Select Budget Committee Public Hearing 10/11/22

You can begin now.

Thank you very much.

Good evening, everyone.

Welcome to the Select Budget Committee meeting of the Seattle City Council deliberations on the upcoming 2023-2024 budget.

I'm Teresa Mosqueda, Chair of the Select Budget Committee.

The meeting will come to order.

The time is 5 o'clock p.m.

Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll?

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Council Member Sawant.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Council Member Herbold.

Council Member Juarez.

Present.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Chair Morales.

Here.

Five present.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Morales and I are present.

Councilmember Mosqueda is present as well.

So thank you all for joining us.

As we see additional council members join into the Zoom or in person, we will make sure to welcome them.

I want to welcome all of you who joined us remotely and in person today.

This is the first of three public hearings solely dedicated to hearing from members of the public about the proposed 2023-2024 biennial budget.

As you all know, we received the proposed budget from the mayor on September 27th.

Immediately following on the 28th, we had a discussion with an overview from the city budget's office director, Julie Dingley.

Today, we had a long presentation starting at 9.30 a.m.

opening with an extended public comment period, and we went through the details of how the mayor's proposed budget proposes using existing revenue sources and what the impact would be, not just for the biennial budget, but for the six-year financial outlook.

The next three days, we will have an opportunity to go into detail with members of the department who will come and do an overview of what the proposed budget includes, including changes in appropriated spending and cuts.

We will also have an opportunity as part of our council deliberations to ask questions and identify issues and talk about priorities as council members within those specific departments.

Again, those will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, all day meetings.

The reason that we really wanted to have an opportunity for both public comment during this morning's committee meeting.

And again, a public hearing this evening, dedicated solely to public comment is to get feedback from members of the community, what you see in the mayor's proposed budget, what you don't see questions you have or issues that you'd like to raise as well.

So we're going to do everything we can do to make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak.

For members who are signed up online, the online portal will remain open.

Again, that portal started open at 3 p.m.

today.

And we will make sure to get through everyone who is present.

For members in the community, of the community who are here in the room, we are going to take you in the order that you've signed up as well on the piece of paper outside.

We will make sure that everybody who's in the room knows what number we are at.

I think that folks received a little ticket that showed what number you're at.

Thank you for holding that up.

Appreciate it.

So that you know where we're at and we'll give you regular updates on which numbers we're at.

But due to the ongoing public health threat of COVID-19, we are very excited that folks are continuing to take us up on this hybrid model.

We are going to treat in-person and online comments equally.

That means we're going to rotate 10 folks online, 10 folks in the room, 10 folks online, 10 folks in the room, because each of those sign-up sheets have 10 slots to sign up for.

And again, if you are in person, we do have extra masks available for you at the dais and also outside the chambers here.

If for any reason you prefer to write a written comment, there is a box in person here.

You can fill out the note cards that are outside.

You can always email us as well for anybody in the room or watching virtually at council at seattle.gov.

I want to again thank you all for continuing to practice good public health practices.

I see a lot of masks in the audience.

Thank you so much for continuing to follow the King County Public Health and CDC guidance.

Finally, we have over 90 people sign up to provide comments today.

So in order to make sure that we hear from everyone, we will be going to one minute to speak.

We're gonna call on the first 10 speakers remotely, then 10 speakers in person.

We're gonna rotate repeatedly throughout the evening.

And then at about two hours in, we will go ahead and take a quick break to make sure that our clerks have the opportunity for their labor standards required breaks, which we all wanna support.

Also wanted to let folks know, we've been doing this remotely for two years.

I've had the chance to hear many of your voices.

I appreciate you coming again, either remotely or in person.

But as we've done in the last two years, we have not had group testimony because we're trying to treat online and in-person testimony the same.

So everybody gets their own allotted time to speak.

Of course, you can sign up to speak in the order in which you prefer.

and sequentially follow the person in front of you if you'd like to make it a broader statement with your colleagues that are signed up online or in person.

Lastly, we know that there's a lot of priorities that folks are coming to raise and you're welcome to do that in person.

Instead of any applause or booze if you feel like something that you hear and you want to echo it.

We've done this before so you're welcome to do that in person.

But because we can't pause for applause or booze.

I'd encourage folks to just do this so we can visually see if there's appreciation and of course for anybody online feel free to With that, really appreciate everybody weighing in.

It's your comments, your deliberation, your priorities, and what you see within the budget that will continue to allow for this Council to lift up those investments and make sure that we hear your calls for action before the Council takes any steps here.

We are going to go ahead and open up public comment by allowing our clerks to play a short video just to orient folks to the process.

And if anybody is new to this process, we're always here to help answer questions.

Madam Clerk, thank you for teeing up the video.

And with that, we will go ahead and launch into public comment with the first 10 folks signed up online after the video rolls.

And Council Member, this is Council Member Peterson, I'm present.

Thank you very much, Council Member Peterson.

Is there anybody else who's present who would like to make their presence known?

All right, excellent.

Welcome, Council Member Peterson.

Let's go ahead, Madam Clerk.

Just working on teeing up the video.

Hello Seattle, we are the Emerald City, the city of flowers and the city of goodwill.

Built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

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

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

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

At that time, you must press star six.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The public comment period is now open and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

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

Thank you, Seattle.

All right, our first remote speaker is going to be Howard Gale.

Howard.

Good evening.

Howard Gale, District 7 with seattlestop.org.

This budget proposes more money for the police and wastes over $11 million on a police accountability system that still has police investigating police.

This is $11 million spent denying victims of police violence any appeals or any semblance of justice or accountability.

This budget provides monies for victims of violence unless that violence is perpetrated by a Seattle police officer.

This budget provides monies to stem gun violence unless that violence is perpetrated by a Seattle police officer.

This bias is embedded throughout our public safety system.

Seattle police do not even count police killings as homicides in the homicide data.

Why exclude only the victims of police violence from city support?

Why defend and support those that perpetrate the violence when they are police and yet deny their victims and their families any support?

We need a budget that serves people and not the interests of those that perpetrate violence.

We need to fund support for victims of police violence and their families.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Peter Condit.

And, Chair, just before you move on, Councilmember Strauss here.

Apologies for missing roll call.

Present for Howard Gale's testimony and will be present for the rest of the remainder.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Strauss.

Welcome.

Appreciate you interjecting.

Madam Chair, I also was trying to

you know, I was here too.

Excellent.

Okay.

Councilmember Herbold, thank you so much for making your presence known.

I believe we have everyone.

Please go ahead.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

This is Peter Condit.

I'm again here to ask for police budget accountability.

On March 25th of last spring, the city carried out a sweep of dozens of people living on Lane Street in the CID.

The city sent SPD, SDOT, and parks workers.

Notably, they did not send an interpreter.

A moment of tense escalation came when 15 cops besieged a Vietnamese man.

A few other neighbors and I stood in front of the man's home and attempted to negotiate with the cops for an interpreter.

But the commanding officer decided that de-escalation was not in his job description that day.

Another officer shoved me.

I hit the ground hard, got up, and was again met with violence and the pavement.

In the end, of course, the police got their way and never called for an interpreter.

I'm looking for accountability for that assault and for the displacement of those neighbors.

I made a public data request for each department's expenses during the sweep, and so far the SPD has failed to deliver.

In the meantime, of course, they continue doing more sweeps.

This is a budget accountability failure.

The police have time to carry out sweeps, but they claim they don't have time.

Our next speaker is Shia Teeley, remote speaker, Shia Teeley.

And if I could just remind folks, You'll hear a little chime when you have 10 seconds left.

So try to wrap up your comments.

And if you don't get a chance to say it all, please do email it to us.

We have near 80 people signed up online and looking for a final count in the room, but it looks like at least 40, 50 people.

So we're going to try and get through everyone.

And that's why we have the chimers, the timer.

So and the chimes so that you can wrap up your comments.

But I want to make sure folks know what that time was.

If you hear it either online or in person.

Thank you so much.

And apologies to all.

If you don't get all your comments in and we'll eagerly anticipate any written comments as well.

Thank you so much.

Sorry for the delay.

All right, Shia.

Hi, my name is Jay Teeley and I'd like to make a quick comment about making Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion.

Seattle needs to set an example for the rest of the country by making abortions free for all, including residents of states that have outlawed abortion.

And I cannot think of a better way of funding this than by increasing the Amazon tax.

The relationship between Amazon and Seattle needs to stop being a one-way street that only benefits Amazon and never the city and people who have helped Amazon become the behemoth that it is.

The least Amazon can do to give back to the city from which they've extracted so much wealth is to pay their fair share of taxes so that everyone can get the reproductive health care that they need.

To the Democrats on the city council, please vote yes on the upcoming budget on council member Kshama Sawant's legislation to make all abortion in Seattle free by increasing the Amazon tax.

And thanks very much for your time.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Kate Rubin.

Kate, you may need to hit star six.

Okay, we're gonna move on to Zoe Amer.

Zoe.

Hello, I'm Zoe Amer.

I'm a resident of District Four.

So I address my comments specifically to Council Member Peterson as well.

Today I'm urging all the Democrats on City Council to follow suit with Socialist Council Member Sawant and vote yes on the coming proposed budget measures that would make abortion free in Seattle by raising the Amazon tax.

In July, thousands of socialists, workers, and union members, along with Council Member Sawant's office, marched and petitioned and passed legislation making Seattle the country's first abortion sanctuary.

The next step to make the gesture actually meaningful is to provide free abortion access in Seattle for everyone, including those who have fled to Seattle from other cities.

The success of the Amazon tax thus far shows that this is the way forward to achieve more equitable housing, health care, and sorely needed services in the city.

Democrats are calling left and right for workers to vote blue.

If they want us to if they want to join the fight with working people for health care and our lives they need to make meaningful action and earn those votes.

Raise the Amazon tax.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Zachary Kirshbaum.

Hello my name is Zachary Kirshbaum District 6 350 Seattle and I'm calling to ask that you vote to increase the Amazon tax to fund free abortion.

In this day and age, there's not a valid reason why health care, including abortions, would not be guaranteed and free here.

Amazon has generated an obscene amount of wealth off the city and kept the fruits of that labor to themselves.

I'm tired of being inundated with desperate, ridiculous ads that try to convince us that they are a loving company that cares about workers and the planet, while their warehouse workers, my friends included, endure terrible, unfair, and racist conditions.

Ironically, all we've seen is Democrats begging us for donations.

The money is completely available through an increase in the Amazon tax.

Don't allow Amazon to accumulate massive wealth while the rest of us live without support.

Vote to increase the Amazon tax to fund pre-abortions.

I'd also like to support the decrease in the police budget that was mentioned by an earlier commenter.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Barbara Finney.

I I'm Barbara any member of after you 3, 1, 9, 7, and supporter of the people's budget.

It gets us to abortion free and freely available and funded by increasing the Amazon tax.

My union local endorsed abortion sanctuary to the legislation from the office of him to want and passed by Council today I urge the Dems on Council to vote yes.

On the M show Mister want legislation.

Make abortion free in Seattle by increasing the Amazon tax.

Access to abortion is currently legal in Washington State, but delays, including caused by healthcare costs, limit pregnant workers' options.

Support the amendment to fund free and freely available abortion care in Seattle, and by this, build on abortion sanctuary city legislation, and fund it by increasing the Amazon tax.

Pregnancy and childbirth impact wages, benefits, and working conditions So reproductive rights are workers' rights.

Our last remote speaker for this section will be the Reverend Robert Jeffrey.

