centers, and schools and colleges.

And in addition to that, increased transit frequency throughout the day and night for essential workers and all riders who depend on public transit with the goal of having no need to look up schedules or worry about slow connections.

Advancing in transit is a job creator.

and also remembering to do equitable transportation options.

So options that are ADA accessible to allow for folks that can't use fixed route transit.

Thank you for letting me comment and thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be in person.

It's Line 11A, Robert Singleton.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Robert Singleton.

I'm the Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Chamber of Progress, a left-leaning technology trade association that believes in harnessing the power of innovation to support a progressive vision for the future.

I'm here today to encourage you to explore alternative mechanisms for funding the city's enforcement of its gig driver deactivation ordinance because of the regressive nature of the proposed network company fee and the negative impact on Seattle families.

Delivery fees like the one proposed hurt everyone, especially those already struggling to make ends meet and juggle multiple jobs in a city where the cost of living has increased dramatically over the past decade.

Those who work late night shifts often face difficulty in shopping for household items or getting a bite to eat during extra late or early morning hours of the day.

People who have limited access to transit or don't have a car depend on delivery services to round out their basic needs, and delivery services are an essential means of providing food and other resources to those with differing physical abilities.

Local businesses and restaurant owners also rely on deliveries to stay afloat, especially during winter months when poor weather and fewer visitors leads to less sales.

Adding a delivery fee will cause some consumers to stop ordering from local restaurants and markets.

Meanwhile, Seattle already has a higher sales tax rate in the state and is currently receiving a record-breaking amount of annual tax revenue, all while having the highest degree of economic inequality in the state.

Thus, taking a slow, comprehensive, and precautionary principled approach to new fees, especially regressive taxes like this delivery tax, is absolutely necessary.

We highly recommend taking a slower approach and holding off on enacting new regressive tax before we have all the information to prepare the majority of the impacts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Miles Hagopian.

Miles will be followed by Cecilia Black.

Are you Miles?

He's going to speak for me.

Okay.

Go ahead.

My name is Bernie Lanoue, and I am a school counselor at Rainier Beach High School, and I'm here to speak in favor of the increased funding, the tax for school counselors, social workers, and mental health supports.

School counselors and social workers and mental health workers in schools are on the front lines in trying to serve those students furthest from educational justice and fighting every day for equity and access.

We work with students at every spectrum of the socioeconomic situation in our city.

We have an incredible opportunity with this to actually do what the state has not been able to do in over 40 years that I've been a school counselor or in schools.

And I'm excited about this possible funding and excited about seeing social workers and school counselors in every school and decreasing the ratio of school counselors to students.

Thank you for considering this and we urge you to vote in favor of this funding.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarah.

There's no last name, just Sarah line 12. Go ahead.

Hi, my name is Sarah Makar.

And I'm a Finney Ridge parent with three children who have come up through the Seattle public school system.

My youngest is currently a senior at Ingram High School.

I'm here today to urge the council to listen to the voices of our kids, many of whom are here today.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Washington among people ages 10 to 24. 58% of teens report experiencing anxiety, depression, or both.

And yet most Seattle Public Schools do not meet the minimum requirements for student to mental health staff ratios.

Simply put, we are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis.

This crisis has played out in our own family, where three of my kids have struggled with depression, two have struggled with anxiety, and one has contemplated suicide.

I joined them and others here today to urge you to approve the $20 million in expanded funding for mental health services and support in Seattle public schools.

The research and literature supports that these services are vital and life-saving.

And perhaps more importantly, they are what our kids are asking us to do.

I want to pause for a moment to underscore that.

Our family has been incredibly fortunate to have access to additional resources.

Not every family is so fortunate.

Thank you, our next speaker would be line 13, I believe from the same group, 13B and it's just initial C.

Oh, one second, go ahead.

My name is Natalia, I'm a student at Franklin High School and I come here before you with everyone else here to demand that you fund $20 million for school mental health counselors because we as students need it and we need you to tax Amazon, the richest companies in our city can fund this need in Seattle Public Schools.

It is very easy.

It is a very, very small tax.

And as you can see, there are a lot of students who need it.

At my own high school, we have 1,300 students for one mental health counselor.

And in terms of the academic counselors, we have one counselor for 400 students, way above the ACLU's recommended amount of one for every 250. This should not be the case in Seattle, and you guys have the power to change it.

So I demand that you fund $20 million for school mental health counselors by taxing Amazon.

Thank you.

You have the power to do it tomorrow, and we ask that you do it.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, we're moving to line 12A, Cecilia Black.

And that bends down and you'll want to speak kind of close to it to pick up your voice.

Thank you.

My name, can you hear me?

Should go.

My name is Cecilia Black and I am a disabled wheelchair user in District 4. I fully support the solidarity budget and am specifically and am specifically asking you to oppose amendment S.101A.

Study after study have told us exactly what we need to do to accomplish our climate and vision zero goals.

We desperately need to invest in a transportation system that prioritizes pedestrians and mass transit.

Yet we continue to do the opposite with amendments like SDOT 101A.

More than half of our sidewalks and a majority of our crossings are not accessible for people with disabilities.

And every year SDOT's ADA program experiences budget cuts.

So why are we continuing to pour money into SDOT structures, major maintenance projects and funding school zone cameras that fail to address systemic pedestrian needs?

please support sustainable, safe and equitable transit rather than focusing on more car centric infrastructure and a punitive enforcement program with an unreliable revenue stream.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Catherine Jordan.

Catherine Jordan.

Go ahead.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Catherine Jordan and I am the executive director of South Park Senior Citizens.

I'm here today along with a few of our seniors and board members.

During this time of budget considerations, I ask that our vital work be robustly supported.

Seattle Senior Centers directly encompass so many of the goals established within the city's budget.

Our work includes providing healthy food, assisting with secure housing, ensuring access to public health, and connecting to transportation.

We represent community engagement, promote recreation, and bolster public safety.

And very importantly, we create spaces of community inclusion where culture, racial equity, and social justice are embodied in the work we do and for the people we serve.

As people age, many factors of their lives begin to change.

Bodies become fragile, mobility lessens, income becomes limited and fixed, medical concerns increase.

You may lose your partner.

You may need to move from your home.

Isolation, loneliness, fear, and disconnection can become prominent.

For those we serve, senior centers provide a safe space for belonging, a space to be seen, a space to be known.

Again, I'm Catherine Jordan with South Park Senior Citizens, and I want to thank the council for supporting our work as we embody the values and objectives of the city budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Miles Hagelin, Hagopian, excuse me, followed by, it might be Lori Jackson, Miles, and then...

Lori or Larry?

Hi everyone, my name is Chelsea Thomas and I'm a school counselor at Chief Sealth International High School.

As school counselors, we're tasked with supporting the academic, social, emotional, and college and career needs for all students.

While we're responsible for all three of these areas, they're all connected.

If the social and emotional wellbeing of students isn't cared for, then they aren't able to focus on their classwork or future dreams.

It's not atypical for my day to start with a conversation with a student about their plans after high school, only for it to turn into a risk assessment for suicidal ideation.

a connection with mental health supports and a phone call home.

I've lost count of how many times I've had these kinds of conversations in my nine years in SVS.

School counselors provide immediate support in the moment of crisis and provide connections to ongoing supports.

However, when our caseloads are at 400 students or more, we are only able to provide this kind of support to some, not all students who need it.

I'm grateful that my own school is in a good place due to the additional money the levy provides and the additional mental health money provided by the city council in its pilot program following the shooting at Ingram High School.

However, all students deserve the kind of support we're able to provide at my school right now.

We need one school counselor for every 250 students per the ASCO national standard and one full-time social worker in all schools K through 12 to fully support all Seattle public school students' mental health needs at a time when these needs are at an all-time high.

The Amazon tax will make this possible and sustainable, something the state legislature and school district has yet to make happen.

Please vote yes on this tax and support the wellbeing of all of our students.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is, is it Lori or Larry Jackson, please?

Good evening, council members.

My name is Larry Jackson.

I am senior vice president of customer success and analytics at Sound Thinking, formerly known as ShotSpotter.

I'm speaking on behalf and in support of the mayor's safety budget with the inclusion of gunshot detection technologies.

I think we can all agree that gun violence in the United States is at epidemic proportions.

Hardly a day goes by, a week goes by without some mass shooting, an indication of that in the media.

But in many communities that face gun violence, citizens have grown desensitized to the sound of gun violence.

Research indicates that 80 to 90% of gun violence in communities is not reported by 911. So I ask you the question, how can we truly serve, protect, and support these communities when we are aware of only a fraction of the gun activities in their communities?

ShotSpotter provides a valuable tool and information that helps agencies not only respond rapidly to gunshot incidents, but equally as important aggregates data that allows the community to partner with policing agencies to bring the needed care and support our communities need to survive and to heal themselves.

There are many opinions around gunshot detection in our community, but it's important that we understand the facts.

ShotSpotter is a valuable tool that in connection with other technologies provides a valuable service in protecting our communities.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And our next speaker is John Grant.

Is John Grant still here?

Okay, thank you.

Good evening, council members.

My name is John Grant.

I'm the chief strategy officer for the Low Income Housing Institute.

I'm here to testify in favor of full funding for tiny house villages.

Many of you in your districts have leaned on Lehigh in those moments of need, when you have vulnerable folks who are possibly going to be swept and have nowhere to go.

Last year, we served 1,200 people and sheltered them securely and safely.

AND WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THESE INVESTMENTS IN TINY HOUSES.

I'D LIKE TO THANK BUDGET CHAIR MOSQUEDA AND COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP TO TRY TO CLOSE OUR $2.5 MILLION BUDGET HOLE.

WE ARE STILL ABOUT $1.5 MILLION SHORT.

AND WE KNOW THAT YOU AS COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS.

We are asking for you to make those hard decisions and prioritize the folks that are most in need.

You heard testimony from our clients, folks who have had their lives turned around because they were able to find stability and shelter in tiny houses.

50% of the folks that exit our program find permanent housing.

These are folks that are chronically homeless.

They get connected to treatment, to behavioral health services, to substance use disorder counselors, to mental health counseling through this program.

