SPEAKER_04

Good evening.

The Select Budget Committee meeting will come to order.

It is still 5 p.m., October 16th, 2024. I'm Dan Strauss, chair of the Select Budget Committee.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

SPEAKER_137

Councilmember Rivera.

Councilmember Saca.

SPEAKER_24

Here.

SPEAKER_137

Councilmember Wu.

Present.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Here.

Councilmember Kettle.

SPEAKER_02

Here.

SPEAKER_137

Council Member Moore.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Moore.

Present.

Chair Strauss.

SPEAKER_04

Present.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone who has come here in person and who has called in online.

You have come to the Seattle City Council first of two public hearings about the 2025 and 26 proposed budgets.

As I said, I'm Dan Strauss.

I'm chair of the committee.

This is, I think, our first real public hearing in this fashion since 2020. We have brought back...

Anyone that needs childcare that is available, we're testing it out again.

We had this as a pre-pandemic option, and now that we have call-in, we're gonna be evaluating how well this works.

We're gonna be taking two minutes per person as long as we go, and here are the caveats.

Our childcare is available until 7 p.m., and so if there are people using childcare Before it closes down, we're going to move them in.

Sea Park Garage closes at 10 p.m.

That's something to be aware of.

Also, if you are parked in Sea Park, you can tell the attendant you came here to the City Council budget hearing, and parking is $5.00.

We do have a Spanish language interpreter for one speaker.

We are going to line up at different lines.

I'm gonna be calling the names or numbers.

What I ask is so that we can keep this process moving.

If you appreciate something, jazz hands, That's what I'm asking for tonight, just so that we can keep things moving.

So we've got a couple volunteers in the room to help line folks up.

We're gonna do this as expeditiously as possible.

I don't have a good sense.

About 80 people in person so far, and about 62 online.

So that is two hours online.

I'm not going to do the math off the top of my head, but we're going to be here for a while, and we're excited for it.

We're here to hear your voices.

This evening, we are holding a public hearing on the city's 2025 general revenue sources, including a possible property tax levy increase, the mayor's 2025 and 2026 proposed budgets, and the 2025 to 2030 capital improvement program and proposed revisions to the city's 2025 general run of revenue sources and mayor's proposed budgets and capital improvement plan.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, any questions, comments before we get going?

Seeing none, the Select Budget Committee will now open our public hearing.

I already read what we're here for the public hearing about and.

already read in how many speakers we have.

So each speaker will have two minutes.

We'll start with the in-person speakers first.

We'll do sets of 10, so 10 people in person, 10 people remote, back to 10 people in person, the caveats that I've just shared.

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

Speakers will alternate between 10 sets of in-person or remote.

Speakers will hear a chime when there's 10 seconds left.

So when you got 10 seconds left, when you hear that chime, you got a second to go.

Public comment period is now open.

We'll begin with the first speakers on the list.

We have from list A, 1 through 10, Lara, Anitra, Caleb, Luz Casillo, Karina, Jessara, Soren Smith, Haley Willis, Jo Malloy, and Thomas Scott.

And so we've got one, two, if you just heard your name, please line up in the order.

Laura, welcome.

It's good to see you.

You're the first one up.

We've got the timer going.

Here we go.

At your convenience, take it away.

SPEAKER_85

Good evening.

COUNCIL MEMBERS, MY NAME IS LARA SHINEMAN.

I'M A PROUD RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FIVE, MEMBER OF THE MEAL PARTNERSHIP COALITION.

I AM HERE TODAY TO URGE YOU TO SUSTAIN A $1 MILLION INVESTMENT IN THE MEAL PROGRAMS IN THE 2025 BUDGET.

I WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER HALLINGSWORTH FOR TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS ISSUE.

I run a day treatment program for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness at Community House, located in District 3. The day program is what the agency centers around.

Clients come in for what may be their only hot meal of the day.

And while they are there, they are able to connect with their case managers, nursing, get their medications, attend life skills groups.

It provides our unhoused clients with a stable, safe place during the day and connects with service to connect with services.

These wraparound services increase clients' engagement in the recovery process, which leads to a decrease in encounters with police, first responders, as well as hospitalizations and incarcerations, thus saving money as well as lives.

Meal programs are more than just a good meal.

They provide avenues to connect Seattle's residents with services that lead to long-term stability.

Again, I urge you to sustain the $1 million investment for the meal program in the 2025 budget.

Again, I want to thank Council Member Hollingsworth for her support, and I hope all the Council will fund this modest investment in community safety and well-being.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Laura.

Up next is Anitra Freeman, followed by Caleb, then Luz, then Karina.

Anitra, good to see you.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_131

Hi.

Anitra, with WEAL and Women in Black, Women in Black stood vigil again today for 25 more homeless people who died without shelter.

Six of them were women.

Without shelter, day and night, women die.

For 25 years, Mary's Place Day Center has been a lifesaver for homeless women, providing warmth, community, meals, showers, laundry, nursing services, case management, and resource information.

This center will close the 28th of March, 25. And that's a devastating blow.

We need $500,000 in the 2025 budget to fund a new day center and have no net loss of homeless women's services.

Also, stop more people from becoming homeless by doubling the funding for emergency rental assistance and tenant services.

and prevent more cuts to services by passing progressive taxes.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Caleb.

Caleb, I see you're ready to go.

Thanks for setting the example at your convenience.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_90

Good afternoon.

SPEAKER_04

And you'll need to speak closer to the microphone.

We haven't started your time.

I think this is a general public service announcement for everyone.

If your mouth is not near the microphone, we can't hear you.

SPEAKER_90

Good afternoon, budget chair Strauss and city council members.

My name is Caleb Tewolde.

I serve on the Seattle Planning Commission and have done so for over three years.

I currently co-chair the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the commission and I come here to ask for your consideration to maintain the staffing of the Seattle Planning Commission at its current level and reject the proposed cut of a third of the policy staff.

a currently filled full-time senior planning analyst.

Plans, policies, and programs, the Planning Commission has offered comment and advice to this body as well as the mayor and city department staff over the past 16 years include annual proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan, Major updates to the comprehensive plan One Seattle currently underway and Seattle 2035 adopted in 2016. The housing levy, mandatory housing affordability and housing affordability and livability agenda.

multifamily tax exemption program renewal, permanent supportive housing, fair housing, accessory dwelling units, the Seattle Transportation Plan, the transportation levy, previous modal plans, bike master plan, freight master plan, and pedestrian master plan.

Displacement risk indicators, the Equitable Development Initiative, Equitable Development Monitoring Program, and comments and recommendations on environmental impact statements and their scope associated with projects and plans noted earlier.

I cannot think of another independent advisory body with such a diverse composition appointed by both this body and the mayor that has undertaken both responsive review as well as independent work.

Please continue to support the adequate staffing of our volunteer commission.

Thank you for your consideration.

SPEAKER_04

And thank you for your volunteer service to our city.

Up next is Luz Casillo.

Luz, I see you coming.

SPEAKER_35

Four minutes total, is that correct?

SPEAKER_04

Great.

At your convenience, welcome.

SPEAKER_35

Gracias.

En esta tarde queremos agradecer por darnos la oportunidad de estar aquí, a los concejales de Seattle y a nosotros.

Venimos del Centro de Refugiados e Inmigrantes y servimos a una diversidad de 45 familias y sus niños.

Así que llevamos más de 30 años sirviendo a la comunidad vulnerable en el corredor del Rich Project.

providing resources and services through early childhood education.

And today, what we want to bring is that we, we were not consulted on a curb of the road placed in front of our center, which prevents many families from leaving their children with the facility they had before.

Así que nosotros hemos pedido a través de ya son casi dos años y con nosotros estuvo ayudándonos un tiempo el consul member Rob Saka.

Así que le agradecemos mucho por todo el tiempo que invirtió apoyándonos durante este proceso.

And what we want to happen is that the change is safe for everyone, for our families, that they should be able to drive the property south and that they can enter without any difficulty.

We understand that it is a complicated situation, but we want both parties to be able to arrive in a safe way where they should arrive.

So please, we ask that it be corrected and that the community can really be consulted when these changes need to be made that directly impact those who are serving our community there.

So we hope that the Department of Transportation can consider inviting communities in the future to participate in the changes that are being made in the community.

That's all from me.

SPEAKER_136

I'm gonna translate.

Hi, my name is Luz Casio and I'm here representing the Refugee and Immigrant Families Center and she said also thank you for the councilmen listening and women listening today.

She's here to represent Refugee and Immigrant Families Center where they're located in Delridge.

They serve 45 children and their families with diverse backgrounds.

And they've been in the community for over 30 years in the Delridge Corridor, providing services and resources through an early childhood education model.

And we're here to talk about the barrier that was placed in 2021 without the consent of the community.

The programming was not consulted about the road curve that was placed in front of the preschool that prevents many of the families to enter and being able to drop off their children.

We need this issue to be fixed as soon as possible.

It creates challenges within the community.

to be able to drive into the property coming from the south end.

And in order for this to happen, we need this to be fixed and changed.

And please encourage SDOT to work with communities more in the future.

And she also said thanks to Councilman Rob Saka for helping us with this matter.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you for coming down tonight.

We're gonna move on to our next speaker, Karina, followed by Jasara.

SPEAKER_136

That's me.

SPEAKER_04

Here we are.

Take it away.

The floor is yours.

SPEAKER_136

Hi, my name is Karina Rojas-Rodriguez.

Gracias, Councilman Rob Saka, for letting us know about the meeting and coming to represent our community.

We're here to address a barrier that was placed outside of our preschool Refugee Immigrant Family Center, and this impacts my center because I'm a center director of Southwest Early Learning Bilingual Preschool located on 6535 Delridge Way, 5405 Delridge Way.

This barrier was placed in 2021 during COVID and our community was never asked for our opinion or if it was going to impact our children of color and families that do not speak English, the majority of them.

Thanks to Councilman Rob Sacca, who was our lawyer during the process of this, who was there during the process of when this all started.

And in reality, we're educators, we're running a high quality program, we don't have time to deal with barriers.

Now this has made a big impact on our Delridge community, and I represent Swell, and this is clearly a big equity issue because when you don't consult families, educators like us, and the community, and taking all of this into consideration, this impacts how we run our program, especially on the Delridge community.

The barrier causes accidents.

It has caused multiple accidents within our community, parents, our chef.

and this delays our meals that our chef prep every day organically.

This impacts the children's health and the meals that they receive.

If you could see the challenges and inequities that we face every day, I'm sure that you would want to make a change in the Delridge community.