Hello, my name is Robert Jeffrey.

I'm calling to support Councilwoman Sawant's proposed amendment for free abortions for women.

in Seattle through increasing the Amazon tax.

I'm also calling for support of Councilwoman's budget demands.

Also, I want to thank Council for supporting Clean Greens Farm last year.

It is my hope that Clean Greens Farm could be supported again this year.

Over three and a half tons of food has been given away free to the community and food banks because of this farm this year.

any support that the council can give in the upcoming budget year would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We will now move into our in-person public commenters.

And our first in-person public commenter is Queen B. King-Rios.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

And just wanted to do a quick public service announcement for anybody listening online.

If we've called your name and for some reason you couldn't come off mute, if you dial back in, we'll make sure to get back to you.

So that applied to Kate Rubin and David Hines and the first 10 people that were listed remotely.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for the sorry for the delay.

Can can I just double check that the microphone is on at the podium?

Thank you, it is not.

Okay, let's try that again.

There we go.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Queen B, King Rios, and I am with Will and the Will Shelter.

We endorse the solidarity budget.

Our request is funding for more shelter and hotel vouchers.

People need to know that there are warm, safe places to keep warm, shave, and bathe.

Some place to call home that's safe and secure.

Stop the encampment sweeps.

All the sweep is doing is making homeless people not have trust in the people who are in charge.

Tomorrow, Will and Women in Black, as well as the Homeless Remembrance Project, will stand silent vigil outside at noon in front of City Hall for a leaf lane and 34 homeless folks' death.

I'm asking a special invitation to the Council members to please come and join us for the leaf lane and the vigil.

And I brought everybody a leaflet so you don't forget.

Thank you and God bless you.

Thank you very much.

We'll make sure that gets distributed.

Our next in-person speakers, number two, Jen Musia, or Musla.

Good evening, council members.

I am Jen Musia, executive director of the Ballard Food Bank, and I'm co-chair of the Seattle Human Services Coalition.

Our coalition provides recommendations to you based on what we experience in our communities every day.

And here is what we know.

To support an equitable recovery from the stress and trauma the pandemic has caused, we must at the very least sustain current strategies by funding adjustments to human services contracts that are commensurate with the inflation that is impacting our organizations.

Our communities need your continued support.

Community well-being is fundamental to public safety.

We ask that you honor our work, honor our expertise, and fund the services that we recommended in the packet you've all received from us.

A thriving One Seattle requires that we make a commitment to prioritize holistic human services now and in the future.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next in-person speaker is speaker number three, Andrew Cook.

Good afternoon, Council.

Thank you for the opportunity for input.

My name is Andrew.

I've been working for a homeless service provider in Seattle for a little over seven years.

I remember when I started seven years ago, I wasn't even living in Seattle.

I commuted three hours by bus every day, and I remember getting paid $13.25 an hour.

But to me the pay and the commute weren't as important as the work that I was doing and the people that I met during that time, I found a group of people that care deeply about alleviating human suffering and wanted their work to reflect that in the intervening years there have been times where I felt that these good people have been taken advantage of for that desire to do good in the world.

where acknowledgement and words are used in place of investment, which is why I was distressed recently to read that this work was acknowledged as difficult and meaningful, but there was a proposal to cap inflationary increases in human services contracts to 4%, which ultimately means less money available to improve wages and staffing.

This work needs to be done and the people doing it deserve to be able to live their calling and to do good in life and also afford to live themselves.

I would ask that the council

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Dan Kavanagh.

Number four.

That's me.

Hey, my name's Dan.

I'm proud to be a renter in Councilmember Sawant's district, and I'm here to demand that all Councilmembers vote yes on her legislation to increase the Amazon tax to fund free abortion.

Abortion clinics in eastern Washington are already at capacity, with a surge of people seeking help, so this issue is right on our doorstep, and it is not something that Council Democrats in one of the wealthiest cities in the country are powerless to address.

So I don't want to hear any excuses from Council Democrats who just voted for a massive pay cut for essential grocery workers as inflation skyrockets, especially not from Council Member Mosqueda, who continues to gaslight workers by saying it doesn't matter that she repealed hazard pay because she used to support it years ago.

You're killing working-class people with your excuses.

Shame on you.

Vote yes on the legislation put forward by the only labor leader on the City Council, Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is speaker number five, Ken.

I believe it's Ken.

I cannot read the last name, sorry.

Hi, my name is Ken Ohlendorf.

I'm a maritime tradesman.

I come here to speak to urge all Democrats on city council to vote for the commissure wants proposed budget, make it abortion free, by increasing the Amazon tax.

I know Seattle is a great city.

We've done good.

We've done better.

We used to making the first step by becoming one of, if not the first sanctuary city in the United States.

We've done it similar time by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Dane County, Wisconsin has done something similar by By making the first abortion sanctuary in a trigger ban state, the voters in Kansas have gotten it off the budget, off the ballot.

I believe we can do better.

We can do it better.

We can do better because you vote yes on this proposed budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number six, Sarah James.

I urge all Council Democrats to vote yes on the on the on Socialist Council Member Shama Sawant's legislation to make abortion free in Seattle.

Abortions clinics in eastern Washington are already at capacity.

We know that there's going to be a flood of people coming from Idaho and Montana and we need to be prepared monetarily to handle that.

Seattle is an enormously expensive city to stay in for a short period for a medical procedure that can cost up to 12,000, or I'm sorry, not 12,000, $1,200 to get an abortion.

It's ridiculous to say that we are a sanctuary city and ask people to pay out of pocket up to $1,200.

That is unimaginably impossible for working class people fleeing these areas of trigger bans.

We set a precedent becoming a sanctuary city.

We can set a precedent to have abortion funded by big business.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number seven, Maddie Danks.

Hi there, my name is Maddie.

I am a voter and a renter in District 3, and I am here to support the legislation to increase the Amazon tax to fund abortion in Seattle.

Many people have already spoke about why this is important, but I think it's also important to know that this is where the public support lies.

Already over 600 people have signed the budget petition in support of the people's budget demands.

We also recognize that wealthy people can afford abortions.

That is a fact.

It is the women of color, especially, who need to be able to access these funds.

This is actually a quote from Nyree, a rank and file member of SEIU 1199. The rich can afford to get medical care anywhere and anytime.

The people who suffer the most are poor women, especially women of color.

We need to make sure big corporations such as Amazon pay their share in taxes in order to have equity in medical care so that women, regardless of race or income, can receive important medical care such as safe abortions.

Please support this legislation.

Otherwise, calling Seattle a sanctuary city is empty words.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number eight, Daniel Blackburn.

Hello, my name is Anna Blackburn.

I'm a civil engineer in Seattle.

I want to talk about funding for abortion in Seattle.

Abortion rights are being taken away, and yet all around me I see a sense of giving up, that there's nothing we can do to protect those women who have lost their bodily autonomy.

But that's not true.

This legislation by Surrond can do something.

It cannot give them back their rights, but it can provide a viable alternative so they can access healthcare safely, and not just those who can afford it, but to the millions who cannot afford it.

Many on the council profess to care about those women who have lost their bodily autonomy, but talk is cheap.

This legislation is how you can prove to actually care about a person's rights.

So I call on all the Democrats to support strong legislation, raise the Amazon tax, fund free abortion, and set an example of what cities can do to fight back against the conservative minority in control of this country.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number nine, Asuka Jax.

Good evening, council members.

Thanks for allowing me to always be here and speak from the heart of my soul.

As an intersex person, I am sick and tired of us intersex folks and bodies being not allowed to be girls and women's bodies.

So please allow our bodies to be girls and women's bodies and to increase the Amazon tax to fund fully free abortions in Seattle.

Shama Savant's legislation.

Thank you.

For this session, our last in-person speaker will be number 10, Marjorie Johnson.

Hello, my name is Marjorie Johnson.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge that we are on indigenous ground and acknowledge the Blackfeet Nation.

My name is Marjorie Johnson.

My clients call me MJ, and I'm from Camp Second Chance.

and today I'm testifying to encourage you to support more tiny house villages.

I've been working at Camp Second Chance since August of 2021, and I have housed 50 people.

and for the last 13 months.

Because of Lehigh's resources and because Lehigh has supported me in with those resources with permanent housing, I have been able to house 50 people into housing, permanent housing.

The main priority is to house people.

House people first and figure out what's next.

Housing first.

This is the number one priority.

We need to work on people's mental health and then figure it out what's next.

Housing first, please support.

Thank you.

And we'll now move back to remote.

Remote speakers and our first remote speaker now will be Robin Briggs.

Robin, and don't forget to hit star six, please.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

And just a reminder for folks in the room to do this if you wanna show support so that we can keep going through everybody, but lots of support in the room for that last comment.

Please go ahead on the line.

Hi, my name is Robin Briggs.

I live on Capitol Hill.

I'm concerned about taking money out of the Jumpstart Fund, which is intended for affordable housing and the Green New Deal I'm very concerned about the climate.

The draft budget doesn't reflect the reality I am living in, as we are in the end of the fourth month of summer and have been suffering from wildfire smoke for a month.

The city needs a list of policies which have undergone public outreach and been approved by the council and the mayor.

We need a carbon budget, an emissions reduction goal for the year, a plan for how to get the reduction, and a fiscal budget that allows implementation.

With the budget we have now, we can see the spending, but we don't know the emissions reductions that it provides.

Lastly, I see a lot of funding for Sound Transit 3, but we also need to be looking ahead to ST4.

Light rail has been a huge improvement and advanced planning is essential.

Thank you, council members for listening and thank you for your service to the community.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is going to be Kate Rubin.

Kate.

And Kate just hit star six.

Perfect.

Okay, we see you.

I'm sorry about that.

My name is Kate Rubin.

I'm a renter living in District 2, and I'm the organizing director of Be Seattle, one of the many proud endorsers of the Solidarity Budget.

We are in the middle of a housing crisis.

Black and Native communities experience homelessness at vastly disproportionate rates and are more likely to die because of housing insecurity.

Our city budget must end these deaths, not exacerbate them.

We need to prioritize housing first.

Stop the sweeps by ending all funding that goes to traumatizing our unhoused neighbors and redirect those funds to consistent and meaningful outreach, harm reduction services, and safe, secure, permanent supportive housing that meets the real needs of our unhoused and housing insecure neighbors.

Invest in community-based organizations doing the work to prevent displacement in the first place by educating tenants about renter protections and resources, offering legal aid, connecting tenants to city or other renter services, and providing guidance and support in tenant organizing.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Matt Young.

My name is Matt Young.

I'm a constituent of District 1 and live in Highland Park.

I speak in support of Council Member Herbold's proposed amendment to keep Tri-Department resources in District 1, specifically Ladder 13 and Station 37 and Medic 26 in South Park.

The past 15 years settled that as many tens of thousands of residents without increasing their medic resources Specifically, District 1 has experienced tremendous growth and needs the additional medical and fire suppression help.

District 1 relies on trucks from Soto, Downtown, and the Rainier Valley to assist our one ladder truck in the Alaska Junction.

Similarly, without Medic 26, District 1 only has one paramedic unit stationed in the Junction.

We rely on paramedic units from Downtown or the Rainier Valley for advanced life support if Medic 32 is already on another incident.

As we work together to shape our growing city services, I urge the council to support the permanent addition of these vital life-saving resources to District 1.

Our next speaker is Alex Finch.

Good evening, City Council.

My name is Alex Finch.