And through that, they get permanent housing.

With all this consternation about what to do about homeless encampments, we have an answer that's been clear as day right here in front of you.

We are asking you to fully fund this program and remind you that some of you are not going to be here next year to keep those promises.

So please keep those promises this year in this budget and fully fund tiny houses.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, we're going back to line B15 May.

Is there a May here?

Okay.

Hi, my name is Miles.

I'm a member of Seattle Student Union.

I go to Franklin High School in the south end of Seattle.

And I'm speaking for us students in the south end who need money desperately for mental health counselors.

And we're asking you to instead of pour your money, pour those city's money into programs like ShotSpotter that actively over police our communities and have been proven to not work and have had false readings to give that money to mental health counselors that will actually keep our community safe and give the money of stuff like the Amazon tax to mental health counselors that will keep our community safe.

So increase the Amazon tax, get rid of ShotSpotter and use that money for mental health counselors in our community to serve black and brown youth like myself.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Claire.

Hello, my name is Claire Abe and I am a school counselor at Cleveland STEM High School.

I'm also a current resident of District 2, born and raised in South Seattle.

I'm here today to advocate for a tax increase to be placed on large businesses such as Amazon to help fund more mental health services in the form of school counselors and school social workers in public schools.

We are the ones on the front line of the mental health crisis that is happening in our communities post-pandemic.

The need for more mental health support grows, continues to grow, and there is not enough support available to address the high needs.

Seattle Public Schools is in a budget deficit and on the brink of closing schools.

They do not have the money to properly fund school counselors at the necessary ratio of one counselor to 250 students or a full-time social worker in every building.

High school counselors on average have 350 to 400 students on their caseloads, and elementary and K schools, school counselors often have to work in two school buildings to support 800 to 1,000 students in order to be full-time employed.

School counselors and social workers are spread too thin, leading to burnout and turnover, which is also not helpful for our students.

There needs to be more stable funding and people to provide the mental health support services that our students desperately need.

As a parent of two children in Seattle Public Schools, I'm truly concerned about the lack of social emotional mental health support that is available to students and the violence and distress that we are seeing in our communities as a result.

If you won't listen to me, please listen to the amazing students here.

and leading this initiative and act now to approve this proposal.

Also the SCA teachers union has endorsed this amendment as well.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tim Graham.

Tim.

Okay, if Tim is not here, we will move on to Kay Neff.

Kay Neff, thank you.

Go ahead.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Kay Neff.

I'm the lead director of government affairs at Rover.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment regarding CB 120706 and to respectfully suggest amendments that we believe are constructive suggestions and that are crucial to advance robust policies, fairness, clarity, as well as public trust.

Firstly, we believe the bill should be amended so that MNCs do not shoulder the same fees and requirements outlined in the bill for network companies, given that only one of the covered ordinances applies to MNCs.

We also recommend that the bill clarify that it is not intended to authorize new areas of regulation beyond chapters 8.37 and 8.40.

In addition, we posit that it's reasonable and important to amend the bill to provide the council with the sole authority to increase the fee.

to establish that organizations that OLS contracts with are neutral parties, and lastly, to promote good faith compliance efforts as part of the bill's violation and penalty provisions.

Thank you, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss amendment topics with you and answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Jody Nathan.

Hi, I'm Jody Nathan from District 2, here to express my support for the solidarity budget.

And for the umpteenth time, ask you again to reject funding for ShotSpotter and also SBD overtime bonuses.

With at least 32% of our city's general fund going towards criminalization and punishment, the only guarantee in it is that Seattle's most marginalized and vulnerable residents left the resources needed to survive.

SBD's corrupt and bloated budget has been flooded with dollars for 213 positions they have no plans or ability to fill.

Why this continual pouring of dollars into SBD while every other city department struggles?

As every dollar going to SBD is one less dollar for food security, affordable housing, livable wages, mental health support for unhoused and youth residents, guaranteed basic income, and all the things that we know bring about true community safety.

Are you really okay with SBD paying upwards of about $9,000 in overtime for police to show up for a ridiculous publicity stunt that is Chief Diaz's new cooking show?

Like, does a cooking show really justify paying overtime?

And last I heard, they were told to stop overspending on overtime.

Oh, I have time left.

So real quickly, Seattle also desperately needs to pass new progressive revenue now in order to implement it in time to address the projected 251 million budget deficit in 2025 and fend off future raids on the jumpstarts tax spending plan.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is a line B, line B 18 Tamar.

Okay.

Seattle City Council, my name is C, and I use he, him pronouns, and I am a senior at Ingram High School.

In my time here, mind you, my freshman year was online.

Multiple students have died.

Each and every one of their deaths could have been prevented with more social services and mental health support.

Seeing a mega corporation like Amazon tripling their profits while my friends are overdosing, killing themselves, and killing each other is a slap in the face.

I demand that all Democrats support Councilmember Sawant's budget amendments to increase the Amazon tax to finance mental health and SPS.

Ingram got a small amount of funding following the shooting that mental health support is a preventative measure to gun violence, not a band-aid after tragedy has already happened.

That is why we must fund mental health in all Seattle public schools.

Politicians are desperate to learn about the new generation of voters, what we care about, what's our perspective, and now we're offering it to you.

This is what young people care about.

If you know anything about teenagers, you know that we are good at holding grudges, and if you turn your backs on us, we will remember it, and we are watching.

And may I just add, as someone who has actually survived a school shooting, I don't want more cops or ShotSpotter, as PD has proven to all of us that they murder and abuse innocent civilians of color, and they do not serve anyone but themselves.

So how about instead of listening to the people saying we need more cops to end gun violence, we actually listen to people who have experienced gun violence, like me.

Thank you.

And I say that we need more mental health funding.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Shannon Chang.

Shannon would be on line B19.

Maybe Shannon has left.

Is Anitra Freeman here?

Line B20.

Good evening.

Anitra Freeman with WEAL Women in Black.

Women in Black stands again on Wednesday for 33 homeless people who died outside or by violence in King County, bringing the total this year to 300. 300 homeless people have died outside or by violence this year.

Without shelter, people die.

We are desperately in need of shelter.

Open the red doors of City Hall to the bottom floor of City Hall.

for women's shelter.

Three times the number of women, homeless women, have died this year as last year.

Three times.

You can save lives.

Open the red doors and stop the sweeps.

Isolation and despair kill, and sweeps increase isolation and despair.

Shelter, no one sweeps.

Fund shelter, don't fund sweeps.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll take two more in-person speakers and then we go back to remote so that next two in-person speakers will be Justin Bell and Nick Jacquard, I believe.

And Madam Clerk, just as folks are walking to the microphone there, I do also want to note we had a 7 p.m.

recess for the clerks and the team so we can Try to do a recess if we would like to do with that prior to going back to remote.

Just want to tee that up if you'd like to think about that with your team as well.

And I'll let the person who's speaking go ahead.

Sorry about the delay.

Okay, thank you.

Go ahead.

Hi, my name is Justin Bell.

I live in District 5 in Greenwood.

So I spent a lot of time walking and biking everywhere and really appreciate when new sidewalks and bike lanes are put in.

With that said, I would like to see SDOT 202-A-2 rejected.

which paves 87th Street.

Obviously, there are hundreds of blocks that could use sidewalks within Greenwood and the northern area, but this is quite obviously an attempt to displace people in encampments there.

I'd prefer to see a lot more honest and effective solutions to address the underlying issues of homelessness, as well as separate solutions to make sure that the streets are safer and protected from traffic.

In addition to that, I'd also like to see SDOT 001-A rejected.

I think that money could be better spent on additional transit service rather than ambassadors.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And our last remote speaker for this period is Nick Jacquard.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Nick Jackal, and I'm representing the Downtown Seattle Association, urging you to support three crucial elements in the 24 budget.

Our focus is on strategic investments in public safety, downtown revitalization, and addressing affordability concerns.

To revitalize downtown effectively, we need to address persistent public safety challenges.

We urge you to support the full package of public safety investment in the mayor's proposal, including capacity building crime prevention technology, diversion programs, and the care team.

Additionally, Amendment HSD813B-2 to enhance substance use disorder treatment will help address the urgent need for expanded access to service to curb rising overdose rates in our city.

This measure is a key component of a comprehensive evidence-based approach to substance use disorder that goes beyond just harm reduction.

Please adopt this amendment as written.

The $15 million allocated for the downtown activation plan and the future of Seattle economy agenda is vital for the vitality of our city's economic hub, supporting jobs, arts, culture, small businesses, and tourism.

With respect to affordability, Considering inflation, the rising cost of living, and tax increases, research shows that being able to afford to live in Seattle remains a top concern of our community.

Instead of adding yet another fee on delivery and marketplace services, we ask that you evaluate the current budget and spending realities before jumping to putting additional tax or fee burdens on small businesses, customers, and residents.

Thank you for your full consideration.

Thank you.

Council or Chair Mesquita, I'm all right if you want to continue on without breaking for another hour.

OK, that sounds good, Madam Clerk.

I know that it's been a long night for for you and the collective team.

If you are OK with continuing, that sounds good.

And you just let me know if you want me to step in for a minute to read names, OK?

Thank you.

So we'll move to remote and our next remote speaker is Daniel Schmidt and Daniel will be followed by Hannah X. Hello, council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.

I'm Dan Schmidt, treasurer of the Seattle World Percussion Society, the producing organization of Seattle's World Rhythm Festival.

I'm speaking in support of inclusion of the African Cultural Arts Center's proposal in the city's budget.

My organization has worked directly with the Adafua Cultural Education Workshop and can attest to its importance.

ACEW maintains connections to the cultures and communities of Africa for the benefit of all Seattle residents.

While these connections have benefited the Seattle African-American community culturally, the organization has also provided crucial arts education services for African-American youth and provided employment for visiting and immigrant African artists.

Adepua's influence beyond the African-American community is seen in its role as a founding member and fiscal sponsor of Friends of the Rainier Valley Creative District, which works to support and grow the creative economy for all residents in five neighborhoods in South Seattle, including Columbia City and Hillman City, Dunlap, Brighton, and Rainier Beach.