In the future, we ask that SDOT considers us because we live, we work, and we play in Delridge.

This will help us figure out how to really navigate the barrier and more barriers being placed in the Delridge.

By keeping this burial, we would continue to see accidents, inequities, and not caring for our Delridge community.

Please give our children what they deserve.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Jasara, followed by Soren.

Jasara.

Jasara.

Jasara, pleasure to see you.

Another public announcement.

If you have spoken, we're going to ask that you go down to the Bertha Knight Landis room directly below us.

We're going to have it streaming down there.

We have more people signing up.

From just the visual that I can see right now, I believe we might already be at or above fire code.

So once you've spoken, if you can go down to Bertha Knight Landis, our first female mayor.

Over to you, my friend.

You've got two minutes.

SPEAKER_87

My name is Jasara Schroeder.

I am formerly homeless.

I'm currently in a transitional program, and I'm here today representing SHARE, which is a group of homeless and formerly homeless men and women.

I want to start by stating that SHARE supports the solidarity budget.

And then I'm here today to speak against cuts in the mayor's budget.

We are past a homelessness crisis.

We're into homelessness catastrophe, and we can see refugees from that catastrophe every day when we step outside.

We're saying that there should be no net loss of shelter beds or day center space.

We're asking that you please add $500,000 to provide women with a safe place to be in 2025 when the Mary's Place Day Center closes.

We also need a lot more shelters of all kinds and encampment sweeps.

I read an article recently about 250 tiny homes that are built and are sitting and just being warehoused when we desperately need those homes to be in use.

I can tell you when I was in a tent, I would have loved to have been in a tiny house.

The mayor's budget also talks about cutting funding for tenant legal services and renter protections.

The chair is against that.

In fact, we're asking that you double funding for tenant legal services and renter protections, and we are against lifting the eviction moratoriums.

Without these protections, we want to stop people from becoming homeless, not removing the supports they need to remain in their homes.

Finally, I want to be thinking about better progressive fund sources.

It's not fair.

It's hard for me to see that jumpstart money being put into something else instead of building the affordable housing, which I would really, really enjoy living in.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Soren, followed by Haley Willis.

Soren, good to see you.

SPEAKER_107

Hi, my name is Soren.

I've been a resident of Seattle for...

decade and a half, and I'm here to object strongly to the increased funding for sweeps in the mayor's proposed budget.

I don't want people living on the streets of this city, and I don't want that because I care about the value of human life.

I care about the quality of life of every resident of this city, including those who are not fortunate enough to currently have housing.

Now, council says that they don't want people living on the streets either, but I have a hard time believing that it's for the same reasons as myself.

What I think council cares about is the aesthetics of this crisis.

They see people suffering on the streets and they think, hey, this makes me uncomfortable.

I don't want to see this and I definitely don't want my respectable homeowning voters to see this.

That's what I think council cares about and what I know council cares about is money.

So let's talk about return on investment.

When it comes to the homelessness crisis in this city, sweeps are the worst possible ROI you could imagine.

Every dollar spent on sweeps digs the hole we are in now deeper so that it will be more expensive to get out of in the future.

Anyone with any level of actual experience in this crisis will tell you the same.

And eventually, council's homeowning voters are going to realize it as well.

They're going to realize it because they're going to look around and realize, obviously, things are not getting better.

Sooner or later, they're going to look into it and they're going to say, oh, my God, that's the official policy.

kicking people from one block to the next over and over and over without actually offering any kind of meaningful support that would help people get off the streets.

And they're spending how many millions of our taxpayer dollars to do that?

The people of Seattle do not want an aesthetic bandaid for this crisis.

They want a real solution.

The proposed solidarity budget moves us meaningfully in that direction.

The mayor's proposed budget actively makes things worse.

Adopt the solidarity budget, fund actual solutions, not more sweeps.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Remember jazz hands.

We have Haley Willis up next, followed by Joe Malloy.

Haley, at your convenience.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_43

Good evening, council members.

My name is Hallie Willis, and I'm the policy manager for the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, and I live in District 6. I'm testifying in support of the coalition's budget priorities, and I'll leave you a copy, as well as the Seattle Human Services Coalition's budget priorities.

There's dire need for additional shelter, housing, and services for people experiencing homelessness.

Most shelters are routinely full, and there is not nearly enough affordable housing, and there is nowhere for thousands of people in this community to go.

We can't afford to lose any capacity in housing, shelter, or services.

That means ensuring that all human services get inflation adjustments, there's no loss of shelter or day centers, and that we maintain Seattle's commitment to spend 62% of Jump Start funds on housing.

But maintaining an underfunded system won't end homelessness.

The council also needs to promote a robust human services workforce and adjust human services wages by at least 5% in 2025, as recommended by the University of Washington's wage equity study.

Not investing in this workforce undermines the city's ability to provide stable quality services that people need.

We need additional progressive revenue to do this work.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And again, we've got Joe Malloy followed by Thomas Scott, and then we're gonna move on to online speakers.

Patricia Sully, you are not yet present, so call in now.

SPEAKER_49

Joe, welcome, good to see you.

You too, thank you.

My name is Joe Malloy, and I'm here today as a member of SHARE's Board of Directors and a former constituent of District 6. Two years ago, I learned that I had a previously undiagnosed neurological condition.

When I asked my then employer for accommodations to support this condition, I was let go from my job.

I spent the next year and a half searching for work that would allow me to support myself and maintain my housing.

And when that was unsuccessful, I entered onto a long path, eight months, a slow, long path of eviction, during which I explored every option for help and rental assistance.

And the only thing I found was a $900 check from the Ballard Food Bank, which was returned by my apartment because it didn't cover my full rent owed.

I was evicted from my home, and in less than 24 hours, I was assaulted at Salmon Bay Park.

Just to be clear, by members of our community that lived indoors, that were just simply unhappy to see somebody forced to live at a park.

A week later, I found myself in a share shelter and amongst a community of people, average people, working together to make this nightmare of a circumstance, living unhoused, a little more manageable.

And it is average people that seem to be doing this work.

Average people bearing the burden of being unhoused that are doing this work.

I'm standing here today asking you to stand with us in solidarity.

This is an unfathomable challenge, and gutting money from the Jump Start program is not addressing this challenge.

It's trying to sidestep it in a way that will ultimately hurt us.

Adopt as much as you can of the solidarity budget and stand with members of your community doing the work that you all should be doing.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Joe.

Up next is Thomas Scott.

I'm gonna give you another reminder, snapping fingers, clapping, not as helpful.

Thomas, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_55

Hello, my name is Thomas Scott.

I'm here on behalf of Lehigh Low Income Housing Institute.

They're asking for money to open up two more villages.

I'm just gonna be frank with you.

I'm just gonna be frank.

You're looking at a man that has been transformed.

And that's because of love.

And I say love because that's the name of the village that I had an opportunity to move in on South Lake Union.

And I'm here with my wife and my daughter.

And we lived in Ballard and because we lost our house because of the increase and how much housing is here in Seattle.

we were plummeted out onto the street.

So that brought me back into an addiction.

And prior to that, I was a pastor.

I had a ministry.

But I can tell you today, I'm back pastoring.

We have a ministry where we help the homeless on 12th and Jackson.

So I'm begging you to give them this money or allow them to do this because The people that are out on the streets that I minister to, they're losing their limbs.

They have drug problems because without a place to be safe and warm, you'll stay in addiction.

The drugs are keeping people alive.

And without an opportunity to have a place to live, a place that's warm, a place to sleep, they'll never get off the streets.

So please, give them the money.

Give them the place.

SPEAKER_120

Thank you, Thomas.

SPEAKER_04

Sir, second time requesting jazz hands.

Thank you.

We're going to move on to online speakers.

We have the first 10 remotely present.

Alice Lockhart, Alberto Alvarez, Peter Condit, Chris Woodward, Dennis Sills, Travis Bingaman, Patricia Sully, Amar Hussain, and Tanya Moore.

Alice, you're up first.

We're gonna promote you and then once you're promoted, star six to unmute.

We see you present, star six.

There you are, take it away.

SPEAKER_22

Good afternoon, council.

I'm Alice Lockhart.

This is the fourth city budget.

I've read more or less than the end, but it's the first that it's sickened me.

This budget cuts $811,000 from tenant services, eviction defense and rental assistance.

It removes a million from, Emergency rental assistance.

Yeah, that was one time, but clearly eliminating it was a mistake.

The cost and services for newly homeless people, as have been described already tonight, no longer served by this program, will be higher than the program expense, not to mention the misery.

There are also cuts to food assistance.

There are actually budget items that read, eliminate funding for legal counsel for youth and children, eliminate funding for public benefits legal assistance, and eliminate funding for United Way tax breakfast assistance.

The budget then increases money for sweeps that will continually and cruelly displace newly homeless people in addition to the many others swept so far.

But believe it or not, that's not the worst.

In the middle of what one commenter correctly called a homelessness catastrophe caused by a housing affordability crisis, ah, my screen went black, the mayor's plan takes jumpstart The city's largest single source of funding for affordable housing is the only source of funding for programs, about which I also care deeply, and removes all restrictions on how these can be spent, creating a menu of priorities but no requirements.

It can all go to the general fund and council discretion.

And the oversight board, which the mayor has failed to convene, is proposed to be dissolved.

We saw that slide in today's budget presentation.

presentations.

We also heard Chair Sprouse suggest a more balanced approach.

I would suggest a much more balanced approach.

Council, you have known you have the opportunity to seek progressive revenue.

Do so and preserve Jump Start.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Alice.

Up next is Alberto Alvarez.

Alberto, I see you there.

Star six to unmute.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_140

Alberto.

We see we demand affordable housing wage protections building a community for all say no to the Herald scam public safety improves when you have a strong working class to fuel our local economy.

Peace of mind for average working people improves community engagement as well as neighborhood vigilance.

Funding diversion programs for students and young adults prevents them from falling into criminal habits.

Crisis outreach and mental health programs help unhoused people by lifting them up and giving them the chance to become productive in our communities.

However, this anti-worker council seems ready to take a political nosedive with Mayor Harrell.

His demented budget proposal cuts services across the board, yet finds millions of dollars for police departments rife with sexual harassers and violent races.

Council members Wu, Hollingsworth, Moore, Kettle, Nelson, Rivera, Saka, and Strauss would likely have voted down or weakened Jump Start.

The goal of that revenue is to, among other things, build affordable housing, fund social services for the poor and unhoused, and work towards building stronger communities.