I'm currently a resident at Nicholsville Northlake.

As a single individual, it is nearly impossible for me to live in the city.

However, thanks to Nicholsville, I would not be speaking today.

Please continue to fund Nicholsville.

But it's not all coffee and never-ending rain.

The mayor wants to take funds from something that could make it possible for someone like me to actually live in Seattle.

The intent of Jumpstart is to fund affordable housing and related projects.

Affordable housing is desperately needed Rents are skyrocketing as a result of eviction moratoriums expiring.

More and more people are becoming homeless daily.

At Nicholsville, our phone is ringing off the hook with people calling for shelter.

We constantly have to turn them away due to lack of space.

Without funding for affordable housing and shelters, more and more people will die.

If the mayor is having trouble funding projects, the police budget has more than enough funds.

Please consider the solidarity budget and keep the funds from jumpstart.

for their original intent and continue funding Nichols-Welch.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kevin Vitswong.

Hey, my name is Kevin.

I'm an educator from District 3, and I'm here to urge all Democrats on the City Council to vote yes in the upcoming budget for Socialist Councilmember Chavez-Alan's legislation to make all abortion in Seattle free by increasing the Amazon tax.

Young people, union members, and chalets on his office made Seattle the country's first abortion sanctuary city back in July.

And inspired by the victory of socialist feminists in Dane County, Wisconsin, we were able to win the first abortion sanctuary legislation in a trigger ban state.

And a similar victory was just won by socialists in Chicago.

The next step is making Seattle an abortion sanctuary is fighting to make all abortion in Seattle free by increasing the Amazon tax.

This includes for people fleeing persecution from any state where abortion is not punishable.

and to when we need a movement's voice in city hall, when you grant that every Democrat in city, as part of the people's budget.

It's not enough for politicians and leaders to say that abortion is legal here in Seattle, and it's not enough to say that abortion in Seattle is available for women and pregnant people who can afford to fly here.

They must do everything in their power to make Seattle safe for people around the country facing anti-abortion laws.

This people's budget legislation from the Council Member Solomon's office

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jennifer Lee.

Jennifer.

My name is Jennifer Lee and I'm the technology and liberty policy lead at the ACLU of Washington.

We oppose the $1 million allocated to gunfire detection technologies in the mayor's proposed budget.

These technologies are not effective at preventing gun violence.

They pose significant surveillance risks and they're known to exacerbate police violence.

A 2021 peer-reviewed study of shot spotter use in 68 U.S. counties showed no reduction in firearm homicides, murder arrests, or weapons arrests.

It is inappropriate to use shot spotter evidence in court.

A shot spotter expert admitted in the 2016 trial that the company reclassified sounds from a helicopter to a bullet at the request of a police department customer saying such changes occur all the time.

In addition to these concerns, the placement of live microphones all over neighborhoods poses significant privacy and surveillance concerns.

The use of shots fire has not been effective at picking up actual gunshots and have led to many false alarms that have resulted in wrongful convictions and deadly police.

In response to shots butters ineffectiveness and proven harm, many cities that have spent millions on this technology have ended up canceling their contracts.

We urge the council to reject the use of gunfire detection technologies.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Ruby.

Good evening.

I'm Mike Ruby from Wallingford.

I'm reminding you that we are in the middle of a climate crisis and we need to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, cars, and industry in Seattle.

We are still in summer.

It has not yet rained in October.

The wildfires are a part of the climate crisis.

Seattle does not have an actionable plan for doing its part.

Seattle needs to stop talking and make a transparent and accountable, complete plan with a budget and deadlines that will move us on to achieving the goals we have set for ourselves.

There needs to be an appropriation to the Office of Sustainability Environment and a budget proviso directing them to produce a plan in 2023 that covers the entire city government that lays out specific actions and a budget that will be needed to make the changes to meet our goals.

The Green New Deal covers a part of the problem, but only a small part.

We need a complete plan, and we need it now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Preston Sahabu.

Hello, City Council members.

My name is Preston.

I'm a resident of District 4 and a member of the Alphabet Workers Union, CWA 1400. The repeal of Roe v. Wade was an unprecedented attack on working people because reproductive rights are workers' rights.

And then Democrats naturally did nothing to do anything about this.

So that's why we had to start fighting here at the grassroots, socialists, union members, workers, to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion rights, for abortion, because an injury to one is an injury to all.

Meanwhile, corporations and billionaires have made trillions of dollars off of the other global health crisis, the pandemic.

And while this is happening, the Democrats are trying to pass an austerity budget, while working people are suffering under exploding food and fuel costs.

And they are proposing to fund this austerity budget using money from the Amazon tax.

Democrats need to increase the Amazon tax, make abortion free in Seattle, and fund all the public services that working people need, especially now

Thank you, we're now gonna move back into our in-person public comment, and we are on number 11, David Taxton.

David?

Taylor, sorry.

That's me, my eyes.

Does the mic work?

Okay.

Hi, I'm David Taylor.

I recently, I'm Ms. Sawant, good to meet you, finally.

I tried to reach you on Twitter and your email, no response.

I just did 35 years in prison.

I'm a success story due to Lehigh, Marjorie Johnson.

She saved my life.

I'm in permanent housing now.

And I want to thank her publicly and all the people at Lehigh.

Ms. Wand, I needed your help.

I sure could use it.

I've had three doctors prescribe medical marijuana.

I'm on federal probation.

You know it's illegal.

And I sure would, I'm gonna try to reach out to you again.

I wish you would respond please.

I'm a registered voter.

I'm gonna vote for you.

I live in Capitol Hill.

I love it there.

And I agree with just about everything people said, but we need housing and we need housing first.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is number 12, Susan.

Let's keep going, but I know that there's staff members to collect folks' contact information, and please do not applause or boo, okay?

Thank you, Jo.

Sorry, Susan had to leave to get back to shelter.

She will email her remarks later.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

David?

Sorry, sometimes it's not possible to respond through social media.

I'm glad you're here in person.

All the community organizers from my office are here.

Yeah, I'm sorry, it's nothing intentional.

Sometimes it's just not possible or inadvertently gets missed, but my community organizers are here and they'll talk to you.

Thank you so much.

to be recognized.

Thank you.

Councilmember let's let's let's wait to be recognized and I want to remind all of our colleagues for the deliberations and the public hearing please wait to be recognized.

Obviously we have a lot of staff folks that want to connect with people individually and so we'll make sure to connect with folks thank you very much.

I think that you said that the person you called had to step out so madam number 12 so we're

Thank you.

Good evening, thank you council members for hosting this public budget.

I'm here to speak in support of the spot shutter and that technology to be used in our community.

There's no one here is talking for us.

I mean, there's lots of incidents and we've been waiting and hoping for some help in our community and all over the city of Seattle, violence is absolutely increasing.

And so I'm here to speak for those mothers the mothers who are crying, because their children have been killed and no one has been out no one has no outreach for them.

I actually nobody cares I mean I live in District three, nobody cares about the children and the young people who've been harmed in Seattle.

over time and it's been a long time.

This technology has been around.

I mean, we've talked about it many times.

The previous mayor, Murray, I did look into it and we'd never moved forward.

Also, I wanna speak briefly about no closing of Lake Washington Boulevard.

It's a civil rights issue.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 14, Natalie Bailey, number 14.

Thank you.

All right, hello, my name is Natalie Bailey, and I urge all council Democrats to vote yes on the legislation proposed by council member Shoma Sawant, making abortion free here in Seattle by expanding the Amazon tax, both for people in Seattle, but also those fleeing from states where it's now punishable.

I think that's a really important part of that is that actually finishing the job of making Seattle an abortion sanctuary city is really important.

It isn't really if people can, you know, look here but can't get here, you know, like there are sanctuary cities now, like people have mentioned in Dade County and now in Chicago.

But I think that that would be really powerful if Seattle could be the first abortion sanctuary city where it was truly free and accessible to everyone that can make it here by spending the tax on Amazon to fund that.

Thank you.

Thank you, our next speaker is number 15, Rick Robertson, number 15.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Rick Robertson and I'm with the Shares Bunkhouse Shelter.

We are in support of the solidarity budget.

Funding for more shelters and more affordable housing is desperately needed.

191 people have died this year on Seattle streets.

Tomorrow's women and black vigil is for 34 people, its highest ever, 30 of whom died in September alone.

These are not statistics.

These are not numbers.

These are people, people who are dying alone and scared and utterly bereft of hope.

More than half of these deaths are overdose and drug related, showing a critical need for more harm reduction resources.

Encampment sweeps do not work.

They do not address the issue, they merely defer it and harm the targets of the sweep are perpetuating a cycle of despair.

You must remember that these are people and are worthy of your support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 17, Logan Rogers.

Number 17. 16. 16.

Just one second, we'll follow up real quick.

Sorry, here it is, number 16, Anitra.

You had changed from Susan to Anitra.

Right.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

Good evening.

My name is Anitra Freeman.

I'm with WHEEL, organizing effort of homeless and formerly homeless women.

We endorse the solidarity budget.

I helped start women in black vigils for homeless people who die outside or by violence in King County.

And as Rick said, tomorrow we stand for 34 people.

Far too many people are dying on the street in one of the wealthiest cities in the nation.

Survival has to be a priority in any budget.

The survival needs of the most vulnerable people in Seattle are your priority.

Please fund shelter and please join our vigil tomorrow and afterward as we.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker's number 17 now, Logan Rogers.

Either one.

My first time, so yeah, already.

I appreciate the ability to talk to you all, Council, especially you, Suwant.

I'm proud to be in your district, and I'm proud to be in favor of the Amazon tax.

However, I'm here to ask all of you to consider not only to make Amazon pay for what they owe our city, but to also consider we start a fund for both homeowners and business owners to have the option of state funding to help the houseless to find both a place of shelter and a place of proper work with proper pay.

And if our mayor, Bruce Harrell, is going to use over $800,000 of our money to fund a private men's club that originally came from us, then we all need to reconsider who we actually need to be as the leader of Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 18, Kathleen Baker.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm addressing resolution 32064. Mine is a small request compared to some of the others.

I'm a member of Quiet Clean Seattle and congratulations to AP Diaz as the new superintendent of Parks and Recreations.

I'm excited and encouraged about the city's efforts to make our parks more green and clean, planting trees to reduce carbon is wonderful.

However, the city council unanimously voted to ban gas powered leaf blowers and I'm concerned is a small amount of funding to support resolution 32064 anywhere in the budget.

You really can't call our parks green and clean if you support using two stroke engines that are loud, dirty and pollute the air.

Using them where children play and we all recreate is just wrong.

Please provide funding for resolution 32064. Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Allen.

It's number 19, Allen Clow, perhaps?

Number 19. Allen, number 19?

Okay, we're going to move on to number 20, Melissa Harhini or Kip.

One of them were to speak, but they both placed their name on the line.

Hi I'm Melissa Hartline.

Can you start over and just there we go we'll start your time over.

I am speaking on behalf of my husband and myself and we are at Camp Second Chance.

We are just here to represent how the resources that Camp Second Chance has given us a fresh start.

And because of them, we are soon to be getting housing in a couple of weeks.

So because of everything that they've done for us, we are getting a second chance in life to better our futures.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're going to now move back to remote public speakers and we are going to be on speaker Brittany you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

our condolences on the loss and the loss to the community as a whole.

Brittany, please go ahead.

Hello, Council.

My name is Brittany Grost.

I live in District 7 and I'm a lifelong renter.