Personally, I also support this effort based on my interest in preserving what we can of old Seattle, including cultural spaces designed by and for the African-American community.

Many of these have been lost over the years, and this project provides an opportunity to maintain such an existing cultural hub while making it even more useful to the African and African American communities in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Hannah X and Hannah will be followed by Marcus Wanless.

Hannah, you may need to press star six to unmute your phone.

Okay, maybe we'll come back to Hannah.

Marcus Wanlis, are you available?

Press star six.

Oh, you got it.

Great.

Thank you.

Yes.

Thank you.

Good evening, Chair Mosqueda, Council Juarez, and members of the Council.

My name is Marcus Wanlis.

I am the founder and president of the Seattle Latino Chamber of Commerce.

I am here to testify in opposition to the proposed delivery fee.

In talking with our members, I can tell you that adding a fee on delivery services will have negative impact on Hispanic-owned businesses, many of whom rely on deliveries to grow and sustain their customers.

These additional costs will raise the price of delivery in our city when you need to be doing the opposite.

We need you to find incentives to draw people back into Seattle to shop and dine.

A new fee makes no sense.

When we consider the positive impact of app-based delivery platforms that ensure underserved, elderly, and disabled community members that continue to benefit from app-based delivery for their local conveniences and favorite restaurants, on behalf of all Latino local businesses and thousands of small businesses who operate in Seattle, I ask you to re-examine the budget.

and prioritize services that address the public's concerns, like the ongoing public safety issues that were forcing businesses to close and residents to leave the city.

Now is not the time to increase costs.

Fees like these affect the economy, our members, and all businesses in Seattle.

I urge you to abandon the delivery fee.

Thank you, our next speaker will be Greg Ramirez and Greg will be followed by Amy Summers.

Good evening, budget chair Mosqueda and council members.

My name is Greg Ramirez.

I'm the deputy director of SEIU 6 and also a member of the city's labor standards advisory commission.

I'm commenting tonight to express LSAC's strong support for the proposed fee to fund labor standards enforcement for gig workers.

LSAC applauds the city's leadership in passing new labor standards for city gig workers, and we urge you to pass the proposed fee as drafted to ensure OLS can successfully implement and enforce those policies.

For the past several years, the commission has watched OLS take on more and more work and do its best to efficiently enforce the growing number of Seattle orangutans.

As its mandate expands, the agency needs more support.

This fee represents an important step forward that will ensure consistent, predictable funding for all the agencies' important policy outreach and enforcement initiatives.

The need for enforcement in the gig economy is clear.

OLS has recovered $14 million in penalties in just the past three years, including a $1.6 million settlement with DoorDash earlier this summer.

Those statistics reflect OLS' effectiveness as well as a substantial need for ongoing public enforcement in this industry.

We urge you to pass the fee as proposed.

Thank you.

Thank you and it looks like Amy's no longer present on remotely, so we're going to move on to Oliver Miska remote Oliver Miska and Oliver will be followed by Darcelle Slovak Walker.

And Oliver, you may need to press star 6 to unmute your phone.

Okay, it looks like Oliver is still muted.

We will move down to Darcelle.

And Darcelle, be sure and press star six to unmute your phone.

There it is.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Darcelle Slavik-Walker and I'm the CEO of Transitional Resources, which is in District 1, providing housing and behavioral health care.

I'm pleased with Mayor Harrell's proposed budget to boost human services contracts to benefit many workers and services in our area.

While these investments will help housing services remain intact, they don't apply to all workers and homeless services in Seattle.

I'm here to urge you to correct that in the budget.

I'm asking you to ensure that the 7.5% inflation adjustment and a 2% wage adjustment apply to the entire continuum of care.

Without adequate inflation and wage adjustments to the entire continuum of care, we will lose much needed capacity and homelessness services.

These are critical increases to help us sustain our work across the system.

Due to chronically low wages, our staff need to work two jobs just to survive.

They don't have the opportunity to decompress, which is critical to longevity in this field.

At a time like this, we cannot risk more good people leaving the field.

You have amendments HSD 1 and 2 before you that would apply the 2% wage increase to our staff and other essential workers.

Thank you, and please vote yes.

Thank you.

Our next two speakers will be Evan Sexton followed by John Engber.

Evan Sexton and then John Engber.

Go ahead, Evan.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Evan Sexton, and I work on housing.

Plymouth provides permanent support housing to more than 1,100 residents in our city.

We are grateful for the incredible amount of work that has gone into creating this budget proposal.

I'd like to thank the mayor's team, the council, and its staff for moving this process forward.

Throughout your consideration of this proposal, we have seen your interest in the results from investments in human services.

We understand that the city is soon to face a massive budget shortfall, no immediate path to a balanced budget.

However, we at Plymouth have seen the results firsthand.

This year, after receiving a grant from the Workforce Stabilization Fund at the Office of Housing, we were able to reduce our monthly turnover rates by 33%.

Not only do investments in our staff bring stability to their lives, but they also bring stability to the lives of our residents.

When we have stability in our staff, that means our residents have access to trusted resources and familiar faces.

These relationships are only possible with investments in our staff.

Human services investments bring real results for our staff as well as our residents.

The cost of business continues to grow and without continued investment, we'll be unable to maintain the progress we've made.

We are encouraged that the residents of Seattle showed their willingness to invest in housing and human services by resoundingly supporting the growth of the Seattle housing budget.

We urge you to listen to Seattle residents and make meaningful investments in the fight against homelessness and to vote in favor of amendments for inflationary adjustments as well as wage equity investments.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is John Engber, and John will be followed by Ursi Joyner.

Go ahead, John.

Hi, distinguished committee members.

I'm John Engber, Ballard resident.

On behalf of the Washington Retail Association, I'm testifying in opposition to the proposed delivery fee.

Retailers of every size continue to struggle to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

This is especially true in Seattle, where the cost of doing business continues to increase.

Whether you look at food, fuel, labor, materials, everything is more expensive today.

Plus, organized retail crime takes a bite out of every retailer in Seattle.

For small and medium-sized retailers who operate close to the margin, any tax or fee increase can make it harder for them to make ends meet.

Consumers are also increasingly cost-conscious in Seattle, where the cost of living has soared over the past decade.

As a result, anything that might give customers pause, including new fees, can impact sales and the earnings of gig workers.

We ask that the Council reexamine the budget and prioritize spending to identify current funds to meet the needs of OLS.

We ask that you find a way to not add this additional cost to the financial challenges facing Seattle's retailers and their customers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Ursi Joyner, and Ursi will be followed by Johnny Townsend.

And Ursi, you may need to press star six.

There you go.

Thank you.

Hi.

Good evening, all.

Thank you, City Council, for the opportunity to present to you tonight My name is Ursi Joyner.

I'm a retired captain with the Oakland Police Department.

I come with you just briefly to share my experiences with ShotSpotter and Sound Thinking as a strong advocate for the work that they're doing.

I'd like to briefly share with you both professionally and personally how it's affected my life.

Retired from OPD after 30 years of service, 10 years in homicide, seven years on our ceasefire program, it was not until 2012 when we introduced ShotSpotter and data driven strategies was we saw a change in the city of Oakland.

I could tell you that ShotSpotter, led by Ralph Clark, has two North Stars.

One is efficiency and the other is efficacy.

We were able to have a sustained reduction in violent crime in coordination with not only ShotSpotter, but the wraparound services to help individuals make different choices in life.

We dropped shootings and homicides in the city of Oakland by over 50%, which would never have been done before.

in a seven-year sustained way.

Personally speaking, I retired from OPD August of 2019 after 30 years of service, never one sick day, never been hurt on the line of duty.

Two years after my retirement, I was robbed at a gas station and shot multiple times by multiple assailants.

As I laid on the ground with 12 bullet holes in me, seven people stood over me filming.

And I tell you that not one person called ShotSpotter.

I'm alive today because ShotSpotter activated and brought help to me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And our next, we have two more remote speakers and we'll go back to in-person.

Our two remote speakers will be Johnny Townsend and Paul John.

And go ahead, Johnny Townsend, you may need to press star six.

I'm Johnny Townsend, a shop steward with Protect 17, and I want to ask you to increase the Amazon tax and ensure a fair contract for city workers.

Equity isn't free.

A functioning infrastructure isn't free.

Living wages don't materialize out of nowhere.

Living in a great city doesn't happen on its own just because we're all good people.

It costs money to make a city livable, and that money can only come from those who have it.

You can't tax homeless people and folks living in poverty.

and expect to fund a decent infrastructure.

Even the middle class alone don't have enough to pay for it.

The money has to come from the wealthy and from corporations too.

The rest of us are already paying our fair share and are happy to keep doing so, but city workers need a living wage.

City residents need libraries and parks and police and firefighters and trash collectors and safe streets, and that means the wealthy and corporations must pay their fair share just like the rest of us already do.

If you don't get the money the city needs from those who have it, You end up with workers leaving because they can't afford to live here.

City services suffer.

Residents suffer.

We live in one of the richest cities in the country and one of the richest countries in the world, one of the richest cities in the history of civilization.

We can't fund living wages for city workers and a functioning infrastructure for city residents with all the money we have.

It's a gross failure of leadership.

We ask that you choose not to fail but to succeed.

Thank you, and our last remote speaker for this group is Paul John.

And Paul, you may need to press star six to unmute your phone.

Good evening, council members.

Paul John, community engagement director at Sound Thinking.

Here to set some light on a little-known yet crucial aspect of our technology.

So in addition to real-time alerts to law enforcement, ShotSpotter collects vital data on the locations of gunfire to inform social and mental health services in the community.

And there's enormous potential for this data to help address community trauma, and it's important to understand that the trauma of gunfire often goes beyond the physical victim.

Just the sounds of gunfire can be traumatic.

So to address this, our Data for Good program takes a public health approach to addressing gun violence by sharing the data we collect on where and when gunfire occurs so non-law enforcement entities can provide prompt interventions to residents in need of services and support.

And with timely and accurate gunfire location data, community violence intervention and prevention groups, social services, mental health professionals, and many other community organizations, can better direct their resources to prevent future violence, address the root causes, and provide assistance to those adversely impacted by exposure to persistent gun violence.