It is shameful that they spent this entire year making promises to the SPD, knowing the hole they were digging would not have the available funds.

Until this direct attack on our efforts to build affordable housing was put on the table.

This is theft.

Rethink and redraft the mayor's budget.

Do what is right for all of Seattle.

Thank you and have a good day.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Alberto.

Up next is Peter Condit.

I see you're already off mute, Peter.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_122

Thank you, Chair Strauss.

Good evening, Council.

My name is Peter Condit.

I'm a parent, homeowner, small business owner, scientist, and community member in Northwest Green Lake.

I have some comments on the Mayor's budget that the Council is currently considering.

The mayor's budget defunds housing and adds money to the bloated budget for cops, courts, and cages.

This is backwards.

Seattle should decriminalize poverty and addiction, defund the criminal legal system, and invest in supportive solutions like housing, hot meals, and other non-cop items, such as those described in the Seattle Solidarity Budget.

In particular, the budget for SBD should be less.

Defunding the Seattle Police Department by half or more would free up hundreds of millions of dollars that could be spent on nonviolent programs that are more effective than policing.

As it stands, the budget is an austerity budget, with big cuts to new affordable housing, Green New Deal initiatives, and EDI items and services.

Despite so many cuts to essential items, the mayor's budget gives the police department an additional $10 million of overtime, in addition to its ghost cop slush fund, an existing overtime budget of $38 million, And the budget only gives the Office of Labor Standards $8 million to protect Seattle workers from wage theft.

The mayor's budget throws millions at SPD for $50,000 hiring bonuses and additional surveillance technology while failing to pay human service workers a living wage.

SPD should be defunded.

They are violent and racist.

The mayor's budget adds 21 new positions to staff a real-time crime center that not only does not exist, but is supposed to be a pilot.

Adding positions in your budget makes the pilot permanent before it even starts.

Those positions should be removed.

The mayor's budget increases spending on sweeps without giving people a place to go.

Sweeps should be defunded.

The mayor's budget defunds jumpstart by over half, meaning new investments in affordable housing are cut by over $200 million.

Those cuts should be restored.

Chair Strauss, I hope you'll address the issues above in the budget you create.

Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Peter.

Up next is Chris Woodward.

You're present up here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_37

Good afternoon, budget committee members.

My name is Chris Woodward.

I represent the Alliance for Pioneer Square.

We're in District 1. The Alliance is an economic development nonprofit working to support Pioneer Square.

First off, thank you to the council members and staff for working to put together this budget, providing some comments regarding the budget as it relates to critical needs in Pioneer Square.

So a couple things we're in support of.

We're in support of allocations in the budget for the care team expansion, SPD hotspot support, and expansion of the unified care team to seven-day coverage.

and administrative service, FIS, funding requests to modernize the billing and management system for the business improvement district assessments as the city explores additional districts, as well as funding for arts and culture, specifically the Alley Activations Program and Hope Corps.

And in addition to the proposed, we also urge you to consider the following, which would be adding funding for the 25 to 26 budget within OED, Office of Economic Development, for the continuation of the facade improvement program through business district partnerships.

These investments will ensure Pioneer Square is safe, welcoming and vibrant community for years to come.

Thank you for your attention.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Chris.

Up next is Dennis Sills.

I see you're already here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_29

Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment.

My name is Dennis Sills and I work for Plymouth Housing.

We provide permanent supportive housing to more than 1400 individuals who have experienced homelessness.

Plymouth is grateful to Seattle residents for resoundingly renewing the Seattle housing levy last year.

We are thankful the levy and jumpstart have enabled the mayor to include a record level of investment in housing in his proposed budget.

What does the jumpstart spend plan mean to housing in our city?

It means that 62% of this revenue source is intended to go towards housing.

It is the single largest source of support for housing in our city.

It has enabled Plymouth to deliver on its proof campaign of six new buildings and 600 units of housing over the last several years.

It has allowed us to maintain safe and dignified housing units.

It has allowed us to hire frontline staff for housing case management and provide supportive services to residents.

It has helped us stabilize our workforce, increase wages for frontline workers, and reduce staff vacancies.

Seattle needs more than 112,000 housing units in the next 20 years.

We cannot meet that need without sustained and long-term investment from Jumpstart.

Plymouth looks forward to continued conversations about budget priorities this fall.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Dennis.

Up next is Travis Bingaman, followed by Patricia Sully.

And Travis, take it away.

SPEAKER_06

Hello there.

Hi, Travis here.

And I'm here to speak both as an educator and concerned citizen of Seattle.

Each year I teach my students about the critical issues faced by the unhoused community.

Through these discussions, it becomes clear that even children can grasp the profound importance of supporting those in need.

The defunding of these programs that benefit Seattle's most vulnerable populations is deeply troubling.

These are programs that make a real difference in the lives of low and middle income people every day.

This budget feels like a reverse Robin Hood situation.

taking from the many to give to a few.

Budgets, as you know, are moral documents.

They reflect what we value, who we care about, and the kind of city we want to build.

Right now, this budget is sending a clear message that business and policing are prioritized over essential services for struggling families and the unhoused.

That is not the kind of city we should strive to be.

In my classroom, I ask my third graders to understand the importance of empathy and shared responsibility.

One of my students said today that the money should go to resources for the unhoused because that will solve problems for the unhoused and the people around them.

The problem is housing, not the people who are unhoused.

So today I asked this community to reflect deeply on what truly benefits the majority of Seattle's residents.

Your decision should focus on programs that uplift everyone, especially those with the greatest needs.

I urge you to support initiatives like those from the Low Income Housing Institute which consistently demonstrates the success of supportive services for the unhoused.

These programs work.

My third graders alone can't break the cycle of homelessness.

We need you to step up and take the lead here.

Let's ensure that our city's budget reflects care, compassion, and a commitment to justice for all of Seattle's residents.

We must treat homelessness as a humanitarian crisis, not as an aesthetic issue.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Travis.

Up next is Patricia.

Patricia, I see your presence.

Star six to unmute.

Thank you.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_21

Hi, my name's Patricia Sully, and I'm the Chief Strategy and Campaign Officer for Purpose Dignity Action, or PDA.

The city inflation adjustments for human services over the last few years, well appreciated, and the result of sustained advocacy were far below the actual rate of price growth, particularly in our sector where wages were suppressed for so long that there were large numbers of unfilled positions.

To actually pay people enough to recruit and retain staff, organizations had to catch wages up far beyond what was provided for, and that is still true.

The folks in these positions do some of the hardest work on some of the hardest problems in our community.

Without adequate provision for the real impact of inflation, human services budgets for 2025 and 2026 are effectively being cut.

We appreciate and echo the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness request for a 5% increase in human services wages and believe that while that does not fully address the gap, it's an important move in the right direction.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Patricia.

Up next is Amar.

We've got a couple people that are not Amar.

There's Amar.

Star six to unmute.

SPEAKER_11

Amar, there you are.

SPEAKER_04

Take it away.

SPEAKER_11

Hello, my name is Ammar and I live in District 2. The City Council has repeatedly claimed to be fiscally responsible and to re-examine what works and what doesn't to invest only in what works.

In reality, however, the Mayor and City Council did not attempt to pursue progressive revenue.

And yes, there are legal ways to raise progressive revenue in Washington.

The Council looks the other way to the many failures of SPD and increases their budget despite their failure to be a responsible department.

and the repeated incidents of officers violating the rights of civilians and the department failing to have a proper background check.

The budget is raising an existing progressive tax to not only fill the budget deficit, but to also give SPD more money while cutting funds for programs that actually increase safety and solve the root causes of issues in our city.

I don't feel safe with no police.

but I would feel safe with public transit that's built for everyone and abundant affordable housing.

You have your work done for you.

The 30 budget has generously identified the areas in which the city needs to invest.

So put your ideologically driven, cover more on the people of our city for the sake of the Chamber of Commerce aside, and do what's right for your constituents.

It's just the right thing to do.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Amar.

Up next is Tanya Moore.

You're the last remote speaker for this round.

We'll then be on list B.

So Cecilia Black, Jeremy, Ethan, Claudia, Norma, that's one through five on list B.

Tanya, thanks for unmuting.

Floor is yours.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_16

My name is Tanya Moore.

I'm a renter in D5 and co-executive director of B Seattle.

I'm speaking today on the importance of not only restoring but increasing funding for tenant services within our community.

One of the biggest things about tenant services is we are one of the most cost effective ways to address homelessness by preventing it, as well as increasing public safety.

Funding tenant services is an investment in public safety by helping renters maintain stable housing, which reduces the risk of displacement, homelessness, and the social conditions that often contribute to instability and crime in neighborhoods.

We also help people learn how to speak with their landlords in order to keep them in their housing and be good tenants.

We help them understand the things that are necessary and how to make requests of their landlords.

What we do is we often help people resolve conflicts with their landlords.

We help families look for solutions when they are living in unhealthy living conditions, such as with mold or no heat.

We help people who are escaping gender-based violence and direct them to the appropriate resources if they have to break their lease.

And we help those who are exiting transitional housing and preparing for tenancy.

This is one of the biggest things that we've done in some work with reentry populations.

Tenant services educate renters on their rights and obligations as tenants.

It is our goal to make sure that they are good tenants and that their rights are upheld within the city of Seattle.

While there are a group of us that do tenant services, it is our goal to continue to do these things.

And tenant services supports thousands of our Seattle neighbors each year.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you for coming in, Tanya.

Cecilia, if you want to come on up, we're going to do two lines once more.

We're on list B, 1 through 10. Cecilia, Jeremy, Ethan, Claudia, Norma, Lauren, Reverend Pat Simpson, Ian West.

Looks like...

last name Cast, and then Reverend Steve Gerby.

We've got also just a general reminder, if you have spoken, we're going to ask that you go down to Bertha Knight Landis' room.

There's still people waiting to come up into the chamber who haven't gotten up.

With that, no further ado, Cecilia Black, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_63

My name is Cecilia Black.

I am a wheelchair user, renter, community organizer at Disability Rights Washington and board chair of BC Seattle.

This budget is just depressing.

We are defunding critical community programs for expensive policies that criminalize and traumatize anyone living outside.

Tenant Services, a key program for preventing homelessness, is set to lose 50% of its funding.

55% of Seattleites are renters, and for so many of us who are increasingly cost burdened, tenant counseling, Know Your Right trainings, and general tenant support is the difference between staying housed and an eviction.

As one of 11 programs providing tenant services, Be Seattle serves 750 renters every year.