And I am a permanent pedestrian in this city and Vision Zero is a joke.

It's a sign you put and stick on a street and tell me that's good enough.

You need a fully fun Vision Zero.

I'm sick and tired of watching pedestrians people rolling and biking and scooting, getting hit by cars with no consequences to the car driver, but yet blaming the pedestrian because we were wearing dark clothes, we weren't visible enough, we didn't make eye contact.

It's a disgrace to the city to focus on cars as the primary mode of transportation for people going forward.

If we're going to be serious about climate change, then we need to fully fund Vision Zero and get our butts in gear and make the city better for people that are commuting or just recreating, via other alternatives to cars.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be lost my place.

I apologize.

Sarah Rathbone.

Sarah.

Am I off mute?

You're ready.

Thank you.

Hi.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I wanted to I'm here to testify for Our city's youth arts organizations, including Totem Star, the Rhapsody Project, and Red Eagle Story, who are all serving thousands of youth each year, helping to show them pathways and build mentorship and connection and community through the arts.

We are building a space, a creative sanctuary for our youth at King Street Station, and we're here today to ask and thank Council Member Morales and thank Council Member Lewis and Herbold for their support of our project and in seeking some funding from a one-time capital investment from the city for the improvement of the city property as an investment in our youth.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Beth Knox.

Beth.

Hi, my name is Beth Knox and I'm president of the Seattle Sports Commission.

In April of 2020, the Sports Commission took final steps to formally separate from Visit Seattle to become an independent organization.

Our focus was on attracting and hosting premier sporting events in Seattle.

The direct effect is economic development, community engagement, and a vibrant downtown.

We've been working really hard on awarded bids like the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional, on the 2026 FIFA World Cup and many others.

Mayor Harrell's budget proposes $200,000 in funding to help with our work advancing sports tourism in Seattle and execution of next summer's All-Star Game.

These dollars will also support our efforts to remove barriers faced by undisturbed communities to provide access to these All-Star Game activities.

We are grateful for our relationship with the city of Seattle and appreciate your consideration of this funding request.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Iris Antman.

Iris.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Iris Antman.

I appreciate your hard work and the opportunity to testify.

I think Seattle's biggest challenge is rising greenhouse gas emissions, and it's not being on track to meet our 2030 emission reduction goals.

Having to stay indoors due to bad air is peanuts compared to what's coming down the pike if we neglect to address the climate crisis as our highest priority.

In the weatherization plan I feel we should mandate replacing worn out gas heating systems with electric heat pumps that will also provide air conditioning in our increasingly hot summers.

Seattle should be a leader in addressing the climate crisis and it's not.

We need a clear climate action plan with measurable goals that are monitored, reported on, evaluated, and updated annually.

We need accountability and transparency from city government on our greenhouse gas emissions.

And we need a high level of coordination on this issue throughout city government.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Emily MacArthur.

Hi my name is Emily MacArthur.

I'm a renter in District 2. I'm calling to call on Council Democrats to support Council Member Shama Sawant's legislation to increase the Amazon tax to fund free abortion in Seattle.

I was proud in July to be part of the movement to win Seattle as the first abortion sanctuary city and we're seeing that it's already spreading across the country with the right wing emboldened and attacking women people of color and LGBTQ people.

We need to show a way forward.

We see that gay and trans youth are being attacked across the country in their own schools, and we have the opportunity to have a historic win here to make Seattle a real sanctuary city by making abortion free by increasing the Amazon tax.

It's not enough to blame Republicans when we have an opportunity to act here.

Democratic Party politicians and NGO leaders want to continue the failed strategy of just fueling our fear and our anger into campaign donations.

and midterm votes, but they have an opportunity to actually act here and they need to take it.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Monty Anderson.

Hello, my name is Monty Anderson with Seattle Building Trades.

I want to strongly encourage to support the proposed investment in the replacement modernization of Memorial Stadium.

Memorial Stadium is a regional asset.

This currently is It's pathetic.

It's unsafe, inaccessible, and doesn't provide opportunities the world-class facility needs.

Memorial Stadium will be built as part of a building trades community workforce agreement that will put the city's own people to work.

This project will help build pathways out of poverty through construction jobs and careers.

All will start through the construction at Memorial Stadium.

Please make sure we don't miss this historic opportunity before us and end up with a woefully inadequate facility in this prime Seattle center location.

Let's get Memorial Stadium built and help build the next generation of construction workers from our local communities through this important project.

I want to thank everybody for listening and their service and partnership in this and have a good evening.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mirabai Koukathis.

And Mirabai, I might be pronouncing your name wrong.

It's M-I-R-A-B-A.

Thank you.

Yes.

Can you hear me?

You can speak up a little.

Can you hear me now?

We can hear you well.

Yes, thank you.

Hi, my name is Mirabai.

I'm an artist at the youth nonprofit music studio Totem Star.

Totem Star is the reason I have a music career, self-esteem, a community, a grasp of my mental health, the confidence to advocate for my disabilities in the workplace, and even just the ability to imagine myself sustaining a living as an artist in this city.

Totem Star is suicide prevention, recidivism prevention, and just a necessary space to care for the city's youth and maintain our art scene.

Totem Star, as part of the station space at King Street Station, is asking for a one-time capital investment for the construction of our new studio, which provides Seattle youth mentorship and music education at absolutely no cost.

And I'd like to thank Council Member Morales for leading the sponsorship of this budget request, and Council Members Lewis and Herbold for co-sponsoring.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Amar Awad.

Amar.

Is AMR, and the last name is A-W-W-A-D, online?

I see him, Madam Clerk.

Just star six, Amar.

Star six to unmute.

Okay, we can come back.

We can keep him on the screen, yeah.

We'll go back.

The next speaker will be Teresa Huey.

Teresa?

Hello everyone, I'm Tracy Huey, a disabled resident of District 2. Our comments this evening concern the mayor's budget and Morales proposal and Resolution 51 Amendment 3 to allocate park funds for changes to Lake Washington Boulevard.

Traffic diets on Rainier Ave have created difficulties in getting around for drivers in the South End and changes to the BMA to LWB will further restrict traffic flow while expanding recreational no use in bike lane.

It denies full access to Lake Washington Boulevard for people like me with disabilities who can't participate in cycling, rolling or walking long distances, and it violates Title II ADA law.

The Morales proposal changes the road's function at the Northside South Ontario and negatively impacts thousands of commuters, neighbors, streets, forests, and neighboring streets to observe diverted traffic.

64% of residents in 98118, 144, 178 commute by car to work versus only 3% who commute by bus or walking redistrict.

Thank you.

The next speaker will be Josh Sutton.

Josh.

And Josh, it looks like you have to hit star six one more time.

And let's also Tia, Amar again, it looks like you're back online.

Josh, just star six, please.

Okay.

Make sure it's not pound six.

Sometimes folks hit pound six, so star six.

Okay, great.

Madam Clerk, if we want to try Amar one more time.

All right, let's try Amar, Amar Awad.

All right, that's okay, Madam Clerk.

Now we're at a nice even 30, so let's switch back to public comment.

It helps me keep track.

Thank you.

And if anybody heard their names, Ayalana, Allgood, LaTanya, Stiver, Amar, Awan, and Sol Dressa, you are welcome to dial back in.

And I see Josh is ready to go, Madam Clerk, so maybe we'll do Josh and then we'll go back.

Okay, let's do that.

Hi, Josh.

Hi, thank you so much, council members.

My name is Josh Sutton.

I'm speaking in reference to the funds allocated to the COLEAD program.

We as a program appreciate Mayor Harrell's support for the COLEAD program and thank the council for their longstanding support.

COLEAD works directly with the unhoused population within King County to provide access to services like no other booth on the ground program.

Staff support participants 24 hours a day as they navigate various barriers to produce meaningful outcomes that are that are sustainable and positively impact the participant and the community as a whole.

We've identified that the staffing budget for the year is about $3.5 billion short and currently there is no way to staff a program for the year with the amount that's proposed.

We imagine that this is a misunderstanding but it's urgent to find a solution for we are to maintain these services next year.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

We'll now move into remote, I mean, in-person public commenters, and we are on number 21. Donna Anderson, please.

Hello, my name is Donna and I'm a senior village operations manager for the Low Income Housing Institute.

But my manager's job isn't why I came to talk to you today.

I came to talk to you today because I was homeless and addicted a few years ago.

I was fortunate enough to get a referral into a tiny house.

Had this not happened, I know I wouldn't be here today.

And I don't just mean here in the council meeting, I mean here at all.

The safety and the feeling of security in the village allowed me to start focusing on me instead of worrying about where I was going to sleep every night, or if I was going to get robbed, or if I was just going to be forgotten.

I was able to get sober, get a job, and save money to move into an apartment.

I've heard some folks through the media, through Twitter, through Facebook, that don't believe in the villages and what they can do for a person.

Well, I say don't knock it unless you've lived it.

These villages are a bottle first step on the ladder of solving the homelessness problem in Seattle.

Our next speaker, our next speaker will be number 22, Cynthia Bencherisher.

Great, and if folks can do this instead of applause, that'd be great.

I know there's a lot of support in the room.

Hello, yes, I am Cynthia Bencherisher.

We were on the streets.

We were in front of the library, staying there, myself and another person that I've been with 20-something years.

He is almost 80. It was very much of a struggle.

A nice officer came up and helped us, and a couple of people on the street came and came to our assistance.

I did allow for one young lady to get in sooner, a day before my birthday, July 21st.

I got her in first.

We stayed and remained on the streets as elders.

We're great-grandparents.

We are blessed to be there, and this lady here, we will be signing for our lease tomorrow, and we've been in there ever since August the 9th.

Thank you, God bless, and I am so glad to be a fourth-generation great-grandmother here in Washington State.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 23, Hattie Rhodes.

Hello, council members and city hall.

My name is Hattie Rhodes, and I am the village operations manager for Whittier Heights.

One of my villagers wanted to be heard today, but wasn't feeling well, so I promised to read her statement.

I come to you today with joy in my heart and healing in my mind, body, and soul.

After having lived in many different shelter settings, I found my way to Whittier Heights Tiny House Village.

Tomorrow, I will be moving into my own apartment for the first time in five years.

I can't express in the limited amount of time, the wonderful feeling of privacy that Tiny House gives.

It gave me a dignified place to process my trauma from being homeless, the community and camaraderie at Whittier Heights is wholesome and productive, unlike the cubby style open space shelters, which can feel combative and competitive.

The staff from Lehigh and from Lifelong are empathetic, professional and compassionate.

I'm exceptionally grateful for this experience, and I can only say that we need more tiny house villages for those still homeless and want to heal.

There's a natural inclination to do well when the right resources are available.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is April Burt.

April, number 24.

April Burt.

And I currently stay at Whittier Heights, tiny house villages.

But tomorrow I will be getting an apartment that is possible because of Lehigh and lifelong.

I really appreciate the privacy and being in a tiny house.

the ability to do laundry and have a nice meal.

These are the things other people take for granted.

Instead of sleeping in my car, I'm able to sleep safe in a bed.

And now I get to move into my own apartment.

That is going to help me grow even more.

If I had to change anything about the tiny homes, I would want mental health to be supported to the villages.

I think most people experience homelessness would really benefit from mental health providers coming in.

Thank you for your continued support for tiny houses village, especially Whittier Heights.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jennifer.

I believe it's either Hewitt or Hunt.

Jennifer, number 25. Hunt, thank you.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for hearing all of our voices.