For example, in partnerships with schools, we can inform school leaders and school-based mental health practitioners as to which specific blocks are being disproportionately impacted by gun violence so they can provide equitable support and to students most in need.

So we want to provide these insights to more effectively, efficiently, and proactively provide residents to these services.

Thank you.

And we're now moving into line 21 on the in-person sign-in sheets of A and B.

So 21A is Julia Buck.

Good evening, Council.

Thank you for the opportunities to speak.

My name is Julia Buck.

I'm a resident of District 6 and a supporter of the Solidarity Budget.

I would particularly like to call out support for amendments HSD013A and HSD014A.

This is an important step toward taking a survivor-led approach to domestic violence.

Our current approach leaves out the 65% of domestic violence victims who do not wish to work with the police.

Supporting survivor-led community-based non-carceral intervention is crucial to the prevention of domestic and gender-based violence.

I would also like to express my support for DEL001A, which increases the jumpstart tax to provide funding for students to receive services for mental health outcomes that are positive and for culturally specific and responsive programming.

I think it is wonderful that our youth are involved in the civic process and we owe it to them to listen to them.

And finally, I'd like to support HSD 816A, which increases the reach of community-based gun violence reduction programs.

Community-based gun violence reduction programs have shown tremendous success in Chicago, and I believe that they can work here as well.

And they are .

Thank you so much for the opportunity to comment.

Good evening.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Robert Lind, and Robert will be followed by Aiden Silper.

Oh, thanks.

Yep, that's perfect.

Hello, council.

I am here today

to talk to you as a ghost cop from District 3. I've been haunting the police department budget for years and I am so tired.

It's hard to stay spooky for this long, especially when I'm just a corrupted entry in a departmental budget.

It's not much of an existence, let me tell you.

And whatever animating force keeps me alive would be much better given to actual people, actual living people in Seattle, and the things that help them survive and thrive, like all the stuff in the solidarity budget, like housing and transportation, food, healthcare.

I heard that me and my fellow ghost cops eat up $31 million from the budget.

It seems like an awful lot to pay for phantom accounting practices.

You, council, have the power to put me out of my misery.

It's time for you to perform the exorcism to lay us to rest once and for all.

Remove the specter of disembodied position authorities.

You have the power to say the magic words which will release us forever.

Please.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Aiden Silper, and Aiden will be followed by Melina McCombs.

Hello, council.

My name's Aiden Silber, and I'm a senior at Garfield High School.

I'm here to speak in favor of increased mental health funding in our schools.

In the few months that school has been in session, we have experienced a two-hour lockdown after shots were fired outside of the school, had our homecoming football game evacuated after a shooting threat, and had our buses diverted after a drive-by on 23rd and Jackson.

While Mayor Harrell and his camp of pro-business counselors are pushing an austerity budget, our communities are carrying the cost of this government's neglect.

Like many of the issues in this city, talk is cheap.

I'm aware 20 million sounds like a big number, but I'm here to remind the council that the kids growing up today will carry these emotional and physical scars into adulthood.

So for the good of the future of our city and the good of your children today, please support your communities by voting in favor of increased mental health funding in our schools.

I would also like to remind the council that this is not just a youth issue.

Besides the mass student support, we are grateful to have two Garfield guidance counselors with us tonight, as well as the endorsement of the teachers union for Shama's amendment for $20 million for mental health supports in our schools.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Melina McCombs, and Melina will be followed by Tom Barnard.

Is this good?

It is, thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Melana.

I'm a renter, District 2. I'm a member volunteer of Seattle Renter Organization Council and Elder Renter Council.

Thank you, council members Morales and Mezqueda for funding the tenant work groups for the office of Renter Housing Standard, an essential step in realizing the actual office.

If this office already existed, say before the pandemic, then on November 17, 2021, tenants of Terrace Crest on First Hill would not have had to stand in 30 degree weather asking their landlord, Briar Sheets, why they were still without heat and hot water after three months.

Nor would nearly 1,000 tenants of the Rainier Court area have had to organize marches to make public their grievances against their landlord's seed.

Nor would the tenants of Cal Anderson House have to come today to give testimony concerning their living situation and their landlord, Providence's disregard for Cal Anderson's beautiful legacy.

If the Office of Renter Housing Standard already existed, these renters, all renters, would have recourse without the added stress of trying to be heard.

I thank you for getting these essential steps started, and I look forward to seeing the actual office be realized.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tom Barnard, and Tom will be followed by Linnea May.

Is Tom still here?

Great.

Thank you, Tom.

Thank you.

My name is Tom Barnard, and I am a...

35 year resident of Seattle.

Eventually I now live in SeaTac as it was forced out by the high rents.

I'm also a member of the local council of Seattle Democratic Socialists of America.

The first thing I'd like to say is I'd like to express my gratitude to council members Mosqueda and Morales for sponsoring the budget action for the tenant work group that we so badly need.

Secondly, Second here.

So the other thing I want to talk about is this 4.5 million to cops for special events.

God, you do love people.

You do love giving cops money, don't you?

As far as I can tell, most special events are basically traffic control.

I really don't think we need to give 4.5 million dollars to traffic cops when We've seen an entire parade of people who are desperately seeking funds, including housing, mental health for students, et cetera.

I think it's a poor use of money.

The other core special events are protests and demonstrations, but we really have quite enough cops monitoring that.

We don't need more.

If you want money for this kind of stuff, you already have a slush fund for hiring.

So thank you very much.

Please oppose the amendment for $4.5 million.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Linnea May, and Linnea will be followed by Daniel Lee.

Hi, my name is Linnea and I'm a renter in District 3. For a second year, I'm asking you not to fund ShotSpotter, this time with the ineffective band-aid of adding CCTV.

CCTV does nothing to improve ShotSpotter's abysmal 90% false positive rate and only increases surveillance across the city.

Police resources are actually strained even further because they have to respond to every false alarm raised by this ineffective system.

Not even ShotSpotter believes its marketing claims that it prevents or solves crime.

ShotSpotter's service agreement states, ShotSpotter does not warrant or represent expressly or implicitly that the software or subscription services of it or its use will result in the prevention of crime, apprehension, or conviction of any perpetrator of any crime or detection of any criminal.

Instead of increasing both public surveillance and demands on police resources, follow the leads of cities that have revoked their contracts with ShotSpotter like Charlotte, Buffalo, and San Antonio.

Use this money instead to fund community safety programs like those outlined in the solidarity budget, which I wholeheartedly support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Danielle Lee, and Danielle Lee will be followed by Lindsay Lazoski.

Good evening members of the City Council.

My name is Daniel Lee.

I am a school counselor at Garfield High School just about a mile and a half east of here and I'm here tonight as a proud resident of District 2 as well as a proud parent of two Seattle Public School students.

This is my 11th year as a school counselor and I absolutely love love my job.

I I couldn't ask for anything better than to build relationships with students, support them, celebrate their achievements, as well as mourn with them when they lose family members or are having a mental health crisis.

I'm just wanting to communicate Just some important information about the insights that I've gained over the last 10 years.

SPS is in crisis.

SPS continues to make budget cuts to an already razor-thin school budget.

For example, our school counseling department last year, we experienced $80,000 in cuts, and we were already at the bare minimum.

And so our most vulnerable students are the ones that are bearing the brunt of these cuts and we need change.

High school counselors are in position to support students with a wide range of issues ranging from mental health supports, graduation requirements, planning for their college and career pathways.

I really wanna just encourage the city council to vote yes on the Amazon tax, thank you.

Thank you, our next speaker is Lindsay Lazoski and Lindsay will be followed by Camille Baldwin Bonney.

You can move that down.

Okay.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council Budget Committee.

I'm Lindsay Lozoski, and I rent in District 6. Amendment OIRA 802A, which reads, add 200,000 general funds to OIRA to support migrants and asylum seekers needs to be pulled from the consent package and amended.

Yes, we should fight for housing for migrants and asylum seekers, but we don't want to create a policy of shelter for the right people who are outside of Seattle and sweeps for people in Seattle.

We can balance this amendment by changing the funding source to come from the United Unified Care Team, UCT, resulting in fewer sweeps without such an amendment.

OIRA 802A is really problematic.

I also wanted to add another comment that I urge you all to as possible support health and human services investment.

As somebody who works in public health, I constantly experience underfunding and I'm hardly able to take care of myself and my colleagues and my friends also experienced that.

As we saw during the pandemic, it's crucial to fund these things before a crisis happens.

So I really urge you to see how you might be able to bolster your budget in those areas as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Camille Baldwin-Bonnie, followed by Camille Gix.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Camille.

I am in District 5. I'm a member of People Power Washington.

I support the solidarity budget and I'm speaking to you today in support of HSD004A.

Supporting services for unhoused residents and keeping ShotSpotter out of Seattle are both vital public health and safety measures.

I want to thank council members Sawant, Hairbold, and Mosqueda for this amendment and urge other council members to vote yes.

Shelter is a basic human need, and it is almost impossible to overstate the benefits of stable housing.

It improves physical and mental health, increases engagement in education and employment, reduces rates of criminal convictions, and increases food security.

By providing mental health services and case management at tiny house villages, we will be increasing the likelihood of getting residents into permanent stable housing, and we make these resources available to the most vulnerable of our unhoused population.

ShotSpotter has been subject to extensive peer-reviewed research in cities all across the country.

And there is no evidence that the addition of CCTV changes ShotSpotter's abysmal false positive rate.

Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess was unable to produce any peer-reviewed studies pairing acoustic gunshot technology with CCTV.

But in fact, this research has been done and it shows a similar false alarming positive rate.

Again, supporting services for unhoused residents and keeping shot spotter out of Seattle are vital public health and safety measures.

And I urge your support of HSD00.

Thank you.

We'll have one more in-person speaker and then we'll move back to remote.

So the last person for this group will be Camille Gix.

Is there a Camille Gix here?

Oh.

You have to tell me your real name, though, because you're getting me all confused on this sign-up sheet.

And you can pull that down.

There you go.

Wait, go ahead, start over.

Hello, I am Sebastian Dwyer and I am a senior on the budget committee at Nova High School.