But beyond the numbers, our team works so hard to provide individualized support to renters who may not qualify for legal services, but who are stuck trying to navigate landlord relationships and available resources.

Bee Seattle will likely close its doors if funding for tenant service is not restored.

And it is the renters who we serve who will fall through the cracks into eviction courts.

Please increase funding for tenant services by $5.3 million so organizations like Bee Seattle, the Tenants Union, and others can continue to support renters and prevent displacement.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Cecilia.

Up next is Jeremy, followed by Ethan.

Jeremy, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_134

My name is Jeremy Quinlan.

I've been a real change vendor for about a decade.

I'm currently unhoused living in my camper and White Center.

I am also a registered voter in District one.

I registered to vote due to the fact of having connections that real change.

I urge the city council to consider the budget cuts to affordable housing.

That way I can get off the streets and someday have my own place.

Having stable housing will keep me warm and safe as well as keeping me feel like I'm in a safe environment.

Having a safe environment for me will help me to be there for my family.

I would have a kitchen, I would be able to cook and provide for the younger generation and all other relatives too.

It will make things easier for my work status and help me be able to go look for other opportunities.

Having this safe place for me would be extremely good for my mental health.

It is shortsighted of the council not to make investments in affordable housing and all the services that keep people housed, safe, and healthy.

Instead, this budget invests in surveilling and jailing people who most need these services and care the most.

So please, I urge you not to defund housing and to amend the budget to show that you would value the most needy people in the community.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Jeremy.

SPEAKER_04

A lot of jazz hands there.

Ethan, you're up next.

Floor is yours.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_142

Thank you.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Ethan Robinson, and I'm one of the advocacy and policy managers at Habitat for Humanity in Seattle King County.

For nearly 40 years, we've worked to create affordable homeownership opportunities, helping families find stability and remain connected to their communities.

We understand the difficult budget choices ahead and recognize the need for the continued one-time reallocation of funds from Jumpstart.

However, we also want to acknowledge the very real impact of redirecting PET dollars, even temporarily.

Without this funding, the opportunity to create 276 permanently affordable homeownership units disappears in just the next three years alone.

That means hundreds of families, people like Maria, a Habitat homeowner who just moved into her home last month, will remain priced out of the communities that they love.

losing their chance of stability and an affordable place to call home.

The market has always risen to the challenge when funding is available.

When resources are predictable, developers can build more homes.

Cutting this funding, even as a short-term measure, means fewer homes will come to market and we cannot afford to make this permanent shift.

Our work in Rainier Valley with ACHD, where we are partnering to bring 65 permanently affordable homes to life is just one example of what's possible when we protect the funding needed to build.

These homes will keep families rooted where they've always lived and preserve the character and strength of their communities.

As you navigate these budget challenges, I urge you to ensure that the PET Spend Plan remains intact for future years.

The decisions made in this chamber today and in the next coming weeks will shape Seattle's housing future, and we cannot let temporary gaps become permanent setbacks.

I look forward to continuing working together to build a Seattle where everyone has a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Ethan.

Up next is Claudia, and we also have a second microphone, so if you're after Claudia, we can use both.

Floor is yours.

Take it away at your convenience.

And four minutes.

SPEAKER_00

Hola, mi nombre es Claudia Sandoval, residente del distrito número uno.

Soy sobreviviente de violencia doméstica.

En agosto 31 del 2017, yo viviendo en Seattle, mi ex esposo intentó matarme mientras yo tenía cinco meses de embarazo.

Cuando llegó el departamento de policía al lugar, yo estaba llena de sangre de los golpes que mi ex esposo me había dado.

Y el policía solamente hablaba inglés, a lo cual fue muy difícil poder expresar lo que pasaba.

Después de ser llevada al hospital por mis graves heridas, la trabajadora social me ofreció un folleto de recursos de asociaciones, pero el problema es que todas estas asociaciones hablaban inglés.

Una amiga que había pasado por violencia doméstica me recomendó llamar a consejo, donde me ayudaron en español con todo el proceso legal y también me ofrecieron vivienda, porque yo quedé en condición de calle después de haber sido violentada.

Y también me ayudaron con mis terapias individuales y en grupo para poder salir adelante.

Me hicieron sentir apoyada y me ayudaron a salir del círculo de violencia familiar, al cual yo no sabía cómo salir.

Me tomó siete años todo este proceso, pero el día de hoy soy una mujer próspera, feliz, con ganas de vivir y salir adelante.

Ahora mismo estoy retomando mi vida y estudiando para ser maestra de preescolar.

Tengo un hijo el día de hoy que va al community college de Everett y mi hija de siete años que va a primer grado a la escuela.

Todo esto no hubiera sido posible sin la ayuda que me brindó Consejo.

SPEAKER_88

My name is Claudia Sandoval, resident of District 1, Seattle.

I am a domestic violence survivor.

On August 31, 2017, while living in Seattle, my ex-husband tried to kill me.

I was only five months pregnant.

When the police arrived to the place, I had blood everywhere from the blows inflicted by my ex-husband.

and the police only spoke English, so it was very difficult being able to tell them what was going on.

After being taken to the hospital due to my serious injuries, the social worker offered me a pamphlet of association resources, but the problem was that those associations were all in English, and they offered services in English.

A friend who had been through domestic violence recommended that I called Consejo.

where they helped me in Spanish with all the legal process and they also helped me with my individual and group therapies so I could move forward.

They made me feel supported and they helped me getting out of this domestic violence circle that I didn't know how to exit.

This process took me seven years.

Now, today, I am a happy and merry woman willing to live and move on.

I'm getting my life back and studying to become a preschool teacher today.

I have a son who goes to Everett Community College and my seven-year-old daughter who goes to first grade in school.

All of this wouldn't have been possible without the help provided to me by Consejo.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Mrs. Casas.

Up next is Norma followed by Lauren.

Please, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_03

You'll need to be closer to the microphone though, sorry.

Yeah, that's the one caveat.

SPEAKER_74

I'll use this one.

Dear council and chair members, my name is Norma Guzman.

I'm the program manager at Consejo Counseling.

In this Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I am here to testify on behalf of Consejo 500,000 appropriation request for the fiscal year of 2025 to continue providing vital domestic violence services to the Latinx community in Seattle.

Our domestic violence funding from the city of Seattle will end this December 31st of this year.

This will leave without services and jeopardize the life of at least 325 women and children currently enrolled in our program.

On average, in Washington state, 49% of the females who are victims of homicide die in a result of an intimate partnered violence.

The Seattle Prosecutor's Office filed over 2,000 criminal cases related to domestic violence in the past 24 months.

Our DV services provide comprehensive cultural and linguistically support services to Latinx survivors, including crisis intervention, safety planning, therapeutic services, and support groups.

Our services also include wellness programs, transitional housing, medical advocacy, and system coordination assistance.

Our advocates help survivors overcome obstacles in seeking civil protection orders filing for domestic violence, divorce dissolution, and parenting plans.

We also provide emergency financial support to survivors including hotel, clothes, and food.

The City of Seattle financial support is crucial for the continuation of our services.

We are requesting $500,000 for the fiscal year of 2025. Without this funding, The absence of domestic violence services will leave that Latinx community without a safety refuge in a vital resource for the Hispanic speaking community.

In partnership with the city.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming down.

Up next, we have Lauren Squires, followed by Reverend Pat Simpson.

Lauren, take it away.

SPEAKER_97

Good evening, Councillor Strauss and council members.

My name is Lauren Squires and I serve on the Seattle Planning Commission and I've served on that body for about eight years.

And I'm here to ask for your consideration to maintain the staffing of the Seattle Planning Commission at its current level and reject the proposal to cut a third of the policy staff, which is currently filled by a full-time senior planning analyst.

Such a cut would leave only two policy staff positions to support the independent commission, which is comprised of 16 volunteers from across Seattle to advise this body, the mayor and city council and city departments on plans, programs and policies related to housing, land use and transportation and livability.

The commission has been staffed at this current level with three policy staff for the past 16 years.

Such a staffing cut would compromise the ability of this volunteer commission supported by the staff to robustly and thoroughly review and provide recommendations on key upcoming plans.

that will impact the future of Seattle, notably the preferred growth strategy for the city, the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan, and the proposed zoning implementation strategies for the plan.

We're talking about investing upstream where needs are greatest for many of the issues you're hearing about today.

The cut would also hamper the ability of the commission to track the progress of the plan relative to its growth over the coming years.

With the mayor's recommended growth strategy and proposed neighborhood residential zoning legislation and the proposed zoning implementation maps being released this afternoon with comment period ending on December 20th, It's imperative to maintain existing staffing for the Seattle Planning Commission.

As we move to this next phase of the Comprehensive Plan Review and adoption by City Council well into next year, adequately resourced independent body.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Lauren.

Up next, we have Reverend Pat Simpson.

Reverend Simpson, two minutes.

Welcome.

Hello.

SPEAKER_76

I'm Reverend Pat Simpson.

I'm a retired pastor now.

Still wearing the stole from the Church of Mary Magdalene that says end homelessness that I was given when I first came to Seattle.

We started...

a little day center for homeless women in the first couple of years of my pastorate there for women, many of whom were survivors of domestic violence and other forms of trauma or simply the trauma of living in homelessness to have a safe place to be and to build community with each other during the day.

We decided to call it Mary's Place.

As you know, Mary's Place has since become a much larger organization with a much broader mission.

But that small day center, not as small now as it used to be, has continued because the need for safety and community has not gone away.

So I am supporting the women of Wheal in the request you've already heard to fund a women's day center beginning this spring.

Mary's Place has decided not to continue the center after the end of March, but those women still need a place to go.

And I want to add just one detail that you didn't hear before.

Over the entire 25 years from its beginning until now, that day center has not had any city funding.

So it's a chance for the city to step up to fill this gap so we do not lose this vital service for public safety.

There were six women's names on women in black flyers today.

Let's not see anymore.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Reverend.

Up next.

I believe number nine.

There you go.

Floor is yours.

SPEAKER_99

All right.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Ian West.

I'm here as lead organizer of the Faith Land Initiative of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, located in the South End neighborhood within Councilmember Morales' district.

I stand united with the Church Council of Greater Seattle's Budget Roundtable and Puget Sound SAGE.

As people of faith, we deeply believe that budgets are moral documents.

And my tradition says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Therefore, we want to see a budget that fully reflects our values and prioritizes care over punishment and community investment.