My name is Jennifer Hunt.

I am the newest case manager at Camp Second Chance with Lehigh.

I have never been prouder to be a part of an amazing program that is changing lives.

Today is my second day, and this is family.

What I want you to hear is that your funding that has already been provided is changing lives.

You can see that.

We are here to advocate for more money, more second chance houses, more tiny houses to give homeless people dignity, respect, a chance to start over, and a place to thrive.

You need to know that these programs work, that they're changing lives, and we need more of it.

It gives people a stepping stone to get to that next level and give them that hope, the dignity, and the pride, and the community, and most importantly, family, to be able to thrive and go forward in their lives and not die out on the streets.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sean Lal.

Sean?

Sean had to walk out for a moment.

I'll be speaking on his behalf.

My name is Dominic, and I recently have been helping out with tiny home villages.

I live in the Rainier Beach area.

I've grown up here my whole life, and I was able to step into a tiny home village just a couple of weeks ago, and I just wanna let you all know it's an amazing place.

It gives a fresh start, as the previous speaker said, and please support funding for this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Glade King.

Glade?

Hi, my name is Glade.

I wanna tell you a little story about what happened to me.

I lost my job because of COVID.

I lost a place to live.

I lost everything.

I mean everything.

I hit rock bottom.

And then I heard about a place called Camp Second Chance.

We are a family.

I am actually a key holder there.

I have to say that if it wasn't for Camp Second Chance, I'd still be sleeping in my truck, which I slept in for three months, and my heater went out when I went to Camp Second Chance.

I was so joyful.

I was happy.

They helped me.

They are family.

Please support Tiny Houses.

We really need it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Josh Castle, number 28, Josh Castle.

Evening, Council Members.

I'm Josh Castle, and I work for Lehigh as the Community Engagement Director.

Lehigh is a proud member of the Seattle-King County Coalition on Homelessness.

We stand today with the coalition and the many nonprofits, resident and community leaders, providers, and advocates to urge the City Council to ensure workers' wages are at minimum matching the rise in inflation.

That is close to 9% in Seattle when the current proposal would result in less than a 2% increase.

Our case managers, outreach workers, and others are doing critical work in support of housing, tiny house villages, shelters, and health care facilities.

They are at the forefront of the fight against poverty and homelessness in our city and region.

As we know, it is already an enormous challenge to survive financially in these roles and pay for the basics like rent, groceries, and support for their families.

And nonprofits are having an incredibly difficult time retaining employees and filling positions in these high-stress roles.

Please stand up for these essential human service workers, reject these cuts, and support much higher wages, which I know you will.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 29, Echo Hall, number 29.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Echo Hall and I've been a community member all my life.

Me and my community are challenging every Democratic city council member to vote yes in this budget for city council member Shama Sawant's legislation for free abortion by increasing the Amazon tax.

I sit together with members of my community, unions, organizations, and our youth gathering signatures to make Seattle the first abortion sanctuary city in America.

Now it is time for you to all stand with us, your city, and its citizens.

Everyone I spoke to gathering signatures express explicit support for providing free abortions to all those in need, which is the next step to making Seattle a true abortion sanctuary city for the people by increasing the Amazon tax and voting yes on Shama's legislation for free abortion in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 30, Lowery Dekok.

Number 30.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Lori DeCook, and I am the executive director of Seattle Jazz Ed.

We are a music education nonprofit that is dedicated to increasing racial and gender parity and access to jazz music education.

I'm speaking today to advocate for the allocation of funds for Jazz House, a youth performing arts hub and community gathering space in District 2 that will offer space to serve all families with affordable and accessible arts education in a city that's rapidly growing and pricing folks out.

The arts are so integral to the fabric of our city, notably, it's a rich tradition in jazz.

And by partnering with Community Roots Housing, we will also be building five floors of affordable housing on top of Jazz House.

With all of our programming offered sliding scale, Seattle Jazzette exists and Jazz House will exist to create space for our young people with an eye towards our BIPOC femme and non-binary youth.

to be seen, supported, and gain confidence in their skills, not just musically, but through all facets of life.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 32, Christopher Waller.

Number 32. Okay, it's possible number 32 has left.

Our next...

Oh, thank you.

Good evening Council members, my name is Christopher Walker I'm the director of development for the jazz education network, a national or international jazz membership organization and I to I'm speaking an endorsement of the allocation towards Seattle jazz ed and the development of a jazz house in the Rainier Valley.

development of this project represents a major investment, not only in the youth and their families of this community that are pursuing the creative arts, but it's also a testament and honoring of the legacy of jazz within this community in which Seattle has played a major, major component within the true American art form, the black American music and global jazz experience.

I just would like to offer my support and endorsement and believe that Seattle is making a very clear and important investment in the future of this art form and a major, major investment in the cultural capacity of its people.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll now move back to remote speakers and we will begin with Sol Dressa.

And remember to please press star six

My name is Sol Dressa and I'm a resident of Seattle Council District 3 and I support the solidarity budget.

We want to see the budget to achieve a healthy climate future.

The current proposed budget by the mayor perpetuates a history of violence on our BIPOC communities.

It cuts green new dollars to protect our most vulnerable communities.

Within the past two years we saw that Seattle had hit temperatures in the hundreds.

The history of housing and urban policies have made specific neighborhoods within the Seattle area astronomically more at risk of health disparities during hot summer days, and in turn are a product of environmental injustice.

Racist housing policies have created climate inequities and unsafe living conditions.

Protection and safety for the people does not include the police.

Instead, we want to see the protection of our BIPOC communities.

We demand a budget that centers on people.

Don't raid the Green New Deal, reduce SPD's funding, and use those dollars to fill the gaps instead.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Jesse Simpson.

Hi, I'm Jesse Simpson, Government Relations and Policy Manager for the Housing Development Consortium.

I'd like to express my support for Jump Start Seattle.

It was groundbreaking legislation that goes at the top of the economic spectrum to contribute to make our city a better place for all, dedicating the payroll tax proceeds for affordable homes, small businesses, Green New Deal and the Equitable Development Initiative.

The Seattle City Council must support these existing programs remain true to the promise of Jump Start Seattle's affordable housing investment and explore new progressive revenue approaches to meet the projected long-term general fund deficit.

Given that Jump Start is projected to raise revenue above what was originally estimated I do support the request made by Council Member Muscata to temporarily address the budget shortfall over the next two years with excess JumpStart revenue used to avoid austerity and continue funding courses.

However, we can only support this temporary use of excess JumpStart funds for the general fund if the full promise and funding commitments of JumpStart are adhered to and the city explore new progressive revenue approaches to meet our city's needs on a sustainable basis.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tom Rasmussen.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Tom Rasmussen.

I've been working with many volunteers to create the AIDS Memorial Pathway.

The AIDS Memorial Pathway uses public art to provide information on HIV AIDS, tell our history, fight discrimination, and to inform people that there is still no vaccine, there's still no cure for AIDS.

All the public art is owned by the city.

We have learned that the information accompanying the city artwork is too often not accessible to people with disabilities.

The cost to improve communication to people with disabilities is estimated at $50,000.

We respectfully request the city council to include $50,000 in the 2023 budget for the accessibility improvements to the AIDS memorial pathway.

Too often accessible communication to people with disabilities is overlooked.

This is an opportunity for the city to advance its commitment to accessibility.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Carol Ostrom.

Carol?

And I just want to note that was former Councilmember Rasmussen.

Thanks for dialing in and apologies, I did not see you in there.

And Carol Ostrom, I also see Castile High Tower is teed up.

Okay, great.

There's Carol.

Hi my name is Carol Ostrom and I am speaking about the need for a budget allocation for Resolution 32064. That resolution which you passed unanimously is an important first step in moving Seattle away from gas-powered leaf blowers.

As we all know these toxic fume and noise producing machines are especially dangerous to children elderly and to their operators.

They are well past their pull date in progressive Seattle.

Anyone who names climate action as a priority should support this change.

However, funds to transition to modern battery-powered equipment was not included in the mayor's budget.

Council Member Peterson plans an amendment to include an appropriation, and I urge you to adopt it.

Yes, compared to crime, homelessness, housing costs, health care, mental health, drug use, and transportation.

This is a very small item, but it's also small in cost and doable.

It will make an outside difference in livability and health in our city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Christine Glaister.

And Christine, you may need to press star six.

All right, we'll come back to Christine.

Our next speaker will be Jim Dermody.

Jim.

There you go.

Thank you, council members.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Jim Dermody, a retired Seattle police captain with 31 years of service to my community who has dealt with gun crime as SPD's former homicide commander and precinct commander.

a long-time resident of the city and a second-generation SPD officer.

I'm in full support of a gunshot detection pilot project Mayor Harrell has proposed.

When the mayor was on council, I was the lead SPD commander on that project with this council central staffer.

We had a federal grant to support the pilot, however, council didn't support it.

In June, President Biden said mayors will be able to buy crime-fighting technologies like gunshot detection systems to better see and stop gun violence in their communities using American Rescue Plan funding and grants.

We're down hundreds of officers with more than 500 shots fired incidents through two thirds of this year.

Danny West me with the Times described the city as being on its deadliest pace in nearly three decades.

According to King County Prosecutor's Office through the second quarter of 2022 of the 99 shooting victims in King County as of June 30 70% were people of color 70% were people of color.

gunshot detection system is not just about responding quickly to a shot fired incident.

What's lost in discussions about gunshot detection of the victims that would not have been discovered, but for a gunshot detection system and would otherwise have the blood.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Draven Loki.

Draven.

Good evening city council.

My name is Draven Loki.

I currently reside at Nicholsville North Lake.

We have spent the last six months Negotiations with the RHA to develop and sign an MOU for funding.

It would be a huge waste of months of time and effort if self-managed tiny house villages like Nicholsville is not included in next year's budget.

We ask City Council to please keep Nicholsville included in next year's budget as well as Wheatley to put forth that we fully support the solidarity budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Eva Whited.

Eva Whited.

Hi, I'm Eva Whited.

I'm a local worker and renter in District 4. I urge all city council members to vote yes on council member Sawant's legislation to make abortion free in Seattle by increasing the Amazon tax.

Abortion clinics were spread thin even before Roe was overturned.

And the crisis will only sharpen unless Seattle can set an example for what's possible in creating abortion sanctuary cities around the country.

It's going to take a movement of working people and youth.

It's time to tax big business to pay for abortion not only for residents but also those fleeing states where abortion is now punishable by law.

People's lives are on the line here.

Will the Democrats put their money where their mouth is and vote yes to tax Amazon?

Thank you.

We will see if Christine Glaser is here now.

Christine, I show that you're present.

Hello, council members.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Hi.

Thank you.

My name is Chrissy Glaister.

I live in District 6 and I'm a board member at Solid Ground, a multi-service organization that provides critical support to communities across Seattle King County.

As a member of the Seattle Human Services Coalition, we are proud to support the coalition's full recommendations, including funding and inflation adjustment to human service contracts that commensurate with the inflation that's impacting our organization.

The proposed cap on the city's required inflation adjustments is an effective pay cut for our already underpaid human service workers and a reduction in funding for the critical services these workers provide.

This inflation cap would not only harm our communities now, but will continue to inhibit our ability to provide services in the future.

I urge the council to support the recommendations made by the Seattle Human Services Coalition to continue to fund the services that community members are relying on and the workers that provide these critical services.