My school does have resources for mental health care, which is something I, as a mentally ill student, am appreciative of.

Without these resources, I do not think I or many of my peers would be able to be successful at school, nor am I sure that I would be alive and able to attend school.

These resources are privileges that I have access to but many of my friends at other schools do not.

Being said, my school is immensely underfunded on all fronts.

In order for us to stay fully staffed and to supply the resources we do have, we rely on donations, grants, and shuffling around money from our other budget pools.

Multiple teachers are funded by grants and we have used our sub-reimbursement fund to keep our admin staff and allow our school to continue functioning.

Instead of having specific academic counselors, we have teachers who act as them.

Funding specifically for mental health would not only allow students at my school and others to be able to thrive in and outside of school, but would also lessen the workload of my teachers and allow for us to easier fund our school without taking money away from our other school and student needs.

This specific budget amendment increase for the Amazon tax by 20 million to fund more counseling by Kashama's font is unanimously endorsed by the Seattle Educators Association.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And now we'll move into 10 from our remote call list starting with We will start with Angela Fleetes, followed by Raymond Mitchell.

And don't forget, if you're calling remote to speak, you have to press star six to unmute your phone.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Angela.

Good evening.

My name is Angela Fleetes, and I'm the senior manager of government affairs and social impact at TaskRabbit.

TaskRabbit is an online marketplace that connects people who need help with small tasks to self-employed independent contractors or taskers who offer services inside the home through our website and app.

I'd like to thank the committee for taking the time to hear from stakeholders like TaskRabbit.

I'm here to speak about the proposed network company delivery fee.

As you know, marketplace network companies such as TaskRabbit are only covered by the deactivation ordinance, not the minimum payment standards.

ordinance, despite the 10 cent per transaction fee being intended to pay for the enforcement of both.

In fact, the marketplace network company definition was created while drafting the minimum payment standards bill in order to recognize companies that allow workers to set their rates, don't track mileage or time and enable customers and workers to communicate directly.

This leads us to question how a company that is explicitly excluded from an ordinance can fairly be expected to pay for its enforcement.

We appreciate the time council members and their staff spent learning about our community and business model and hope you will take our concerns into consideration during this process.

Thank you again for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Raymond Mitchell and Raymond will be followed by Gary Lee.

Hi, can you hear me properly?

Yes.

OK, wonderful.

Hello, thank you for your time.

My name is Raymond Mitchell, and I'm here in support of the victims and families of victims of police violence.

It's been about a year since the affected persons program legislation was passed.

This was incredibly important legislation for people who have been victimized by the police in the city, but after getting passed, it seems like the city has really dragged its feet in actually putting this vital legislation into practice.

The mayor and the OPA has stopped anything from actually getting done, and it's beginning to feel like the people running this city don't actually want to put their money where their mouth is.

I understand we've been asked to not impugn your motives, and I don't wish to make assumptions.

You're human beings like me.

I haven't lived your life, and I don't know the contents of your minds or your hearts.

But you have to understand that these are the questions that citizens like me can't help but begin to ask when this happens.

The longer this goes on, the more it feels dishonest and intentional.

If you understand why this program is important, you'll fight for it to actually get done.

A city has money to spend on defending murderers like Kevin Davis, It has money to spend on shady investigators looking into his crime, even though none of the relevant facts of what happened with him are in question.

Not to mention things like the...

Not important.

You don't have the money to transport the body of the woman that Kevin Dave killed back to her home?

Donavie Kandula's family had to resort to crowdfunding to get her body back home.

Seriously?

I want you to think about this on a basic human level.

Why are you only ever willing to spend money to defend the people already on your payroll, but not on helping the actual citizens when your employees hurt us?

Why?

It's not fair.

Please keep us safe.

Defend.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Gary Lee, and Gary will be followed by Gabrielle Newman.

Go ahead, Gary.

And you may need to press star six.

Okay, we'll come.

Oh, there you are.

Can you hear me?

Yes, great.

Hi, City Council.

I'm Gary Lee, the chairperson of the CID Public Safety Council, and I'm representing 745 residents, business owners, and employees who work in the CID.

We are in support of the mayor's technology budget request.

Earlier today, I sent the council the signatures in support of the request.

As a community, we are strongly in favor of the use of technology in crime prevention, and we urge you to fully fund the marriage request.

We understand this is a pilot project, but we also hope that this technology will come to the CID soon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Gabriel Newman, followed by Jamie Crosswhite.

Go ahead, Gabriel.

Good evening council members.

I'm Gabriel Newman, policy council and government relations manager at GSBA Washington's LGBTQ plus chamber of commerce.

Um, I'm here to speak in support of council member Muscat as amendment to remove 1.7 million in funding for unproven gunshot detection technologies of the proposed budget today in Seattle, the public's relationship with police is essential to restoring safety in our city for all.

We must find solutions that bridge gaps between police and the community.

GSBA supports implementing technological solutions to solve our public safety crisis.

However, as has been well documented in the press and by earlier testimony, this technology is unproven and risks further eroding public trust.

If you look at the legislative outline document that was submitted to City Council, the studies documented in that study, even those studies demonstrate that this does not support the reduction of shots and violent crime.

So please consider approving Council Member Mosquito's amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jamie Crosswhite.

And Jamie will be followed by Amanda Locke.

Go ahead, Jamie.

Go ahead, Jamie.

Hello, City Council Members.

My name is Jamie Crosswhite, and I'm here in support of HSD 801-A.

It's been almost a year since legislation was passed to create the Affected Persons Program, a work group that would provide resources to victims of police violence and their families.

Resources like funeral, legal, child care, and therapy costs that can assist families like that of John B. Kondula, Herbert Hightower Jr., Oscar Perez-Gueron, and others harmed by SPD violence.

I urge you to pass HSD 801-A under the guidance of actual affected persons, which will allow for the funds to be distributed in the ways that they deem most supportive.

I ask everyone to take a moment to consider how would you like to be treated if one of your loved ones was murdered by SPD, those who claim to, quote, serve and protect, unquote.

And if you think you or your family are exempt, you are not.

John B. Kondula was legally using a pedestrian crosswalk with the right of way and was unjustly killed by SPD officer Kevin Dave, who has still not been charged.

Thank you for your time and please pass HSD 801-A.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Amanda Locke and Amanda will be followed by Judy Chin.

Go ahead, Amanda.

Hello, my name is Amanda Locke.

I'm a case manager in Seattle for people who are unhoused, and I support the Solidarity Budget because these demands center true public safety, which means providing people housing, healthcare, food, support, dignity, and respect.

I'm going to shout out a few suggestions in particular by the Solidarity Budget.

First, remove SPD's ghost cops.

Why are we telling people who are surviving outside every day that there's no housing for them, extremely limited treatment, and limited food and accessible health care while we're wasting $31 million for ghost cops.

This is completely unacceptable.

I also support 816A1, which increases the reach of community-based gun violence reduction programs, and 004A, investing in mental health support for unhoused residents and keeping racist shot slaughter out of Seattle.

Community-based reduction programs can reduce gun violence by 30% to 60%.

And this city and country cannot hold a trauma of one more person lost or injured to gun violence.

When someone is lost to gun violence, it impacts so many people.

And if you truly want to honor the lives that have been lost and the deep, lasting pain that people carry around every single day, then invest in something that actually works, and that's community-based violence reduction programs.

I also support 013A and 014A, survivor-led community-based non-carceral intervention programs.

I want to point out that so many people I work with are survivors, and if you actually support survivors, then fund non-commercial options, fund housing, fund renter protections and housing stability, and do not...

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Judy Chin, and Judy will be followed by Amanda Noble.

Hi, my name is Judy.

I'm a housing advocate with the Rapid Rehousing Program at Neighborhood House.

I'm glad that we're taking a step in the right direction with the mayor's proposed budget adjustment for human services contracts to keep up with the inflation and a 2% wage increase for many of our workers.

This is a much needed investment, but it includes many of the city's housing and homelessness services.

Our team, which is mostly funded by KCRHK's continuum of care contract, works tirelessly to ensure everyone has a safe place to live.

However, just last week, I was talking to two of my colleagues who both work second jobs to make ends meet.

One of them works a third job overnight with no weekends.

Beyond just the absurdity of having to work to live, this leads to higher levels of stress and burnout, which in turn leads to higher turnover and ultimately inadequate and inconsistent services for our clients.

I strongly encourage you to pass the HSD1 and HSD2 amendments which extend the inflation adjustment and 2% wage increase to COC contracts and one-time funded programs such as shelters and day centers.

Thank you for taking a stand on wage equity for human services workers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Amanda Noble and following Amanda Noble will be Thomas Harrington.

And Amanda, you may need to press star six.

AMANDA NOBLE, CITY AUDITOR FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA AND CHAIR OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDITORS ADVOCACY COMMITTEE HERE TO SUPPORT BUDGET AMENDMENT CBO001B.

ALGA STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STAFF IN THE SEATTLE OFFICE OF CITY AUDITOR.

INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE AUDITING PROVIDES ELECTED OFFICIALS, MANAGERS AND THE PUBLIC WITH OBJECTIVE TIMELY INFORMATION TO IMPROVE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS.

Furthermore, the Office of City Auditor serves an important role by providing audit reports to the City Council on the executive branch activities and program.

A strong audit function requires organizational independence, adherence to professional standards, competent leadership, stakeholder support, and sufficient resources to fulfill its mandate.

Although there's no standard formula to set the number of staff needed for a government performance audit function, Characteristics that would generally lead to higher staffing levels include a larger government size, unique or complex services offered by the government, decentralized operations, decentralized information technology control structures, volatile funding, a stricter regulatory environment, and greater expectations placed on the audit function by stakeholders.

Increased staffing will allow the office to increase audit coverage based on its assessment of risk the city faces, respond more promptly to council requests, and prepare.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Thomas Harrington.

Following Thomas will be Diane Sugimura.

Go ahead, Thomas.

Hello?

Hello?

Go ahead.

Hello?

Go ahead, please.

Please vote yes on Arts 003A, Preserving...

Mr. Harrington, you're cutting out really severely.

We're only getting about every third or fourth word.