We want Jumpstart funding preserved and expanded for its intended purposes, instead of used as an unchecked backfill for expanding surveillance, sweeps, and over-policing our communities.

Budgets speak to the values of our city through public investment.

I want to see and we want to see a budget that truly reflects the value of community care.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Ian.

SPEAKER_04

And are you number nine?

I am Celia Castle.

Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_69

I apologize for my handwriting.

SPEAKER_04

It's my eyes.

Floor is yours.

Two minutes at your convenience.

SPEAKER_69

Good evening, council members.

My name is Celia Castle, and I'm here as a member of South Seattle Friends Meeting.

We worship at the Central Area Senior Center, which is in Council Member Hollywood's district.

I stand united with the Church Council of Greater Seattle Seattle's Budget Roundtable, and Puget Sound SAGE.

As people of faith, we believe strongly that budgets are moral documents.

Our Quaker testimonies advise each of us to let your life speak.

We urge the Council to let your actions speak.

for community investment with a budget preserving and expanding Jump Start funding for its intended purposes.

Supporting our small businesses, the Equitable Development Initiative, Seattle Green New Deal, and developing the affordable housing our city so desperately needs.

Budgets speak to the values of a city through public investment.

I would like to see a budget that truly reflects the values of community care.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Last for this set, we have Reverend Steve Gerby.

And are there more members of your group?

SPEAKER_86

We do have others from the church council caucus that are here.

SPEAKER_04

We'll get to it.

We'll take your comments.

Reverend Gerby, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_86

My name is Reverend Steve Gerby.

I'm a minister at University Congregational United Church of Christ in District 4. I'm also a resident and constituent in District 4. And I am proud to stand alongside the Church Council of Greater Seattle to declare that budgets are moral documents and to speak about the Jump Start Fund, which is not intended to be a slush fund.

That would be like a preacher getting caught with his hand in the offering plate.

This is funding that was designed to address the most pressing needs in our community.

So that my own child, who's a student at Seattle Public Schools, would have access for her and her classmates to get the mental health support that was added into the Jump Start funding.

To make sure that folks who are vulnerable and living on the streets have the resources that they need.

You know, our sacred text says the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.

And the Green New Deal calls us into good stewardship.

And Jesus said that foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of humanity has no place to lay his head.

Jesus was unhoused.

And if we are going to live into our morals and values, the faith community is clear about how we show up for that.

And so alongside faith leaders and people of goodwill, we want to see jumpstart funding go to those intended places and expanded so that we can care for all of the folks in our city.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Reverend.

We are at the end of our third set of 10 people.

We're at 6.04, so we're about an hour in.

I've been told that we have about five more hours of public comment, just so everyone's aware, because that's the two-minute, that's what we're getting for two minutes.

So if you don't need the whole two minutes, save a friend.

And if we get to 1045 and we still have comments, we're gonna go down to one minute.

I know that we've got an hour left for childcare.

So for my team out there, just let me know if we've got folks that need to come up.

Nope, great.

Up next is Ryan McFerrin followed by, I'm gonna give both Matt Offenbacher and Evan Sexton, you are not yet present.

So call in now.

Because, Matt, you're after Ryan, and Ryan's already off mute.

Ryan, take it away.

SPEAKER_34

Good evening.

My name is Ryan McFerrin, and I'm speaking on behalf of the United Way of King County to ask the council to restore $100,000 in jumpstart funding for a free tax preparation campaign.

The context for our work is simple.

People in our city need more money, and we can get them that money in the form of free funds and tax credits.

We are very good at what we do and help to put an extra $1,500 on average into people's pockets during the last tax season.

With a typical annual income of less than $33,000, the households we serve primarily use this extra cash to buy food and pay their rent.

In other words, they use the money to cover their basic needs and put it right back into the local economy.

Our program has received $600,000 from Seattle since 2018 and turned this money into $58 million put directly into the local economy, a $10,000 return on investment.

Along with reducing financial insecurity, tax credits reduce rates of crime prompted by financial necessity.

And more money for households also helps families stay in their homes, reducing rates of homelessness.

10,000% is a huge return on investment, but not included in this ROI are the other services we provide along with free tax prep.

Like community storefronts, sale restaurants can also connect with resources like food and housing assistance when visiting the United Way tax site.

Our sites also served as gathering spaces where compassionate people come together to engage their community.

Over 500 community members volunteered more than 35,000 hours to help their neighbors.

$100,000 from the city means thousands of more hours volunteered and millions of more dollars for Seattle families.

Please restore our funding.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Ryan.

Up next is Matt, who's not yet present.

Matt and Evan, we will come back to you at the end of this round if you are not present, which means Vivian is next, followed by Isaiah Banks, Ashley Wertz, Garrett Pleskow, Linnae May.

Vivian, we see you're here.

Star six to unmute, and then the floor is yours.

Vivian, star six, not pound six, but star six.

If we could bring up, there we go.

Vivian, you're off mute.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_25

Great.

Hi, my name is Vivian.

I'm a board member of the CID BIA.

I'm also a property manager in CID.

I work and live here.

The Chinatown International District and Little Saigon are suffering from a public safety crisis Businesses are closing, property owners are struggling to collect rent, and the community's safety morale is rapidly declining.

Without immediate action, the district's cultural and economic vibrancy will continue to decrease, affecting not just the CID, but the city as a whole.

As the city considered the 2.4 million public safety initiative, I urge you to allocate at least 20% of these funds directly to the CID community-based organization.

This local control is essential to address the specific public safety and economic challenge we face.

We need a dedicated public safety now, and the time is really urgent.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Vivian.

Isaiah, I see you're already here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Floor is yours.

Isaiah, take it away.

SPEAKER_09

All right.

Hello.

My name is Isaiah Banks, and I'm a participant of the Bumbershoe Workforce Development Program in Seattle.

I'm from Seattle, Seattle, just to let y'all know.

But honestly, I'm so grateful to be a participant of this year's cohort.

The program really went over everything that has to do with a career in live music, live concert entertainment.

I am a singer-songwriter myself, so this is just a great opportunity for me to learn everything about my industry.

In the beginning, it was like a craft course on everything you could possibly know.

We went over marketing, food and beverage, production, lifestyle, everything, all of that.

And then we got to two specific areas we wanted to work on.

I'm currently shadowing the production management at the Crocodile and I'm having a blast.

This is such a great way for me to learn so much and get paid.

This is my job right now.

So, I mean, it's just been a great internship and the funding has meant everything.

I would hope that this funding can continue for years to come for other young artists and other young people really wanting to get into this career.

SPEAKER_04

So thank you.

Thank you, Isaiah.

Up next is Ashley.

I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Floor is yours.

Ashley, I see you're off mute.

SPEAKER_26

Yep, muted on my phone too.

My name is Ashley.

I'm a renter in Capitol Hill.

I'm commenting on the mayor's proposed budget.

I have some pretty serious issues with it, but I think the, one of the big ones I see is it proposes massively cutting tenant services like education, organizing, and rental assistance.

I think instead of slashing these, the city should really prioritize them and increase their funding.

Personally, when our building received water shutoff notices and a number of critical repairs and fire hazards were being left unaddressed.

I was able to use resources from the tenant education organization to learn my rights and share that knowledge with my neighbors.

And this was able to help us keep our building and our homes safe and habitable.

Programs like these are also a core part of addressing the homelessness crisis.

Knowing your rights prevents illegal evictions and rental assistance helps people weather difficult times, keeping people off the streets.

Uh, these programs also represent some of the most cost effective ways to fight the ongoing crisis of homelessness.

Obviously our priority is preventing the unnecessary suffering, uh, caused by being forced to live on the street or going through a traumatic event of an, uh, of an eviction.

Uh, but also does save the city money and the public money in the long run.

So just, I'm asking city council to please reconsider, um, flashing these and instead really focused on increasing these budget priorities in rental assistance and tenant organizing education.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Ashley.

I see Garrett's already here.

Star six to unmute Garrett.

Garrett Moore, we see you're here.

If we could pull up Lynnae as well, just to keep moving.

Can we have Lynnae brought into the panelist, please?

Number 18 online.

We've got Lynnae here.

Lynnae, star six to unmute.

And then Garrett, we're going to come back to you.

Lynnae, I see you're off mute.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_25

Hello, my name is Lynnae.

I'm a renter and constituent of District 3. I want to see more sources of progressive revenue in the city budget and less spending on non-existent COPs.

Jumpstart proves that progressive revenue sources are fiscally responsible.

You can tell this because this budget plunders over $200 million away from affordable housing and Green New Deal initiatives.

These millions of dollars go towards the fiscally irresponsible, frankly, fiscally irredeemable SPD.

It is wasteful of city funds and a condemnation of real human lives to fire individuals over 70 city workers while providing funds for over 100 additional police at SPD that currently don't even exist.

My corporate landlord just increased my rent another 10%, and I would feel a lot safer if I knew I and my neighbors could lean on the city for rent assistance and eviction protections, especially as we head into the cold winter months.

I want to see organizations like Be Seattle and the Tenants Union funded to continue to support our community, not SBD and its ghost cops to terrorize it.

Please adopt the solidarity budget and save lives.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Garrett, I see you're already off mute.

Thanks for jumping in there.

Floor is yours.

SPEAKER_33

Good evening, Chair Strauss and council members.

Thank you so much for holding this meeting when us working folks can participate fully.

My name is Garrett Puska-Moore.

and I am a resident of the Central District.

I'm here to encourage you to support a forthcoming amendment from Councilmember Hollingsworth to fully fund the Garfield Superblock Redevelopment Project.

My wife and I live in the Central District, and we are so excited as we dream to raise our kids here, enjoying Pratt Park in the summer, checking out books from Douglas Truth, and eventually attending Garfield High School.

But I also want a safe future for my kids free of gun violence.

I listen to my neighbors, and we all know that investing in mental health support, the arts, park activation, and local businesses is what's going to create a safe, vibrant community for all our kids to grow up in.

Garfield Superblock makes progress on all of these fronts.

Artists from across the neighborhood will help create pieces that express the experiences of the seven major ethnicities that have called the city home for decades.

The proposed parkour park will offer a space for intergenerational play, that strips away the social and economic barriers that most sports place in front of lifelong healthy movement.

The new bathrooms and accessible walking path will offer safer public spaces for all of us.

The GSB is at a crossroads right now.

After nearly 20 years of commitments from public officials, this redevelopment project is teetering on the edge.

With the support of incredible state, county, federal, and local partners, we've been able to raise over $9.5 million But delays have left us just short of what's needed to finish this project.