Please honor the decision made by the 2019 City Council to provide annual inflation adjustments to human service contracts that reflect actual inflation rates.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

We'll take one more remote commenter and then we'll go back to in-person comment.

So our next remote public commenter is Peggy Prince.

Hello, I'm Peggy Prince.

I'm from Quiet Clean Seattle.

Your vote to phase out gas powered leaf blowers is an excellent decision.

Please make it a reality by providing ample funds in the budget to turn Resolution 32064 into law.

Leaf blowers harm the health of their operators and pollute the air.

I care because the blowers destroy wildlife habitat.

You can encourage city staff to let leaves mulch in some locations to allow birds and insects to nest.

The band will be cost effective to in less than a year buyers recoup the cost of battery powered blowers which don't use fossil fuel and require less maintenance.

Please fund Councilmember Peterson's amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We will try one more time for the remote public commenter, Amir Amar Awad.

It shows that you, oh, nevermind, you are no longer present.

Thank you anyway.

Okay, now we're gonna move into public commerce in the council chambers and we are on number 33, Justin Baer, please.

I'm a renter in Westlake neighborhood, District 7. I'm here to ask the council members to vote yes to make all abortions in Seattle free by increasing the Amazon tax as proposed by Socialist Council Member Shama Sawant.

Right-wing abortion bans are already harming people.

The wealthiest corporate owners in our city have profited massively during the pandemic.

They have the money we need to fund necessary reproductive care.

It's important that many people here are here to support this because the Democrats on this council have often put corporate owners profits over the needs of regular people.

Earlier this year, six of these Democrats cut wages the frontline grocery workers by ending the hazard pay policy.

These wage cuts make it harder for these workers to afford healthcare, including abortions, which helps the right-wing anti-abortion agenda.

I also ask the council to vote yes on full funding for the Clean Greens program, give our severely underpaid human services department workers full inflation wage raise every year, and stop the shot spotter program and the bloated police budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 34, Megan Murphy.

Hi, I speak to you as a survivor of undue police violence by reaching out for help for a list of DV shelters in Colorado for fear that I was being stalked.

I was labeled schizophrenic by the police and lost custody in 90 days.

I'd been sober four years and a very active member of the community.

So with my pain, I've decided to try to help as many people as I possibly can.

So when I see my son, he'll see a really healthy community.

So I'm demanding that the Amazon tax funds, fully funds free abortions in the city of Seattle.

And I'm gonna read from the people's budget, the budget to live, which is more accountability and transparency for people's needs, a budget to end jail and policing deaths, budget to end traffic deaths, budget to end deaths of houseless people, budget to thrive, budget control over public money, public money for public workers, housing for all, healthy climate futures, Lehigh and Weill funding, please.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Teresa and or William.

And it's number 36.

My name is William, and I got a chance to live at the Lehigh.

Sorry, William.

I want to give you your full minute.

I just want to ask you to get a little closer to the mic.

Yes, ma'am.

OK, great.

Go ahead.

My name is William, and I was given an opportunity to live at the Lehigh Tiny Homes.

I was hit by a car, and I had to have my foot amputated.

And I lost my home, my business, my beautiful wife.

We got to move in there.

They're helping us out with the REACH program.

Their counselors are amazing.

They're helping us go through drug treatment.

They get us our IDs, help us get whatever we need, truly.

They're getting us phones so we can stay in contact, help us get a job.

They got me into a treatment program.

And they need funding.

It's that simple, ma'am.

They're amazing.

They work very hard.

The counselors are kind of like our dads and moms.

They nag us and they're at our doors every day, knocking saying, hey, you guys got disappointments, let's go.

Giving people stability and follow the rules.

Please give them funding.

They need it.

We need it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 37, Deborah Tucker, number 37.

Good evening, ladies of Seattle Council.

My name is Deborah Gay Tucker, and I'm here to represent the Lehigh program.

I was fortunate to have Alejandra Sanchez help me out of my car being homeless at 65. And I landed in the True Hope Village, which is a subsidiary of Lehigh.

And they told me that it would take three to eight weeks for me to be my stepping stones, which was spoke about earlier.

Today I graduated to the second step.

I got an apartment and I'm so blessed and thankful and I would like you to keep funding this program because it is really worth it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Angel Caesar, number 38. Angel?

Good evening.

My name is Angel.

I am a new manager at True Hope Tiny House Village.

I am also an indigenous woman from the Cowichan tribe.

I'd like to acknowledge my First Nations people.

My input here is what I know this far in my job and what I've seen personally.

I'm here with three carloads of people from True Hope.

They're all here with Some with their children because they realize the importance of funding.

They're here with their children because they realize the importance of the tiny homes and all the resources that Lehigh provides.

Who lives at my village?

Kids, infants, toddlers, teenagers, pregnant women, and single parents, even full families.

And each family is thriving for employment, thriving for housing, and thriving for mental health.

Any one of these precious families here could be one of your family members or mine.

Funding is vital.

Funding is important.

Please.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is John Graham, number 39, John Graham.

Okay, if John is possibly not here, let's go to number 40, Zach Collier.

Zach.

Good evening Council members my name is Zach Collier, I'm, I'm here in favor of the funding for Lehigh and all the tiny house programs that you guys have been.

funding already and we're just looking for some more funding.

If it wasn't for them, me and my wife, we were homeless and on the streets and she was pregnant and without them, I don't think our baby would have made it.

The staff there really helped us through a really tough time.

We had a baby three months early and we're doing good now.

Our baby's growing, and we're just really happy for all the help that we've got.

And we just hope that you guys continue to fund Lehigh and all the other tiny house villages.

I'm with your hope, by the way, and thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 41, Haley Hunt, number 41.

Hi there.

Thank you for having me.

My name is Haley Hunt.

I'm a case manager for Low Income Housing Institute, or LEHI, at South End Village.

A year and a half ago, I left my job as an engineer to work as a shelter organizer with LEHI, because I believe that as human beings, it's our duty to take care of each other.

This is what matters most in life, true community and being there for each other.

And tiny houses allow space for us to take care of each other.

They are environments to keep people safe and help people find housing amidst a housing crisis.

This is a crisis response.

And it's made possible by human service workers, workers that show up and that need to be paid enough to survive and support their own families as well.

Their work is built on trust and relationships, and this is not possible with high staff turnover.

We need to pay human service workers enough to live in Seattle and among the beautiful community that we are supporting.

So vote no on cuts to human service workers.

Continue to support tiny house villages and housing first.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 42, Kevin Taylor.

Number 42, please.

Testing, test up.

My name is Kevin Taylor, and I'm here with my wife, Rhea Odom, and my kids.

We just moved here from Chicago, Illinois.

And just last past December, my wife had a surgery, had to have a coronary artery dissection.

And it kind of hit me low.

I couldn't pay my rents.

I couldn't keep up with my stuff.

I mean, I couldn't keep up.

And we got threw out our house, you know, due to other problems.

And we moved to the tiny home, and it kind of saved my life.

You know what I mean?

Because I didn't know where I was going to go.

You know, I didn't want to go back home.

So tiny home saved my life.

And I really enjoy it.

And you should really keep tiny homes going.

It's really there to help people, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

And another thing is you need to ban abortion.

There's no right in taking a child's life.

The child didn't do anything to you.

How else is the mother gonna learn if she doesn't grow through what she go through?

If you keep taking that child and she keep having another one, it's gonna be repetitive cycle of killing kids.

So I think you should let that go.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 43, Eddie Vallejo.

Eddie, number 43.

Council, my name is Eddie Vallejo, a resident of this most beautiful city, 58 years as a resident.

I've been a former employee of Seattle Public Utilities Graffiti Ranger Unit, where I led the WTO cleanup.

Homelessness can hit anyone.

I've witnessed traumatic events and endured the ripple effect of homelessness.

People of all ages, and most importantly, are youth.

I was part of a public park encampment sweep and the Urban League hooked me up with Lehigh.

The Little House Village has been a vital part of my transition back to being a functional member of society.

With pride as every citizen should carry about themselves, transition is needed to ensure my readiness and my safety and to give me a calm mind.

Case management has been so very helpful.

Fund Lehigh, help your people, the homeless, they need you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 44, Demarcus Lantigua.

Martique.

Number 44, thank you.

Hello, my name is Demarcus Lantigua, and I'm here to support the funding for tiny housing also.

Keep up the good work.

And just wanted to thank you for what Lehigh has done and is doing is going to slowly help keep the streets clean because there's less tents, the streets will be cleaner.

Remember also there's babies out there, you know, and this really helped me through the coronavirus pandemic and their system helped me find work while I plan for the future.

Because of your help, I was able to finish my very own federal patent.

And I just wanted to thank you guys.

And just remember, you're helping all kinds of good folks from different walks of life.

And at the same time, it's causing us to learn to work together.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 45, Jessie Gamet.

Number 45. Bless you.

Oh, hi.

Hi, my name is Jesse, and I'm really happy to be here.

I'm nervous, but my mom, I'm happy for my mom because she works at True Hope Village.

And the homeless people on the streets, I think I really feel bad for them.

I don't think kids should be living on the streets.

I don't even think people should be living on the streets.

And that's wrong.

I think everybody should have a home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jesse.

Our next speaker is number 46 Dustin Davies.

Hold on, Jesse.

How old are you?

Seven.

Thank you for being our youngest speaker today.

Really appreciate the testimony.

Good job.

Hi, my name is Dustin Davies, and I'm a program manager for Lehigh in the tiny house division.

I can tell you that the work we do makes a difference, as I've seen countless homeless individuals go through our tiny house program and change their lives.

I was a homeless meth addict eight years ago, and I know if I had access to tiny house village back then, I would have been able to stop the cycle of addiction sooner.

This proposed budget would only increase our funding by 2%, while inflation is at 9%.

This would effectively effectively reduce the wages of our workers even further.

Also, this budget proposal will cut millions of dollars from the human resource services contracts.

Please vote no on cuts to human services.

People who work in supportive services, healthcare, and outreach are essential workers and they need to pay their rent and groceries.

City budgets must invest in the core of essential workers.

And on personal note, free abortions for low-income people, and do something about the rising rent prices.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is number 47, Kaitlyn Alton.

Hi.

I'm Kaitlyn Alton, and I

I'm a new mother and I live at the East Yesler, the True Hope Village.

You're doing a great job.

I used to stay, we got switched when she was born.

And before I lived at the 125th and Orwan Village.

And they really helped me out because I didn't have anywhere to go.

And me and my boyfriend, we were living out of our car, our broken down car in the snow.

And I was pregnant, I was six months pregnant.

And they did a lot for me.

All I did was just walk up and talk to the manager and gave me a home.

And now she has a home, so I really appreciate it.

Just keep the funding going.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your story with us and congratulations.

And our last in person public commenter that I have is Mohammed Mohammed number 48.

Mohamed, if you want to use this microphone, it's a little taller.

OK.

Yeah.

Testing.

Hello.

I want to thank Ailey.

She's one of our South End tiny village.

She's from Lehigh, and she's my program coordinator.

So she's phenomenal.

She's the reason why I'm in this program.

And I'm actually here for my name.

To start with, my name is Mohammed.

I live in Tiny Village in South End of Seattle.

I am testifying today to encourage the support Tiny House Village and continue the program that it offered, the program itself.

And the fact that it offers housing support, caseworker for employment, and recovery for whatever reason, they support that cause.

They're really there to support you.

and get you into a permanent housing.

My village has helped me by being constructive and finding permanent housing.