Why don't we have, Thomas, if you can call back in, maybe on a different line, or if there's a place that you have better reception where you're at, we'll come back to you.

That sounds like a good idea.

And then Madam Chair, excuse me, Madam Clerk, before we go back to the folks in person, as you get to number 75, I just want to, again, call on the names of folks who are not present.

I think some folks may be waiting for their Their name to be called, but if you're not listed as present, then we go to the next item.

So I'm going to call all of the people that were listed to present, but are not present just so you can hear your name.

And then we have looks like 4 people who are present whose name was called prior to that.

So, once we get to number 75, let's go back to those 4 who are present and then we'll go back to the folks in the room.

And just for the purposes of people planning on the line, I will again list the names of people who are listed as not present.

Does that sound?

Okay.

Yeah, I think I can follow that.

Okay, so next we're going to try Diana Sugimura.

Diane Sugimura, who is remote.

And Diane, you may need to press.

There you go.

You're good to go.

Thank you.

Honorable Council Members, I'm Diane Sugimura, a member of the Wing Luke Asian Museum Board of Trustees, and I'm speaking in support of Amendment Arts 003A, adding $250,000 to the Arts and Culture Fund.

Thank you all for the challenging work you do to keep Seattle strong and alive while also helping to ensure racial and social justice for all.

Today, recognition of the past and support for ethnic and cultural survival is more essential than ever.

We've seen why elsewhere in the country and the world, but perhaps most important for today's hearing right here in Chinatown International District and the Seattle area.

A huge thank you to Councilmember Morales with support from Councilmembers Lewis and Pedersen for their proposed amendment.

Unlike Tacoma, Seattle has not yet appropriately recognized the shameful action that happened almost 150 years ago, the expulsion of the Chinese from Seattle.

These are the people who worked for pennies under untenable conditions, providing much of the labor to rebuild our city after the great fire, who cut the timber, built the railroads, and so much more.

Hard, hard labor only to be rounded up and expelled from the town.

This amendment would help ensure the creation of a lasting legacy to those who were run out of town only because of the color of their skin.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I'm going to call on Thomas Harrington one more time, and then we'll go back to the people earlier that I wouldn't answer.

So Thomas Harrington, are you available now?

There you go.

Thank you.

I am here.

I am unmuted.

Do you hear me okay?

Yes.

Okay.

Well, thank you.

And yes, please vote yes on Arts 003 preserving 003A, preserving the legacy of the forced expulsion of Chinese Americans.

In 1886, we ran the Chinese out.

In 1942, we locked up the Japanese.

Today, we have factions that want to expel non-white immigrants.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

So, we must Tell the story so we remember.

We must educate.

Art is one way to tell a story and educate.

Public art is accessible.

It draws attention with splendor.

It piques for curiosity.

It drives us to learn and understand.

The artwork, Exclusion, Expulsion, Expunged by Seattle artist Stuart Wong will appeal to many.

It'll be a source of pride to the Chinese American community and others who identify with similar struggles.

It'll be a shocking awareness for others like me.

This white American male was in his 50s before he was aware of the 1886 expulsion and the gross violation of human rights.

We should be taught in grade school.

In 2015, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution expressing regret for Chinese sentiment.

Now's the time to put our money where our mouth is.

We must enshrine the memory of the 1886 expulsion as one educational tool, so we always remember.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Hannah X. Hannah, are you there now?

And Hannah, you need to press star six to unmute your phone.

Go ahead.

Hi.

Hi, I'm calling on behalf of an unhoused resident of District 2 named Jessie, and she says that she's calling to ask the council to support a guarantee of housing and shelter.

My friends and family have lived unhoused and unsheltered in Seattle, and that is unacceptable.

We have the resources and we have the responsibility to house human beings and offer shelter in the interim and not out by dawn in the middle of winter shelter.

I urge the council to prioritize those of us who are most impacted by this budget.

Give us the guarantee of housing so that we can thrive.

Policing poverty does not create safety.

Prioritizing a guarantee of housing is the only way to create community safety.

We need housing in order to thrive.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Oliver Misca.

Oliver, you may need to press star six.

Okay, we're going to move on down to Allison Isinger.

Allison Isinger.

And Allison, you may need to press.

There you go.

We see you're ready.

Yes, thank you.

Good evening, council members and staff.

Allison Isinger with the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness.

I am calling tonight to urge all of your support for HSD 001 and HSD 002 to ensure, as other speakers have noted tonight, that we are including all homeless service and housing workers in the required 7.5% inflation adjustment and 2% wage adjustment that Mayor Harrell included in his proposed budget.

The overwhelming winner in last week's election was the Seattle housing levy.

I'm thrilled to see that 69% of the voting public, currently 147 ballots cast, supported the renewal of this levy, which will add 3,100 more affordable homes and sustain 16,000 affordable homes created through the legacy of this levy.

For the first time, that levy renewal will include additional support for the people who help the lowest income residents of those levy apartments to thrive in their stable homes.

What we are urging you to do with these two elements of the budget is to ensure the same level of investment across the system.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're gonna now move back and take some in-person public commenters.

And the next person on the list, we are on line A26, which would be Catherine Hanson.

Madam Clerk, if I might as well, I just want to double check here.

For folks who are listening, it sounds like some folks were maybe waiting for their name to be called.

And if they weren't listed as present, then we might have gone by them.

So just for the purposes of the or of the folks listening, number 15, we need Mimi bear, Doug Cole number 22, Michael number 23. It does look like number 29 is present.

So maybe we can tee that up before going back into person.

Number 20 number 32 ever.

34, Katie Wilson, 35, Matt from Transit Writers Union, 37, Noelle Hanson, 39, Dylan X, Michelle Wilmerth, number 42, number 44, Alana Perez.

I think I got a message from Alana saying she's not going to testify anymore.

Oliver Mosca, you already tried to call that person and they were not off mute.

But Amy Summers, number 48, Char Char X, not present, number 50. Julia X, not present, number 52. Kimberly Lowen, 56. Ken Schlegel is 57. Number 60, Shoma Tripathi.

Number 66, Daniel Bannon.

Number 70, Ann Polite.

And that, Madam Chair, I hope I gave your voice a little break there.

Hi, Oliver.

I see you there.

And just trying to clean up our list here.

So we'll take Oliver.

We were trying to get you off mute a second ago.

So since you're off mute, we'll take you.

And then we'll go back to Misha.

Apologies for the students in the room.

I see you teed up.

Excellent.

Thank you so much.

And we'll come right back to you after we get these next two callers in just to clean up our list a little bit for folks online.

Oliver, please go ahead.

Hi, thank you.

Sorry for the confusion and my support.

I'm standing with the students there today that are lining up.

Good evening, city council members.

I'm an educator born and raised in Seattle and a board member of Washington Ethnic Studies Now, a nonprofit group that does advocacy work and teacher training for ethnic studies and education justice more broadly.

We have an opportunity tonight And really, you can safeguard money for projects that don't have a chance with the new conservative city council that clearly have a mandate in this next election, given this recent election.

With the recent election of these centrist corporate Democrats, it's imperative now that we don't focus on things like the fact that everyone's so upset with Jeff Bezos' departure from Washington state.

We have that being discussed all the time, but what we don't have being discussed is that these taxes aren't really pushing out people.

It's just a ploy.

It's media.

They are going to leave anyways.

One thing that we need to be funding and we need to be moving away from is just focusing on levies.

But I do support the $20 million to increase the jumpstart tax for mental health services today with the Seattle Student Union.

And I hope that we all support this.

And I also hope Um, that y'all do not fund the shot spotter and that you do not fund the ghost cop positions and the standing solidarity.

Thank you.

And who's next?

Chair Muscadine?

We'll do the last person present on the list, number 29, Misha, and then we'll go back to in-person.

And if you are planning to provide public comment and dialing in today, please do dial in right now because we have about 30 more people listed to dial in.

So please just go ahead and dial in now if you're listening.

And thanks for the pause here again.

Do we have Misha?

Okay, please go ahead, Misha.

Good evening.

My name is Misha Werschel.

I'm here representing the Washington State Budget Policy Center, a nonpartisan organization focused on research and analysis on policies that advance economic security and racial justice in Washington State.

I'm calling in to support the inclusion of the fees, the modest fees on network companies to fund enforcement of new labor standards for gig workers in the council budget.

I want to make two quick points.

The first is that investments in labor rights enforcement and worker outreach matters.

Too often, policymakers take action but fail to back up that action with the funding for implementation.

The recent protections passed by the Seattle City Council have huge potential to raise wages, provide flexibility and transparency, protections against deactivation for more than 40,000 workers.

But the changes will only really make a difference if the policy is backed up with dedicated funding.

Second point is that Washington state is consistently ranked the most regressive tax system in the country.

And any action at any level of government needs to be reviewed through the lens of what it would mean for people in the lowest incomes.

So thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of the proposal today.

Thank you.

Our in-person next speaker is Catherine Hansen.

Hi, my name is...

Pull that down farther because...

My name is Adrienne Traynor.

I am a junior at Ingram High School.

I just turned 17 and I have been going to Seattle Public Schools for my entire life.

I was at Ingram last year when there was a shooting and I feel lucky because I couldn't hear the gunshots.

I was on the other side of the school about as far away as you can be without just lying on the field somewhere.

And I feel fortunate that I didn't hear the gunshots.

I'm still affected every day.

And I don't think we should have to go to school in fear, and I also think that it is ridiculous that we are waiting for stuff to get done after there's a tragedy.

I've been doing lockdown drills since kindergarten, preschool maybe, and I am tired of it.

I remember being scared in elementary school because our best solution shouldn't be have people hide and pretend they aren't there.

I'm still gonna be doing lockdown drills until I graduate probably.

And I don't know how that's gonna help me if there is another shooting at my school.

I want more mental health funding so students can have the help they need instead of measures afterwards like over-policing or just lack of movement at all.

I want to see more mental health funding for students.

And the Amazon tax can completely fund that in a way that would not harm them.

I would just like to reiterate, this is what students are asking for.

People at my school and everywhere are suffering.

I'm very tired of getting used to hearing about shootings in the news.