This is the moment to make good on countless promises to the historic Little City Hall.

Please support Councilmember Hollingsworth's budget amendment and invest in public safety, artistic expression, and a welcoming space for all of us.

Back to the Garfield Superblock.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Garrett.

Up next is Lars Erickson, followed by Jennifer Liu.

Then we're going to come back to Matt Offenbacher and Evan Sexton.

Lars, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

And then the floor is yours.

Lars, star six.

Not pound six, but star six.

There you are.

Floor is yours.

SPEAKER_116

There we go.

Thank you.

Good evening, Chair Strauss and select budget committee members.

My name is Lars Erickson.

I'm a resident of D3.

I'm speaking on behalf of the more than 2,500 members of the Seattle Metro Chamber in support of Mayor Harrell's proposed biennial budget.

We would like to thank Chair Strauss for working with the executive throughout the year to analyze the city's current and past spending practices.

That work has led to a proposed budget that leverages all available resources to invest in voter priorities.

It delivers on public safety, supports downtown revitalization, recruits more first responders, continues to support the care team, and prepares the city to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Voters have consistently said the city should balance the budget without raising taxes.

Our latest polling shows that 76% think the city has enough money and needs to spend it more efficiently.

The mayor's proposal honors that while still making historic investments in housing and preserving shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness.

As you analyze the budget in the coming weeks, we ask that you preserve funding for these essential voter priorities without raising taxes.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is, we're going to go back to Matt Offenbacker, still not present.

Evan Sexton, still not present.

Jennifer Liu, you were present no longer.

I'm going to go to the next speaker.

probably most famous person tonight.

One Miss Nancy Guppy, if we could bring Nancy up.

See you're here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Hi.

Hi.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_14

Hi there.

Hi, I'm Nancy Guppy.

I'm host and producer of Art Zone, a show about the local art scene that has aired and streamed on the Seattle channel for 15 years.

And I want to first say give a big shout out to the City Council and the strong leadership of President Sarah Nelson for your serious concern about the proposal to drastically cut the Seattle Channel budget and stated goal, keep the Seattle Channel whole.

World-class cities share numerous commonalities, and one is a robust and vibrant arts and culture scene.

People travel to New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to enjoy the unique theater, music, film, dance, and food scenes.

Seattle is a world-class city, and Art Zone has worked tirelessly to promote well-established, high-profile institutions like Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle International Film Festival, organizations that amplify diverse voices like Napantla Cultural Arts Gallery and Spectrum Dance Theater, and we also feature profiles of established and emerging individual artists in all genres.

Art and culture is a strong economic driver, yet arts coverage has dwindled precipitously.

There is no media presence in Seattle like Art Zone.

So please keep the Seattle channel and Art Zone alive and kicking.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Nancy.

Up next is Amanda Locke.

Amanda, star six to unmute.

Amanda, star six to unmute.

There you are.

And Jenna Merriam will be next.

Amanda, take it away.

SPEAKER_25

Hello, my name is Amanda Locke.

I am a resident and renter in District 3. I'm here to support the Solidarity Budget Demand Security.

SPEAKER_04

Amanda, we're going to restart your time.

It sounds like you're listening live via seattlechannel.com.

If you could mute your Seattle channel, and once you start speaking, we'll start your clock.

Amanda, are you ready?

SPEAKER_18

Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_03

Yes, we can.

SPEAKER_18

I'm a renter in District 3.

SPEAKER_25

I'm here to support the solidarity budget demands and guarantees because we need real and sustainable human-centered change in the city.

As so many people live outside and struggle to stay housed and access food and water each day, why is the council cutting essential services and city worker positions?

We need to end ghost compositions now.

We also need to demand an end to soap, soda, and mass surveillance.

The cost of RTCC and adding 21 compositions of safties and the cost of patrolling soap and soda zones is $16.5 million.

$16.5 million when so many people in our city have unmet needs.

Why is this happening?

Arrest will not end homelessness.

Arrest will not end sex trafficking.

Arrest will not end substance use disorder.

Refusing to consider progressive revenue for affordable housing and refusing to stop the sweeps will only exacerbate the homelessness crisis.

As a case manager for people who are unhoused, I know that not only do sweeps make steps working towards housing slower and more difficult, they're a waste of time, resources, and outdoor survival supplies, and are extremely traumatizing.

Treating people and their important belongings like trash does not increase safety.

It does not end homelessness.

It only reminds people how little the city government thinks of them.

True public safety requires listening to people.

People who are unhoused have been demanding an end to sweeps and to access appropriate housing and appropriate support as survivors for far too long.

Housing, services, health care, living wages, recognizing the need of people, and actually listening to what people need will create safety.

Please support the solidarity budget demands.

SPEAKER_21

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Amanda.

Up next is Jenna.

I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

Jenna, there you are.

Floor is yours.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_57

Hello, city of Seattle.

My name is Jenna Merriam, and I am here to advocate for city funding for the Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program.

I grew up north of Seattle, but have always attended live music events around the city and appreciated the city's musical history.

Before joining Bumbershoes Education Program this year, I was working in a different industry and volunteering at local music festivals because it's what I'm passionate about.

Joining this program has inspired me and has completely changed my career path, allowing me to gain valuable skills and experience through immersive workshops, industry tours, and internships, as well as connection with industry professionals and peers.

It allowed me to leap from volunteering to paid work.

I quit my full-time job to pursue other opportunities I have been offered from connections I've made in the program.

Being a hospitality and stage manager for Earshot Jazz Festival is one of them.

I wouldn't have made such a drastic life change if it wasn't for this program, what it delivers, and how it's changed my life.

I sincerely hope the city will continue to fund the Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program in next year's budget.

In doing so, you will be supporting youth education and career development of people aged 17 to 25 within Seattle's vibrant arts community.

Thank you for investing in our future.

Your support is critical.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jenna.

We're going to go back to in-person speakers.

List A, numbers 11 through 20. So again, two lines here.

So we've got 11 is Louise Kulzer, 12, Amanda Benson, 13, Hattie Zhang, 14, Chris Hendrickson, 15, 1, Mr. Brian Callahan, number 16, Randy Eng, And I see Louise, you're ready?

So we're gonna give you the floor, two minutes, time's yours.

SPEAKER_75

Okay, thank you.

Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_03

A little closer, please.

SPEAKER_75

Okay.

My name is Louise Culzer.

I am here to speak about the Seattle Parks and Recreation cuts to the environmental staff and programs.

I appreciate the Mayor declaring the goals for the Parks and Recreation budget, which include the funding of community centers, youth programs, and core park services.

I am perplexed, however, about how cutting the Seattle Parks and Recreation environmental staff and programs is consistent with these goals.

The services provided by Parks and Recreation environmental staff are offered at community centers as well as youth and senior centers and other programs.

These programs offered by environmental staff and the volunteers they train reach preschoolers, school-aged children, teens, adults, and seniors.

They enrich families and Seattleites of all income levels and range from the very south of Seattle to the north.

Are these not core parks department services?

I think they are and it is illogical to cut them.

The budget also notes that in future years, these cut programs may be provided by a group other than city staff.

Is the city really saving much money then?

Parks belong to the people of Seattle.

Park visitors expect to be guided in their park experience to be the city's mouthpiece.

People expect the visitor center to be open, that programs they and their children attend are taught by representatives of the city whose job it is to protect and share with them the natural environment of their park.

These expectations are reasonable and are best achieved if the city takes ownership of these functions by continuing to staff them.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Amanda Benson.

Floor is yours.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_53

Hello.

Thanks for this opportunity to come and speak today.

My name is Amanda Benson, and I am the volunteer and donations manager at the Low Income Housing Institute.

Every day I hear from community members, churches, neighbors, schools, apprenticeship programs, organizations, business owners, and other community groups that are eager to help support their local tiny house village through volunteer work and donations.

I lead groups of volunteers to do painting projects, landscaping, furniture assembly, hand out donations, or serve food to our clients in tiny house villages.

We have hundreds of community members who are excited to contribute their time and skills to our shelter program because they know tiny house villages are our best chance at solving homelessness and the safest, most dignified way to shelter our unhoused neighbors.

Tiny House Villages not only offer our clients a clean, warm, safe place to sleep, they also provide wraparound case management services, regular meals, and a community where they are known, respected, and cared for.

Tiny house villages save lives.

Last year, 421 homeless people died in Seattle.

Since the Low Income Housing Institute started building villages in 2015, over 3,000 people have found shelter.

Over half of those secured permanent housing.

I urge you to listen to all of the supporters of tiny house villages today and include funds in the 2025 budget for two new tiny house villages.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Hattie Zhang, followed by Chris Hendrickson.

Chris, if you want to line up at this...

Hattie, you stay here.

Chris, down there.

You've got two minutes.

Whenever you're ready, we'll start the clock.

But just be close to the microphone.

SPEAKER_132

Good afternoon, sir.

I'm Hattie.

I come from Shanghai, China.

America is my dream country because of its value.

freedom, democracy.

I was in pirate for a long time.

But when, about 10 years ago, when I first time visit U.S., I'm not astonished by it.

Human rights, democracy, and free freedom.

I was surprised so many people live on the street.

I traveled a lot of country.

I never see a country so many people live on the street without a shelter.

So in the past 10 years, I be volunteer.

I involved a lot of the participant, a lot of the volunteer program in the church, in the Lehigh South Foundation.

But I do, and I do, I discover more and more homeless.

The situation get worse and worse.

More and more people live on the street every year.

I don't know because I'm following.

I don't know what's happened in the U.S.

U.S. is the top high tech country, technology in the world.

I think high tech is serve the human being, but why we have the modern high tech, but so many people, live on the street.

I think so many people, organization here, they do not only the government to support the funds, they also want support their government to involve it.

So this is the reason I'm here.

So I think I love Seattle.

I think Seattle is a beautiful country.

I hope it will be better and better.

and that every people live here happily.

No homeless live on the street.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you, Hattie.

Up next is Chris Hendrickson, followed by Brian, and then Randy, if you want to come down to this microphone after Chris.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_99

Hi.

Hi.

SPEAKER_04

Take it away.

SPEAKER_13

Thank you.

Thanks for letting me speak tonight.

My name is Chris Hendrickson.

I am a District 7 resident and an avid supporter of the Seattle Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit.

To say I was devastated by Command Staff's plans to shut down the Mounted Patrol Unit would be an understatement.

Please know that I mean no disrespect to SPD leadership.

I love SPD with my whole heart.

However, I need to clear up some misinformation that has been shared repeatedly with the City Council and the Seattle community.