And I'm hoping that the city of Seattle can provide support for tiny housing for years to come.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

We'll now switch back to our remote public speakers and next up on our remote list is Desiree Hamblin.

Desiree, if you're online, on the phone, please press star six.

And Madam Clerk, I might just do a quick PSA.

For anybody who's in the room and still wanted to speak, you can still sign up for public testimony.

If you haven't heard your name called, we still have signup sheets for folks in the room, just like we still allow for folks who are desiring to testify online to sign up before we conclude public comments.

So there's still a signup sheet that's available if anybody's interested in still speaking.

Okay, Madam Clerk, sorry about that.

And thanks, Desiree, for waiting.

Go ahead, Desiree.

Hi, I'm Desiree Blinn.

We appreciate Mayor Harrell's general support for the COLE program and thank the council for their longstanding support.

What we do directly provide 24-7 intense case management with wraparound services to assist our participants in successfully accessing treatment, employment, medical care, mental health services, legal advocacy, stable housing and aftercare.

services and so much more with the trauma informed and harm reduction approach.

Indirectly the work we do in our community is giving a solution instead of a band-aid.

All this is accomplished because we are able to build a report with our participants.

What we do is give a solution not only to the population we serve but to our community as a whole.

We've identified that there's a staffing budget for the year is about 3.5 million short.

There's no way to staff the program for the year with what is proposed.

We imagine that this is a misunderstanding, but it's urgent to find a solution if we are to maintain these services next year.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Julie McKay.

Julie.

Yes, hello.

My name is Julie McKay and I am a resident in Seattle Washington.

I urge all of the City Council members to vote yes on the upcoming budget the legislation to make all abortion in Seattle free by increasing the Amazon tax.

Thank you.

We also stand in solidarity for all housing proposals and worry constantly about the police budget.

It is way too much and needs to be reallocated.

Also solidarity for the people's budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jacob Shear.

Jacob Shear.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Jacob Shear.

I'm an organizer at Real Change News.

And I want to call on today in support of the 2023 solidarity budget, and specifically the solidarity budgets call for a budget to live.

We are living in a time of record deaths of our neighbors living outside recently and real change news we held a vigil for all the vendors that we've lost over the past couple years and over a dozen vendors.

These are friends and family and community members and for this to be happening in the city as wealthy as ours is unacceptable and really shameful.

So I would like to call for the solidarity budget.

Call for it to end sweeps.

Sweeps are making our streets less safe.

They're making conditions for our neighbors much less safe.

And the endless cycle between sweeps and jails by funding the city attorney's office and the police to the extent that they are, it's just really unacceptable.

We need the budget to live and we need to defund sweeps and invest in housing for everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Fay.

Alex.

Hi, my name is Alex.

I'm a resident of B3 and a registered nurse that works in Seattle.

I'm writing in support of the 2023 solidarity budget.

It's frustrating to see the city continue to allocate funds towards policing instead of prioritizing funding for housing, health, and climate that would help achieve true safety.

As a nurse, I've learned that to truly keep people healthy, we need to provide them with the funding and resources to care for themselves and their community.

This means providing funding to Green New Deal efforts to support frontline communities, providing housing to all, and providing wraparound and harm reduction services to unhoused neighbors among other needs in the community.

by following the solidarity budget and continuing to defund SPD, the city has the opportunity to truly improve the health and wellness of all community members.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Ayan Muse.

Hi, my name is Ayan Muse.

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I stand with everyone except law enforcement and the brother who said something about abortion, because my body is my body.

So I'm not in agreement with that.

HSC already is doing the best that they know how.

So every program needs to be fully funded.

Matter of fact, we need more money put in place.

Unfortunately, safety looks different for me.

So I respect law enforcement, but safety does not mean policing more of our community.

It actually takes away from us when you try to do that and don't give services.

And I'm actually speaking as a community member who's lost a family member.

Mental health and addiction is a real thing.

We need to continue to invest in our communities first.

I will yield the rest of my time to the next person.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Steven Purser.

Steven.

And Steven Purser, just press, there you go.

Oh, all right.

Yeah, good evening.

My name is Steven S.J. Purser and the agenda item I'll be addressing is the mayor's proposed budget in reference to the COLE program.

We appreciate the mayor's general support for the COLE program and thank the council for their longstanding support allowing us to do what we do and show up in the way that we show up.

A lot of terms have been said, harm reduction, trauma-informed, but this model is just a companion-based model which simply means that we staff on the ground are the ones that spend the most time with the participants We go to DLL appointments, we go to any appointments and show up in an advocacy spirit and in support of this model.

We know that there's two points.

You can continue.

Oh, yeah.

Sorry, did we lose, did we lose the speaker?

Let me try and get him back.

Okay, if you are still listening, we will try to get you your 12 seconds or so back on the line.

And I, Madam Clerk, I'll just call on, unless it's Steven right there.

Steven, if you wanna hit star six one more time, I think we accidentally cut you off for the last 12 seconds or so.

Okay, there we go, am I back now?

Yes, you are.

Awesome, awesome, just real quick.

I know it's short, The funding is short and hopefully we can find it somewhere to keep doing the great work.

Excellent.

And did you have anything else?

Oh, that's it.

All right.

Great.

Just wanted to make sure we didn't cut you short.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is John Pincus.

John Pincus.

I'm John.

My comments today focus on the $1 million for gunshot detection.

Gun violence is a huge problem, but systems like ShotSpotter won't help address it.

These systems don't reduce crime.

Instead, they waste police time and resources and harm people in the communities they're supposed to protect.

Chicago, police responding to a ShotSpotter alert, shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

Michael Williams and Daniel Ortiz were wrongfully arrested as a result of ShotSpotter.

Just last week Peoria police responding to a shot spotter alert shot and killed Samuel Richmond.

These systems don't even help after the crimes have happened.

Last year the Chicago Office of the Inspector General's investigation concluded Chicago Police Department's data quote does not support a conclusion that shot spotter is an effective tool in developing evidence of gun-related crime.

Surveillance isn't safety.

Please don't waste taxpayer money on.

pseudoscience technology instead fund community-based responses to public safety and the other priorities of the Solidarity Budget.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Liz Burkholz.

Liz Burkholz.

Greetings.

I am Liz Burkholz and I reside in District 3. I'm here to advocate for Seattle Jazz Ed's Jazz House.

Seattle Jazz Ed gives young musicians a forum to develop their improvisational skills and courage alongside their peers from across Seattle's neighborhoods.

Seattle Jazz Ed provides our youth a crucial immersive educational environment to hone their skills.

Jazz House provides geographic and demographic reach drawing north and central Seattleites South to Rainier Valley.

I look forward to convenient access to Jazz House via the Beacon Hill light rail station.

Fetal Jazz Ed has offered egalitarian free online education with daily guided practice videos for bass and drum warm-up exercises, and with instructor-led guided listening sessions to influential recordings.

Thank you, council members, for your consideration and your support.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jessica Moch.

Jessica Moch.

Thank you, Council, and thank you for taking the time to listen to all these community members here.

My name is Jessica Moch, and I am a public health researcher and also a volunteer with Nicholsville and a resident of District 6. I'm calling to in support of the solidarity budget and also to support funding for tiny house villages.

Nicholsville operates the only self-managed tiny house villages in Seattle, which is a really unique model that empowers residents to solve their own problems and be in control of their own life situations.

And I'm hoping that you can keep Nicholsville in the budget for the coming year and continue to fund housing and responses we need for homelessness in this city.

And I do believe we can take some of that money from the SPD budget as well as from Amazon.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you.

I want to just take a quick second to thank Jodi, who was our clerk tonight.

Thank you for helping to facilitate the meeting.

And we really appreciate your work as well.

I'm going to step in for a quick break.

John, I think we did call you, so you're good.

Okay, great.

The next person that we have in the room is Anne Robertson.

Anne, welcome to the podium.

Thanks for waiting.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Ann Robertson, and I'm a resident renter in District 4. I'm also a civil engineer.

I have woken up every morning for the past three weeks and looked outside my window and feared for my future and the future of my potential children who I imagined once to be raised in the city of Seattle.

Climate change is not in the future.

It's now.

And We need an actionable plan, we need a climate action plan, and we need a plan to implement environmental justice policies throughout the city of Seattle in an equitable way to serve all the communities that have been historically underserved, including South Seattle, North Seattle, everywhere, not just in fancy neighborhoods where we have enough money and power to have light rail and the like.

We need to implement a plan and we need budget for that plan.

So please act soon.

Next year is too late.

I would also like to support or provide solidarity for the tiny house movement.

We need housing for all.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Folks on the line, we are getting to the last 20 or so folks who have signed up.

So I'm going to call folks in the order in which they're registered.

Brooke.

Price Corn, you're listed as speaking next but not present.

So we'll go to Castile Hightower.

Castile, thanks for waiting.

Please go ahead.

Hi, can you hear me?

I can, thanks so much.

In 2004, my brother Herbert Hightower Jr. was shot and killed by Seattle police while he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

No one was held accountable.

We are still fighting for justice and accountability.

When he was killed, we received little to no support and still continue to struggle as a direct result of his killing against a high-staff system that pours millions into justifying my brother's murder.

And so many like his are providing no resources to victims and families except a broken accountability system designed to protect police officers instead of actually holding them accountable, regularly loses victim complaints, What complaints do get through are almost always dismissed or minimized without any process or right of appeal.

Unfortunately, our story is not unique.

The city touts that it has a moral obligation of victims of violence, but when the victimized are police officers, you allow a double standard.

It is only right to create resources specifically for victims of police violence and their surviving families during next year's budget.

We should not be left at the mercy of a broken accountability system and zero resources just because our trauma, our harm, and our loss bloodied the hands of SPD.

We demand support, we demand accountability, we demand to be included in this budget.

Justice for Herbert Hightower Jr. and all victims of police violence.

Thank you.

Thank you, Castile, and thank you for dialing in this morning as well.

The next two speakers are Aidan Carroll and Tess Wendell.

Good afternoon, good evening, Aidan.

Star six to unmute, please.

Here we go.

Hi, my name is Aidan Carroll.

I live in D6 and work in D5.

I want to express my support for the solidarity budget.

I think ShotSpotter is a really good metaphor for how policing cannot solve our problems.

It it can only jump into action in pretending to respond to crime.

It cannot prevent it.

It couldn't even get close without a totalitarian level of surveillance or preemptively putting in jail permanently everyone who is likely to potentially commit a crime based on demographic discrimination.

So that's why it's so important that we fund social services.

I especially want to express support for Nicholsville.

We've seen with the Lehigh ones, which are good, but people get kicked out of them because of the site manager has an interpretation of the rules in a really wide range.

Thank you, Aiden.

Please send in the rest of those concerns that you started to outline.

We got the full minute beforehand, though, so thank you so much.

Tess.

Tess will be followed by Abdi Youssef, then Brooke Priestborn.

Good evening.

Abdi, you're listed as not present, so please dial in.

Good evening, Brooke.

I'm so sorry.

Good evening Tess.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Nope that's all right.

My name's Tess Wendell and I live in District 5 and I support the solidarity budget and specifically I'm calling in today to urge the council to continue reallocating funds from the police and put that funding towards our human services workers.

If we took funding for just one new Seattle Police Department hire with a $30,000 hiring bonus that money could go towards full cost-of-living increases for 10 or 20 human service employees.

And I think we all know that 20 human services workers put together could do a lot more to prevent crime than any single new police officer could.