It's just another shooting, another school shooting, And I don't know what more has to happen in order for something to get done.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jonathan Toledo.

Is Jonathan Toledo still here?

He's thinking not.

Our next speaker would be then Chrissy Shimizu.

Chrissy Shimizu.

Is Chrissy here?

Okay, and our next speaker, Max Mayer, is Max Mayer here?

And moving on down Lars Erickson, is Lars Erickson here?

Okay, our next speaker on the list is Georgia.

Lars is here, where is Lars?

Thank you, Lars.

Our next speaker is Lars Erickson.

Good evening, council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the 2,400 members of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Budgets should reflect voter priorities, which is why we support the mayor's proposed use of SPD salary savings for a crime prevention pilot program.

Our polling for the last two and a half years has consistently shown that public safety is a top voter concern.

It is time to make meaningful progress on that issue using an all of the above approach.

Budgets should also use taxpayer dollars responsibly, which is why we oppose any increase to the jumpstart fund and the delivery network fee.

For considering new revenue, the city needs to take the following steps.

Look at spending, use all available resources, reprioritize and generate economic activity.

Let's get started on that path.

Please support council member Peterson's proposed increase to the city auditor's budget and council member Lewis's request for collaboration between the executive and legislative branches.

Invest in the downtown activation plan and future Seattle economy will generate economic activity and grow our tax base organically, thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Georgia Vandelbeek.

Is Georgia Vandelbeek still here?

Okay, moving on to Austin.

I believe the last name starts with a V. Number 30, line A30.

Okay, I don't think that person is here either.

On number B 29, Matt Offenbecker.

It's Matt Offenbecker still here.

Thank you.

You switched.

Are you going to speak in his place?

That would be just fine.

Thank you.

Long day.

All right.

Good evening.

My name is Latanya severe.

And I'm a black non binary renter and D two.

And I support the solidarity budget demands and you should too.

I want to start by saying that from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

I'm very disappointed in this council for so many reasons, but most recently, because not one of you could find it in yourself to second council member Sawant's resolution to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Meanwhile, we are all actively watching a genocide of the Palestinian people.

We need a ceasefire now.

You should be ashamed of yourselves, and I hope Councilmember Sawant will bring another resolution so that you all can do what's right and show that the city does not remain silent when children, families, medical professionals, journalists, and close to 11,000 people are being slaughtered with weapons paid for with American tax dollar money.

I'm wearing a ghost cop costume today to remind you to defund the ghost cops.

We are facing an enormous budgetary cliff of $251 million in 2025. It is unconscionable that we would allow any city department to hoard funds it cannot possibly use.

SPD has no plan or intention to fill the 213 vacant positions and the funding for these positions accounts for well over 10% of the upcoming general fund deficit.

I am calling on the council to amend the city budget so that this 31 million can be used for upstream solutions and meaningful public safety measures.

Also stop the sweeps.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Superlive Morgan.

Superlive Morgan.

Hello.

Yep.

Good evening.

Thank you, Council, for always accepting me, allowing me to be a normal young lady, as much as I can be as an intersex person.

I used to be unhoused on the street for quite a while.

As an intersex person, it's very dangerous and not safe for those intersex folks that are unhoused on the street.

I'm a volunteer with the Solidarity Budget Direct Action I'm also a volunteer with the workers strike back.

I will always continue to stand with Shama, fight for Shama and defend Shama.

We need to pass the solidarity budget along with the people's budget.

not only stop the sweeps, but defund the police and put those funds into social and health services and permanent social housing with permanent wraparound mental health services and appropriate housing for us intersection rainbow folks that we finally deserve.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Phoebe Feldsher and we are on, um, line B 31, excuse me, Phoebe felt sure.

Are you still here?

I don't believe so.

And we'll move to Vanessa race.

It's Vanessa race still here.

Okay.

Line 32 page a cam Miller.

It's cam Miller here.

Great.

Here comes cam.

Hi there.

My name is Cam Miller.

I am a, as my wonderful green shirt shows, I'm a city worker.

I am a proud union member here to speak in a personal capacity about the jumpstart tax, increasing the jumpstart tax.

I work and do mutual aid in the U district.

And I want to talk about what a safe Seattle looks like for me, my fellow workers and the patrons who visit my library.

A safe Seattle is one where everyone can access the services they need, where service centers like the library don't have to close unexpectedly due to inadequate staffing, where workers can afford to live where they work so that we can still provide service during extreme weather.

When someone comes to a library for help for food or shelter or abuse, a safe Seattle will have a plethora of services that we can refer them to, even 3 p.m.

on a Sunday when things are often closed.

A safe Seattle is properly staffed so that workers can avoid burnout and rely on each other during dangerous incidents, like when my library had to evacuate a few weeks ago due to serious threats made on the phone.

But safety inside the library is not just about what actually happens in the library.

We can only do so much within our own walls.

One of the more serious incidents that we had recently where SBHD ended up getting called involved a patron who told us they had just been swept that day.

This person had violence and trauma inflicted on them.

And then twice again after SPD got involved is to not make our library feel safe, to not make the workers or the patrons safe.

It is only a city that houses and cares for its citizens.

People reach their breaking point.

They can do that.

Skipping ahead.

We need the jumpstart tax.

We're going to have a deficit and we could commit to austerity like the Chamber of Commerce demands, or we could find new revenue, progressive revenue by taxing corporations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Betty Luke.

Is Betty Luke still here?

Okay, Tracy Roberts.

Is Tracy Roberts still here?

Great, thank you, Tracy.

Good evening, can you hear me okay with the mask?

Yeah, you wanna keep it close.

Okay.

Is that okay?

That's much better.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Tracy Roberts.

I'm from Belltown, District 7, and I am an assault survivor.

Stranger assaults are supposed to be rare, but they don't feel rare in Seattle.

I have lived in the U.S. since 1989, lived in 10 states, including New York City, Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Seattle is the only place I've ever experienced crime, and I'm now into double figures.

In 2021, I was violently kicked in the head from behind by a stranger and the day before he kicked a woman in the head from behind on a bus.

After 17 months, he was released to hurt another woman just weeks later.

I was in my apartment when I heard the shots that killed Ina Quan and her unborn daughter and wounded her husband.

I was just a block away.

We have to think differently about how we keep our neighborhoods safer.

The status quo is not working.

Police numbers are down.

We have lost our community police team, the traffic police, and now the only graffiti detective in the West Precinct.

We must bring in technology.

I support the CCTV and the license plate recognition technology.

CCTV will capture anyone who is committing crime.

It will also help find people who are missing, those at risk, whether they've got dementia, those who experience mental health.

It appears King County seems better prepared than the city of Seattle.

Their cameras in front of the public health and on the buses actually identified the man who assaulted us.

I would please, please put our safety at the foremost.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joey Lopez.

Joey will be followed by Renee Camberjack, or either of you here, Joey Lopez, Renee Camberjack.

Hello, my name is Renee Lamberjack and I'm a resident of District 2. I am here today in support of the solidarity budget like so many others.

I'm urging you to fund community-based gun violence reduction programs and survivor-led approaches to domestic violence, which make us all safer, not shot spotter.

There's plenty of evidence that shot spotter is ineffective and would bring more harm to communities of color.

I urge you to fund a pay increase for human services and city workers, as well as worker protections not money for ghost cop positions that would give SPD a $31 million slush fund.

This is poor fiscal management and takes desperately needed funds from other departments.

I urge you to fund housing, mental health care, and food support, not more money for sweeps that destabilize and traumatize our unhoused neighbors.

In the last few weeks, multiple people in my neighborhood had their RVs towed during sweeps just as the temperatures dropped to freezing.

Yesterday, one of them, an elderly man, told me he couldn't move his arms when he woke up because he was so cold.

In short, I'm asking you to fund life-giving solutions to the crises we face, not more deadly policing, surveillance, and sweeps.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next, we'll have two more in-person speakers.

Seattle Student Union is all the line says, and Seattle Student Union will be followed by BJ Last.

Are either of you BJ Last?

Thank you.

Hello, my name is BJ Last.

I'm a Ballard resident.

I support the solidarity budget.

I want to urge the city to reject ShotSpotter.

And people have talked about ShotSpotter, so let's look at ShotSpotter's own language, what they say about the system itself once it ever gets to a contract, not their marketing, what they'll ever actually put on the line.

ShotSpotter does not warrant or represent expressly or implicitly that the software or subscription services or its use will result in the prevention of crime, apprehension or conviction of any perpetrator of a crime, or detection of any criminal, prevent any loss, death, injury, or damage to property due to the discharge of a firearm or other weapon.

So ShotSpotter knows that what they're selling is a lie, that it doesn't work, which isn't a surprise.

You don't create public safety by paying people sitting hundreds of miles away in a room to listen to recordings of loud sounds, because that's what ShotSpotter ultimately is, people listening to noise and saying whether or not it is a gunshot.

It is a system that is wildly inaccurate.

Chicago, 90% false positive rate.

City of Atlanta, 97% false positive rate.

Those are both cities with CCTV.

These false positives carry a lot of harm.

Adam Toledo was a 13-year-old boy who Chicago police officers chased down a dark alley and then murdered while he was unarmed because they were responding to a shot spotter alert.

That is what deploying shots in communities does.

Gets police coming in to what they think is an active shooting and causing massive harm to the community.

Thank you.

We're now moving back to remote speakers and I'm calling on Daniel Banyan.

Madam Chair, Madam Clerk, can I just confirm, is everybody who is signed up for in-person already spoke then?

Because it might be good just to get through that full list.

They have, they have, they're still up.

There is still a sheet out just in case we get more people signed up.

I've gone through every name.

Is there someone here that needs to add their name?

No, here we go.

One more.

Come on.

Thank you very much.

I have to one second.

We have a few more speakers.

We're going to hear from Alice.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Alice.

Let me turn you back on.

Go ahead.

Hi, my name is Alice Marabe.

I live in District 2. I'm here to support all of the Seattle Solidarity budget's demands.

I ask you to reject ShotSpotter's surveillance technology and any more funding for SBD overtime.

I also ask you to remove the $31 million in funding for the 213 ghost cops in SPD's budget.

No other city department gets a slush fund.