The horses of the MPU are not donated to the department.

Again, the horses are not donated.

The horses are purchased from owners who are typically proud and honored to see their horses serve in law enforcement.

The newest horse, Police Horse Callum, was purchased in May with funds raised by the Seattle Police Foundation.

Roughly 85 community members, mostly from Seattle, along with a handful of local businesses, donated their hard-earned dollars to pay for that horse.

And they did it in good faith that the unit would not be shut down six months later.

Donations ranged from $10 up to about $2,000.

He is not the Seattle Police Department's horse.

He belongs to this community.

Next, it's been stated that the unit has been downsized and is primarily used for community events, ceremonies, and memorial services.

While the unit has been downsized, the rest of that is factually inaccurate.

The unit deploys three to four days per week conducting emphasis patrols all throughout our city.

Yes, they do community events, but they are law enforcement officers first and foremost.

They are and would be invaluable to the ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown.

The impact this unit has on the community is priceless.

Money cannot buy this level of connection, and it's astonishing to me that a department as starved for positive encounters as SPD is, would choose to eliminate the one unit that yields the most meaningfully positive community connections that I've ever witnessed.

And thank you, Council Member Saka, for coming out to visit the unit.

I implore you to- Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Chris.

Up next is one, Mr. Brian Callanan.

Good to see you, Brian, followed by Randy and then Angel.

Brian.

SPEAKER_67

Thank you very much, and good to be talking with you, Council.

I'm Brian Callanan.

I'm a public affairs host on the Seattle Channel.

I've served in that role since 2011 as an independent contractor for the city, and I wanted to thank the Council for your work to preserve funding, a process that President Nelson began a few weeks ago.

I know you're aware of it, but just to be 100% clear, without that funding, public affairs programs on the channel would be cut, plus arts, culture, history, and community programs too.

I've hosted more than 300 shows for the channel during my tenure.

Council Edition, which all of you have participated in, is a resource for transparency.

It helps people get their questions answered directly by council members.

City Inside Out provides balanced information on important topics like the upcoming votes for the transportation levy or the council's position 8C.

Cable viewership is down, and that's a concern, but that hasn't stopped growth at the Seattle Channel.

The channel has gained more than 118,000 followers and subscribers on its social media platforms and had more than 1.7 million video views through the first eight months of this year.

I'm a journalist, and I never want to advocate for how a government should spend its money.

But I feel passionate about this, and I need to speak out about it.

And let me say this.

There's a diverse range of voices who are advocating for the channel to get its full funding.

From the Seattle Times to the Stranger and Converge Media, Washington Policy Center, Publicola, that's just to name a few.

There's support from political leaders like former Governor Gary Locke, Council Members Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen, and Gene Godden, and former Council President Deborah Juarez.

I urge you to listen to them.

I realize you have a lot of challenging choices ahead of you right now, but I'm asking you to do what I believe, and that list of people that I mentioned believe, is the right thing to do in the name of accountability.

Save the Seattle Channel and bring back its full funding.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Brian.

Up next is Randy Eng, followed by Angel Salls, Annie Dwyer, Nathan Box, Melanie Wienke.

I'm going to say that last name wrong, so I'm not going to try it again, and then we'll move back to online.

Take it away, Randy.

SPEAKER_83

Good evening, Council.

My name is Randy Yang.

I am a video specialist, too, with the Seattle Channel.

I've been there for the past 10 years.

I am speaking against the planned cuts to the Seattle Channel.

I just wanted to make sure the Council knew that the Seattle Channel does more than just videos and meetings.

Last year, the Seattle Channel was the first department to gain approval for operating a drone photography program.

In the process, we wrote new city policy.

We drafted and implemented stringent guidelines and training requirements for drone pilots, including getting FAA licenses.

Other departments like the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle Public Utilities are currently consulting with us to develop their own programs.

The Seattle Channel also has been a leader in closed captioning.

Captioning is required by the ADA.

The channel provides closed captioning for all public meetings, making those events more accessible to more people.

not just those who are deaf or hard of hearing, but those whom English is a second language.

Recently, we promoted the Mayor's One Day of Service event in all seven of the Tier 1 languages.

The budget, as proposed, would either eliminate or vastly cripple our ability to provide these services.

I urge the Council to please fully restore the funding to the Seattle Channel.

Thank you for your support.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Brian.

Up next is Angel, followed by Annie.

And Annie, if you want to come down here.

Angel, whenever you want.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_98

Thank you.

Good to see you all.

Thank you for taking a moment to listen.

My name is Angel Sols, and I am here to encourage you to protect funding for the Seattle Public Library, as outlined in Mayor Harrell's proposed budget.

I'm the president of the board of Friends of the Seattle Public Library.

We elevate the library and inspire the love of reading in our communities.

That includes tens of thousands of book donations, free books for teachers at schools, that's Title I schools across the city, book giveaways at many community events like Juneteenth and Capitol Hill Pride, and of course our popular owl tote bags for young readers signing up for their first library carts.

We also work with grassroots network of library supporters across the city to advocate on behalf of SPL.

We see firsthand how much Seattle loves reading and how excited people of all ages are about getting books at their libraries, visiting their library, and speaking up for their library.

We're glad to see Mayor Harrell mostly preserve the library's budget in this year's proposal.

We appreciate that if passed, this budget would ensure that the way people in Seattle use the library mostly would not change.

Seattle is a proud city of literature, and we're so proud to support our city's love of reading.

There's so much more we can do, though.

I ask that you preserve the library's funding in this budget, and work with us in the future so that our library can grow even more.

Thank you to the mayor for recognizing how much our city loves the library, loves the library.

And thank you in advance for the many friends of our library for your work to protect and expand SPL.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Angel.

Up next is Annie, followed by Nathan and then Melanie.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_106

Good evening, Council.

My name is Annie Dwyer, and I'm a resident of District 3, and I'm here to support the solidarity budget demands and its nine guarantees.

Mayor Harrell's budget defunds Jump Start by 55% in order to balance the budget, and therefore defunds affordable housing, equitable development, and Green New Deal initiatives, which I really care about, and contribute to climate resilience.

Despite the budget's shortfall, the City Council has failed to consider progressive sources of revenue and simultaneously increase the budget deficit by spending money on inflated cop salaries, sign-on bonuses, and police surveillance.

These projects compete with city dollars that could be spent on strengthening our communities.

I'm an environmental educator and a mental health clinician, so I want to address in particular two aspects of the 2025 budget.

The budget defunds various behavioral health programs by $1 million compared to the 2024 budget and places the crisis response team under SPD's purview.

I've worked as a crisis counselor, and so I know from firsthand experience how important it is to separate the provision of crisis counseling from policing.

and a mental health crisis is not a crime, and defunding behavioral health at this time when Seattle faces a public mental health crisis is a big mistake.

The 2025 budget also sees a complete removal of funding for indigenous-led sustainability projects and a substantial reduction of the Environmental Justice Fund.

The EJ Fund allows community-led organizations to envision and implement climate solutions in frontline communities.

And a drastic cut of 750K means scaling back important projects that support those affected first and worst by climate change.

Later is too late to avert the worst possible outcomes of the climate crisis and we need to invest in resilience at all levels of government in addition to supporting individual and community health instead of policing in jails.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Annie.

Up next is Nathan Box followed by Melanie.

And Melanie, if you want to take that one.

Floor is yours, take it away.

SPEAKER_101

Hello, my name is Nathan Box, and I'm representing Mercy Housing Northwest.

We own and operate six affordable housing communities here in Seattle with over 700 units, serving 1,300 residents every day.

And thanks to this council, the mayor, and city staff, our next development will soon break ground near the Mount Baker Light Rail Station.

When completed, this new community, in partnership with El Centro de la Raza, will offer 431 units of affordable housing, with a third of those units reserved for families earning 30% of area median income.

At Mercy Housing Northwest, we begin each day asking ourselves a simple but profound question, what good is a community if it isn't good for everyone?

And the truth is Seattle has become painfully affordable for far too many families.

With nowhere to turn, these families are choosing to leave the city, the county, and for some, the state altogether.

When they do, they take customs and culture and community vibrancy with them.

And make no doubt, an affordability crisis is robbing our community of all that makes it unique and special.

With many Seattle residents considering leaving because of cost of living, with 76% of low-income households spending 30% of their income on housing, With our community only building 21 units of affordable housing for every 100 extremely low-income residents who need it, now is the time to reverse this trend.

Our next Seattle development at the Mount Baker Light Rail Station is barreling toward a groundbreaking because of the voter-approved Seattle Housing Levy, Jump Start, and the Mandatory Housing Affordability Program.

With this in mind, we strongly encourage you to retain Jumpstart.

Avoid permanently rolling the payroll expense tax revenues into the general fund.

We also urge you to stabilize affordable housing operations by repurposing $30 million from the payroll expense tax.

We ask that you commit 2025 Jump Start capital dollars for the 2024 fall notice of funding availability.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Nathan.

SPEAKER_04

Up next is Melanie, and then we're going to go back online, and I'll have some more instructions at that point.

Melanie, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_104

Thank you.

My name is Melanie Wieneke, and I am a Seattle Urban Nature Guide, and I am urging you to amend the proposed budget to save the Seattle city's environmental education programs.

I've been a volunteer naturalist with the city for 12 years, during which I've given 300 volunteer hours and served approximately 2,000 Seattle citizens.

I've shared the wonders of nature to all ages in every environment in our city.

I love all the nature programs I've done for the city, but my favorite is our partnership with the Seattle World School.

The Seattle World School is a high school for newly arrived immigrants, primarily refugees.

These children have often faced intense trauma on their journey to becoming Seattle residents.

During the summer, we take these students on field trips around the city to see the beauty of their new home and to show them how very welcome they are and that we are glad they are here.

We want them to know that our amazing parks and green spaces are theirs.

They belong to them.

The budget is supposed to be a reflection of who we are as a city, about what we value.

I ask you to amend the proposed budget so that the Discovery Park and Carkeek Nature Centers remain open, that the staff who run these amazing programs retain their positions, and that the environmental education programs they run continue.

So that those spaces and those programs can continue to protect our natural wonders, protect our environment, welcome, renew, and refresh our citizens, maintain and build our communities, and reinforce our commitment to being a city of accessibility and inclusivity, where we tell everyone that these spaces belong to you.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

We're moving back online.

We have a large number of people who are not present, and so I'm giving the folks that are not present a 40, four, zero minute alert that I will call on them in 40 minutes, because we're gonna take the next 10 people online who are present, we're gonna go back to in person, and then we're gonna come to these folks who are not currently present online.