I would also like to say that I support safe vehicle lots with wraparound services.

I've got folks on my block living in RVs.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Abdi Youssef and Tana Yasu, you are listed as not present.

Please dial in if you'd like to speak, along with Brooke Preakson-Korn.

I'm so sorry about that.

So the next three speakers present are Brooke.

Brooke, you were listed twice.

Sorry, it still says you're not present.

Grace Johnson and Michael Wilmoth, you are up next.

Good evening, Grace.

Hi.

I'm Grace and I reside in Council District 3. I'm calling to support the solidarity budget.

I've been a volunteer since I moved to Seattle as a route to young adult homeless shelter and working directly with the people who have been really hurt and traumatized by the sweeps that have been conducted by police of unhoused people.

Instead of using taxpayer funds to fund police sweeps, I would like to see that redirected into compensation for human care service providers.

I'm also alarmed at the increase in interest for the shot spotter and would like to see increased tax on Amazon as well and to see the solidary budget and the Amazon tax.

Thank you.

Thanks for your time tonight.

Michael.

Michael is followed by Joanna Dub.

Joanna it says you're not listed as present but we'll come back to you if you dial in.

Michael good evening.

Thanks for waiting.

Star 6 to unmute please.

There we go.

Good evening.

My name's Michael and I'm a renter in D3 and I'm calling this evening to voice my support for the solidarity budget demands.

And I'd also like to point out that the mayoral's budget proposal makes it clear that Seattle is meant to be a city for a wealthy few at the expense of everyone else.

The most urgent issues facing our city, for example, housing affordability, houselessness, and mitigating the effects of climate change have shared solutions, none of which include additional funding for a militarized police force.

There's no better use of public funds than investment in community, and it's hard to think of a funding priority more antithetical to community well-being than policing.

Instead of wasting money on overtime for police to stand around at sporting events or on continuing the cruel sweeps of our unhoused neighbors, while cutting pay to human service workers and raising the jump start tax to backfill the general fund, we should be investing in things that improve the quality of life for everyone.

Things like public transit and climate resilient infrastructure, affordable housing that people want to live in and meaningful provision of non-coercive services for folks who need them.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thanks for your patience tonight.

Joanna, it still says you're listed as not present.

Please dial in if you'd like to speak.

Same goes for Brooke as well.

Steve Zemke, you are listed to speak next.

Star six to unmute, followed by Emily Pena.

Good evening, Steve.

Steve Zemke, representing Friends of Seattle's Urban Forest.

The please amend the budget to add a Seattle urban forester position to OSC to coordinate urban forest goals across the nine city departments dealing with trees.

This would be consistent with the proposed transfer of the citywide coordinator of climate initiatives position to OSC.

The Seattle urban forest interdepartmental team helps develop an urban forest management plan every five years.

The responsibilities are left to individual departments.

There is no one in charge overall to ensure that goals and responsibilities are being carried out.

There are no annual updates.

We need and can do better.

Both the DNR and federal government have significant funds available for trees and urban forestry.

Having a Seattle urban forester can help the city to not just oversee a tree canopy equity and resilience plan, but also get funds to plant and maintain more trees to meet the city's 30% canopy goal by 2037. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks for dialing in tonight.

Emily, Emily Pena, good evening.

Star six to unmute, please.

Thank you.

After Emily will be Washington People's Privacy.

Good evening, Emily.

Good evening, council.

Thank you for having me and thank you to all of the really amazing speakers tonight with lived experience on what they were speaking to.

I just want to say you're all super brave and it was Such an honor to hear you speak.

I'm calling in on behalf of Seattle Human Services Coalition and the City Budget Task Force to recommend that you listen to the recommendations that all of the member coalitions made to support an equitable recovery.

First, we need to sustain the inflation rate for human service contracts and we undermine our capacity to reach our goals when costs to provide services rise but investments do not.

Second we need to begin to invest in equitable wages for human service workers to help all Seattle residents build well-being.

And so we need to sustain current successful services to support every resident to reach their full potential by making no cuts to current successful human services.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I want to note Renee Relaford, Jasper Bolin, and Ardell Shaw.

You are listed to speak next, but you're listed as not present.

If you'd like to dial in, we will come back to you.

That's Renee, Jasper, and Ardell.

The next speaker is Washington People's Privacy, followed by Molly Gilbert, then Daniel Goodwin, and Paul John to close us out.

Good evening, Washington People's Privacy.

Hi good evening.

My name is Maya Morales with Washington People's Privacy which is a people's organizing entity.

We advocate for strong data privacy laws and tech justice.

The mayor's proposed budget has allocated one million dollars for controversial neighborhood surveillance tech that detects loud noises that may be from guns.

It's important to note that while glowing claims abound there are no independent studies on the tech's accuracy.

Depending on the tech the SPD is looking at it may exceed audio recording in neighborhoods.

It could include predictive so-called crime forecasting.

which involves data collection during and after each police shift and generates reports where police should go next.

It may also include cameras or other forms of location data collection, that's unclear.

We currently have no laws governing what third parties, ShotSpotter for instance, may do with that data, nor with whom it may be shared.

As a tech equity coalition member, we stand with proponents of the solidarity budget and the many people sounding alarms about increasing surveillance at the intersection of private profit and law enforcement.

We've seen a growing awareness of these threats since Rose overturned.

Our FTC is currently reviewing commercial data and surveillance practices because it turns out they're very profitable.

Seattle should not.

I think we accidentally lost you.

OK, I think we accidentally lost you from Washington People's Party.

So if you have another 10 seconds, please go ahead.

Washington People Privacy.

I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name as well.

I'm sorry, do you know at which point you lost me?

Let's say you have about 10 seconds left, so if you want to give a final hurrah, we are all in.

Okay, our FTC is currently reviewing commercial data surveillance practices because it turns out they're very profitable.

Can you still hear me?

I'm not sure what's the beeping.

Okay, the beep just means you have 10 seconds.

Yeah, let's keep her time going for another 10 seconds.

Surveillance or endanger community members by increasing their interactions with law enforcement.

City and ARPA funds should go towards meeting urgent human needs and surveillance doesn't create safety, it creates and increases harm.

I will follow up with a written comment since this is totally butchered.

great.

Thank you so much.

We got the full content.

So thanks for repeating some of that last comment.

I really appreciate your patience, everyone.

Again, with the last three speakers that are listed to speak, Molly Gilbert, Daniel Goodwin, Paul John, and we have three others that are listed to speak but not present.

If you'd like to dial in, you're still welcome to.

Bill Johnson, Lipica Mujekere, and Sin Kotarski.

Good evening, Molly.

Thanks for your patience.

Thank you.

My name is Molly Gilbert.

I am the union president that represents the line employees and attorneys of King County Department of Public Defense.

I just wanted to call in today to really push the city and the city council to look at funding that is going into the jails.

King County Jail is used heavily by the Seattle Municipal Court.

And well, in the past, some of the council members have tried to hold Ann Davison accountable for her high booking into the jail and the fact that our jail system is completely falling apart currently.

It has been really clear to me that because Ann Davison was elected, there are very few ways for the city council to hold her accountable.

But one way that you can hold her accountable is through the budget and the budget that is provided the prosecutor's office.

So I would like to push for the City Council to analyze that area of the budget and continue to support all of the vital social services that help my clients.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you so much, Molly.

Daniel, followed by Paul, John.

Good evening, Daniel.

And just star six time you.

Hi there.

Hi.

So I originally called to talk about the Seattle Aquarium and the $20 million that is going to be allocated to them.

But after hearing all the other callers and some very moving testimony, I'm going to add a couple of things after I make a quick pitch about that.

$20 million more to the aquarium is a bit much, even if it's paid back with interest, just like the tunnel.

$54 million total dollars to the aquarium for a project that is not aligning with our climate goals.

I just also want to speak in support of the solidarity budget.

That nurse said it better, housing, health, and climate.

Those ought to be our biggest priorities.

The shot spotter, John, talked about it well, as did the ACLU employee about the Chicago Inspector General calling it a project not worth investing in.

$1 million?

Let's give it to Totem Star.

After-school programs prevent more crime than that homicide detective's entire career.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, and we appreciate your patience tonight.

The last person present is Paul John.

Drumroll, Paul, please go ahead.

Good evening.

I'm Paul John, Director of Community Engagement at ShotSpotter, and I'd like to provide you all with some information about our service.

Less than 12% of shootings across the country are called into 911. And when folks do call 911, they often don't know exactly where those shots were fired.

A Black community's call at the lowest rates yet gun violence is the leading cause of death for Black kids, and our kids deserve a precise, rapid response no matter where they live.

With ShotSpot, our police become aware of essentially all outside gunshot incidents.

We use two algorithms in processing of sounds.

First, one to determine the location of pops, booms, and bangs, and second, another to filter out non-gunshot sounds.

Then trained human beings verify that sounds are gunshots before sending alerts.

Just like these public comments, this all happens in less than 60 seconds, and the speed can help first responders get to victims quicker and collect evidence to hold shooters accountable.

For more information, I can be reached at P as in Paul, J-O-H-N at shotspotter.com.

That's P as in Paul, J-O-H-N at shotspotter.com.

Thank you so much.

Again, Bill Johnson, Lapika Mujere, Sin Kotarski, you were the last people to speak.

I don't see you dialing in yet, but for anybody who heard their name called and they didn't get a chance to dial in, I have a few closing comments and then we will wrap up.

So I'll come back to see if you've dialed in.

I want to thank everybody for the opportunity to hear directly from you this evening.

We have heard from, well, there was about 120 people signed up for public comment.

both in the room and online.

We've gotten through everybody who has dialed in remotely and all of the people who came in person with some additional people who I think were moved to speak in the room.

So thank you everybody for being here.

I especially want to thank The folks who testified in partnership with Share and Wheel and Lehigh, people who are living in tiny house villages, who shared their story about trauma and surviving that trauma and the work that they're doing to not only find stable housing, but to really get grounded in community and the connections that have been made within Lehigh and the organizations like Share and Wheel that are working directly with those who are living within tiny houses.

Every year people come and share these stories.

It is adding to the trauma to have to year after year express what they've been through and I just want to thank them for again sharing their stories as part of this advocacy effort to make sure that housing solutions like that we're going to continue to receive funding.

It's not easy, especially for folks who haven't testified in the past, and it's hard as well for those who've had to share their story repeatedly.

So thanks so much for sharing your stories with us this evening.

Very moving testimony, and I really appreciate our colleagues for your joint participation tonight and listening in to this discussion.

Our next Select Budget Committee meeting will be tomorrow, October 12th, at 9.30 a.m.

As we noted, all of the public comment has really been condensed to this morning and this evening's discussion, so we're going to jump right into the deliberations throughout Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

The next opportunity to provide public comment, I believe, is two weeks from now at 9.30 a.m.

on October 26th.

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's October 25th.

Thank you.

we will start our budget deliberations at 9.30 and 2 weeks from now.

Thanks again to the entire team who made this possible.

I want to thank Freddy de Cuevas on my staff who helped to order food for the staff members who are on site and our colleagues as well.

Really appreciate that.

Jodi, thanks for getting us through all of that public testimony this evening.

The time is 7.21 a.m.

There is nobody else listed to sign up for public comments, so hearing no objections.

Thanks to the clerks, IT, Seattle Channel, comms team, all the council members, my team at Team Teresa, and we are adjourned.

See you tomorrow morning at 9.30 a.m.

Thanks, everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.