SPD has no plan or intention to fill these positions, and the funding accounts for well over 10% of the upcoming general fund deficit.

We're facing a massive budgetary cliff in 2025. I'm very concerned that we're headed for an austerity budget in which essential services will be cut.

We need to address root causes in order to create true public safety, and the Council has many very good opportunities to do just that in the budget.

To give just two examples, HSD 816 increases the reach of community-based gun violence reduction programs.

And HSD 013A and 014A fund the first step in taking a survivor-led approach to domestic violence.

So I'm calling on the council to, again, remove ghost cops from the city budget so that this $31 million can be used for upstream solutions and meaningful public safety measures.

And also to please, please do everything in your power to call for a ceasefire in Palestine and to end the genocide that's being carried out with all of our American taxpayer dollars.

Please.

Thank you.

Thank you, our next speaker, our next speaker may have been missed earlier, I have it listed as 33 a public speaker 33.

Hello, good day.

Before anything, my time starts, I would like more requests, please.

I would like to see the council members.

Oh, we can't, but I'm going to start your time because we need to keep, we still have 40 more people that aren't here.

Go ahead.

I would like for everyone to please excuse me.

I've never been to one of these locations.

I'm very emotional.

I don't know how to express it.

A man has to hold it all together all the time, no matter the circumstance, because that's safety.

Safety is a problem in the United States of America at the moment.

Please listen.

We are in a state of emergency.

If you're scared, it's okay.

Your skin is okay.

We need to find safe places for you.

Please listen.

You're okay.

You're okay.

Everything is going to be okay.

The United States of America is the strongest army in the world.

Okay?

Okay.

One more thing.

Excuse me.

State of emergency.

Fentanyl is very dangerous.

Fetty, fatty, fentanyl, fatty.

You got that fatty?

You got that fatty, fatty, fatty.

Fentanyl, fentanyl.

Very dangerous.

We live in underneath chambers with trains.

No oxygen.

And people smoke.

It stays in the clothes.

Babies smell clothes.

Babies smell everything.

It's very sensitive.

Babies very sensitive.

Excuse me, very dramatic.

They're killing babies.

They're killing rats.

They're killing roaches.

They're killing life.

Excuse me, and good day.

Thank you.

Do the information as you please.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for your patience.

Our next person is Michael Wilmert.

Michelle, Michael?

I believe it's Michael Wilmert.

My handwriting is challenging to read.

Well, let me, you might have to put that closer to your mouth.

Sorry.

How's this?

Better.

Sorry.

Good evening, council.

I was not planning to speak this evening.

I was hoping to use my time earlier to allow an unhoused person to speak their piece, but my phone died.

So here I am.

I would like to wholeheartedly endorse all of the tenants of the solidarity budget.

I believe that it is crucial for us to invest in community and not in carceral violence and not in fucking poor people.

I think that it would also be great if council could revisit their decision not to second Shama Sawant's resolution to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

I'm appalled.

And sweep should not be the point of entry to services.

Ballard Commons was a sweep.

Woodland Park was a sweep.

I was there for both of them.

I knew people deeply at Woodland Park.

And defund was not a mistake.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And our last in-person speaker currently is Dwayne Lind.

It's Dwayne Lind.

Yay.

Thank you.

Let me get your timer reset and get you ready to go.

Yeah, I'm only doing this because Daniel Strauss wants to hear my beautiful voice.

So first of all, I pretty much support what 99.9% of my comrades said.

Everything in solidarity budget is amazing and it should be passed.

Especially, I wanna concentrate on sidewalk access and bus access.

I use a forum crutch.

Good public transportation is crucial for all citizens, especially those with mobile and other disabilities, people who cannot drive for whatever reason, especially those who are in the correctional system and got their licenses yanked, children, teenagers, the elderly, et cetera.

Also, really good quality sidewalks necessary for a healthy city.

We have parts of the city that don't even have sidewalks still.

Why?

Why?

Why?

I would think a sidewalk is basic, but apparently I'm mistaken.

Last but not least, solidarity with Palestine.

Yeah, Shama Sawant's resolution was wonderful, and everyone on the council should support it.

Because it's just what's happening there is absolutely horrible.

And I can't see how people could possibly look at it and go.

That's cool.

So that's basically all I have.

But yeah, thanks.

Thank you.

We, we will now move into our remote speakers.

The next remote speaker listed as present is Daniel Banyan.

Daniel, are you still?

Oh, there you are.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Hi, this is Daniel Bannon calling in on behalf of the Rental Housing Association of Washington and over 5,000 small housing providers from across the state.

I'd first like to address the proposed tenant work group.

The City of Seattle already has an office that is intended to observe and enforce rental housing standards.

Instead of using the city budget to create an entirely new department from the ground up, it would be wise for the city to use these funds to properly support departments that already exist.

SCCI is effective in enforcing rental housing standards, and if it needs help, we should fix these problems before creating any new ones.

It is concerning that the city may take the lazy route of wasting money, creating an entirely new bureaucracy instead of focusing on identifying any issues and addressing them in our current department.

Furthermore, the city already has a renter's rights committee, but with no representation for housing providers, we are in desperate need of fair and balanced policies that will actually help our shrinking housing supply.

Secondly, the inclusion of a requirement to collect data on rental units will create an additional burden on city staff who are already experiencing difficulty in keeping our real numbers up to date.

If city staff is already experiencing this difficulty in maintaining our registry that we currently have, how do we expect them to keep up with a plethora of new aspects to this reporting?

This policy failed previously because it would not do anything to help Seattle's housing crisis and would likely not even provide reliable data.

Please hear the voices of your small housing providers.

The onslaught of new regulations is driving these individuals out of Seattle and causing an increase in housing prices as supplies dwindle.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is John Quina, and John will be followed by Vic Amoli.

John Quina, please.

Well, hello, everybody, and thank you for being here.

I'm John Quina.

and I am a Belltown resident, and I'm on the board of Uplift Northwest, which a lot of you might still remember as the Millionaire Club for the past hundred years.

My statement is really just this.

Our city's in the midst of a public health and safety crisis, and this is the time to invest in crime prevention technology, pilot programs to learn something from it.

Automated systems do show promise for recovering stolen vehicles, apprehending repeat offenders, reducing emergency service response times, and make better use of limited resources to address drug dealing that leads to the loss of life by overdose and destruction to our community from addiction-related crimes.

I'm a former banking executive, and I understand the importance of establishing guidelines to keep personal information safe.

I hope you will adopt this budget measure and through an ordinance assure the policy will be implemented in a wise and objective manner that shields personal data unrelated to the commission of a crime.

This pilot program will use technology that's intended to stop criminal actors who operate in an underground economy that evades safeguards that the banking system uses to protect most of us.

We need to use this technology wisely to protect those who are most vulnerable from those who openly prey on them in dark alleys, parks, and at bus stops.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Vic Amoli, and Vic will be followed by Valerie Schleret.

Go ahead, Vic.

And you may need to press star six, Vic.

There you go.

Okay, it took me two tries for some reason.

My name is Vic, and I'm here standing in solidarity with victims of police violence and their families, and in support of passing HSD-H1A.

To say the very least, I find it shocking that it's been a year since a budget resolution was passed to set aside money that would be literally life-changing for some of those folks who are most vulnerable among us and have experienced unimaginable tragedy.

in their families and we've seen not a budge on that um at this point after a year at which this was supposed to be included in the budget is the very least that could be done to pass this to try and finally get this into the hands of community members thank you thank you our next speaker is

Our next speaker is Valerie Shloret and Valerie will be followed by Heather Rosenwarm.

Hi, this is Valerie Shloret, District 2. In the aftermath of police violence, survivors may be left with trauma and serious long-term injuries.

And when the police actually kill someone, that person's family is left bereaved and traumatized.

The proposed affected persons program, the APP, is modeled on a successful program in Canada to provide resources and immediate help to survivors of police violence and bereaved families.

Importantly, the APP is intended to be completely independent of the police and the accountability system and to center affected people in its decision-making process.

People who have been badly harmed by policing know best how to help other most affected people.

That help might involve help with the cost of burial and funeral fees, travel expenses for out-of-state and overseas families, mental health resources, childcare costs, assistance traveling, navigating often re-traumatizing bureaucracies and more.

The amendment to fund the APP workgroup through the Human Services Department is a beginning.

The funding is very modest, especially in comparison to the millions spent on the police accountability system and on lawsuits and damages arising from egregious policing.

But funding the APP workgroup would be a meaningful investment in addressing harm, injustice, and an enormous power imbalance.

Please pass the budget item to form a work group for the APP, the Affected Persons Program.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Heather, excuse me, Rosenborn.

And following Heather is Maxine Regal.

Hello, council members.

My name is Heather.

Hi.

I'm a nurse at Virginia Mason, and I'm calling to advocate for the health and safety of migrants and asylum seekers.

sleeping in tents at the Riverton Park Church in Tukwila.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda, for including $200,000 in emergency budget.

And that's a great start, but we desperately need more funding.

We would like Seattle to designate existing buildings, including a family shelter in North Seattle, to be opened up for vulnerable migrants, especially for children and pregnant women that are living outside.

We are asking for $2 million to open up and operate the space and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate case management.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, excuse me, is Maxine Regal.

And Maxine will be followed by Lillian Balesteros.

Go ahead, Maxine.

And Maxine, you may need to press star six.

There you go.

Maxine Regal.

Tonight, I'm speaking on behalf of Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity.

That's OWL.

That's a good thing.

The hour is late, so I'll stay up late.

We are a caucus of union members and city residents who come to the council to ask for full funding for services of the city, full of scouting for city positions, and cost of living raises that reflect the 20% cost of living that we've seen in Seattle in the last three years, at least as reported by the Seattle Times.

So we challenge you that it's not rocket science.

I'm a retired financial accountant who worked at King County Finance Office There are many places to get the money.

Seattle is the home of 10 of the Fortune 500 companies in the US.

There's taxing Amazon, there's jumpstart, there's head tax, there's many reasons, but the need is very dire at this point as reflected from the hearing tonight and

You still have about 10 seconds.

Did you have something else you'd like to say, Maxine?