So if your name is read right now, you need to call in in the next four, zero, 40 minutes.

Matt Offenbacker, Evan Sexton, Jennifer Liu, Steve Chinglin, Hugo Yang, Julia Chen, Caleb already spoke, David Haynes I saw in the crowd, Flower A. So that's the 40-minute warning.

We're going to go back to the ones that are present online, and then we'll come back to the folks in person.

If you hear your name now, you're going to be called in this next set.

Kurt Weiss, Flower A, Lily B, Julia Weichert, Norma Ahashi, Oliver Miska, Doug Levy, Enrique Serna, Matt Hutchins, Taylor Farley, or Kate Krug-Garvey.

Kurt, I see you're already off mute.

Ready to go.

Timer's ready.

Floor is yours.

Take it away when you're ready.

SPEAKER_30

Hi.

My name is Kurt Weiss.

I'm the operations manager at the Seattle Channel, but I'm speaking to you today as someone who is soon to be retired after more than 32 years of working in local television.

I speak today in support of returning full funding to the Seattle Channel.

While the cable fund may be shrinking, Seattle Channel receives less than half of the total fund, which is still forecasted to bring in over $5 million a year through the end of the decade.

Despite losing two FTE over the last few years, the channel consistently produces hundreds of hours of free, high-quality, commercial-free television going in-depth on local issues, city initiatives, and communities, as well as arts and culture, acting as a de facto resource to city departments, community organizations of all stripes, and local press, while paying some of the lowest hourly wages in IT to its staff members, and below market rates to freelancers.

The Seattle Channel consistently offers more than its money's worth to the city and its viewers.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Kurt.

Up next is Flower A, not present, so we'll move on to Leela B. I see you're here, Leela.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_19

Hi, my name is Lila B.

in District 4. I'm calling today in support of the solidarity budget, and I'm broadly opposed to the many cuts to housing, health, immigration, and other social services in the mayor's proposed budget and the additional millions being spent instead on SPD yet again.

It's fiscally irresponsible.

It rewards abusive and biased policing, and cutting those programs will exacerbate the very public safety issues you've sought to address solely by police and jail expansion, while the community and the data have been telling you over and over that that doesn't work.

And despite boasting Seattle's accountability partners in an attempt to reassure against the predictable and thoroughly studied harms of surveillance technology and the formerly repealed soap and soda exclusionary zones, this budget includes a $400,000 cut to the Office of Police Accountability.

How will you claim Seattle's accountability to be so robust when those oversight budgets get absorbed by the very police department they are meant to oversee?

Police do not make the public safer.

Housing, food, health, and other supportive programs do.

I yield the rest of my time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Leila.

Up next is Julia Weichert, followed by Norm Ahashi.

Let's see, a couple names up, but not Julia.

Kate, if you could go back on mute.

Julie, if you could come off mute.

There we go.

Julia, you're ready to go whenever you're ready.

SPEAKER_25

Good evening, Chair Strauss and council members.

My name is Julia wait shirt and I'm a resident of Seattle Council district six.

I'm here to comment on the mayor's proposed budget and I want to urge you not to cut funding for vital services like rental assistance and tenant services and not to shift them start funds away from affordable housing.

Most people in Seattle, I think, would agree that homelessness and housing are major challenges in the city.

But the solutions line services, not criminalization of our neighbors through suites and more police.

Affordable housing, rental assistance, and tenant services are essential to real public safety for all Seattle residents and should not be reduced in this budget.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Julia.

Next is Norm Ahashi.

Norm, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

Following Norm will be Doug Levy and then Enrique Serna.

Norm, star six to unmute.

Let's move on to Doug and we'll come back to Norm.

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

You're off mute.

The floor is yours, take it away.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you.

Good evening, Mr. Chair and council members.

I'm Doug Levy representing the Recreational Boating Association of Washington.

I'm respectfully urging you to approve a two-year budget that maintains a $61,000 a year commitment to the Mind the Zone Water Safety Education and Awareness Campaign on Lake Union.

This very modest funding is about keeping everyone safe on an iconic lake in the middle of Seattle and avoiding injuries and collisions like what happened last summer in Vancouver's Coal Harbor when a seaplane and a boat ran into each other.

On any warm summer day, Lake Union is packed with stand-up paddleboarders, kayakers, power and sailboats, hot tub boats, and rented boats, as well as iconic seaplanes.

Many of them are first-time users and novices.

The Mind the Zone public safety campaign has now run for three summers, and we've successfully ensured zero accidents and incidents on the lake.

We focus on alerting people what to do when warning lights flash on the Lake Union advisory buoys to signal seaplanes offer landing.

We've reached over a million people with a 15-second YouTube video and we've also used digital ads, social media, ads on the South Lake Union trolley and signage around all key access points to the lake to keep folks safe.

Both Kenmore Air and Harbor Air pilots have reported seeing water users move away from the buoys when they flash, a big change compared to past years.

But to ensure this public safety effort keeps working, we need to keep doing it.

The $61,000 a year that Councilmember Strauss spearheaded in 2022 has been key, and so is the state funding your small local investment helped to secure.

Please maintain this funding for the next two years to protect lives and to allow the city to capitalize on Lake Union tourism and economic development benefits.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Doug.

Up next is, we're going to try Norm one more time.

Norm, star six.

Norm, star six.

We're going to move on to Enrique then.

Enrique, we have you here.

Star six to unmute.

You're ready to go.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_07

Hi, my name is Enrique Cerna, and I'm a retired recovering broadcast journalist who has contributed stories to the Seattle Channel on its CityStream program.

and I've also moderated numerous community discussions that have aired on the Seattle Channel about critical issues facing the city of Seattle.

I want to oppose the proposed cuts at the Seattle Channel.

I think the channel is an important source for covering communities and people that too often are ignored.

And through the Seattle Channel, I've had the opportunity to tell the stories of how gentrification has impacted Seattle's African American community about artists who have escaped war and poverty to find a new life in Seattle, about individuals taking it upon themselves to feed the homeless in this city.

Now, these are the stories you're not likely to see on local commercial television, nor will there be full coverage of important community forums about public safety and other critical issues because the Seattle Channel will no longer have the people to cover those important discussions.

I ask council members to oppose the Seattle Channel cuts So the important stories and community conversations will continue to be covered.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Enrique.

We're going to go to Matt Hutchins next, and then we'll come back to Flower A, Norma Hashi.

Matt, I see you're already off mute.

The floor is yours.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_32

Good evening, Budget Chair Strauss and City Council members.

My name is Matt Hutchins and I currently am the co-chair of the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee on the Seattle Planning Commission.

I volunteered there for three years and I come here to ask for your consideration to maintain the staffing of the Seattle Planning Commission at its current level and reject the proposed cut to a third of the policy staff currently filled by a full-time senior planning analyst.

The Planning Commission is a diverse group of professionals that include expertise in land use planning, architecture, affordable housing, indigenous planning, education, environmental sciences transportation planning public health community organizing and other fields and this vast knowledge is operationalized by the commission policy staff in order to provide you the council and other city leadership advice about the future of our city while collating while co-located within the office of planning and community development our staff is distinct from that of opcd And indeed, the Commission has separate and distinct work plan from OPCD.

The majority of the work that we review and provide recommendations on comes out of OPCD.

And we would not be in a position to borrow staff from them or to assist in our work, as we might be asking staff who developed the work to then review that work, representing a clear conflict of interest and not a great governance.

So thank you for your consideration to reject the proposed budget cut to reduce the planning commission staff.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Matt.

We're going to try a flower.

Norm, I see you're off mute.

We're going to take the opportunity.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_28

Oh, my goodness.

I'm so sorry.

Hi, I'm Norm Ohashi, a senior producer with the Seattle Channel, the city's front-facing portal that shares all aspects of city government, the arts, as you heard from Nancy Guppy, and culture in an easily accessible way.

Speaking of access, today we premiered our latest Video Voters Guide.

It gives aspiring public servants a chance to get their message out, an opportunity to be heard and seen, and it helps residents learn about those running for office.

Councilmember Strauss, as you know, we create high-quality, two-minute videos for candidates to explain their priorities and tell their personal stories, some of which are truly inspiring.

I can't tell you the number of times I've turned to our director, Vince, and said, my gosh, these stories are just amazing.

These people choose to run.

And people tune in to watch.

During 2023, we had 36,000 YouTube views.

In 2019, the number was more than 60,000.

All those views are the result of Seattle Channel's online distribution strategy created by our impressive web teams.

We also share these high-quality videos so candidates can use them for their own campaigns.

Looking back, each member of the current City Council has wandered down to our studio in the basement of City Hall to record a statement for the Video Voters Guide.

I'm thankful to Council President Nelson and all the Council members who've expressed support and are working to restore full funding to the channel.

But if the proposed budget is passed, 50% of our current staff and all of our contractors will be laid off And the Video Voters Guide will end, as will many other outstanding, award-winning Seattle Channel programs.

Thank you so much for allowing me to comment.

I made it.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Norm.

Yes, you did.

Award-winning Seattle Channel.

Flower A, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

And then the last two for this set will be Kate Krug-Garvey and Sue Luke.

Flower, I see you're off mute.

And we're going to reset your timer.

And we're going to...

Just one second, Flower.

Hello?

Hi, how are you?

SPEAKER_20

Okay.

Hi.

I'm a little bit nervous, but...

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

You can take it away whenever you're ready.

SPEAKER_20

Okay, thank you.

Yeah.

So...

Dear council members, in advance, I want to say thank you for your time.

What I want to say here today comes from the deeps of my heart, and I wish and I hope that somehow, some way, my words reach your heart as well.

Dear council members, please do not cut funding.

Bad things can happen to any of us.

I have an autoimmune disease.

and a rare disconnected tissue disorder.

After being in a long, long waiting list for Section 8, and after I finished my year apartment lease, I was asked to transfer my voucher to a different state for very important reasons.

But I was discriminated under a protected class.

That forced me to end in a shelter in an unfamiliar place.

That didn't help my condition.

The opposite, after losing my housing for discrimination, my physical health started declining.

I am immunosuppressed, and I was getting infections from being in those big crowd shelters.

That instability forced me to end back and forth admitted in the hospital with almost kidney failure and even emergency surgery for infections.

I made hundreds of phone calls, not familiar to who I should call.

I made calls everywhere about the discrimination that forced me to end homeless.

Everyone literally ignored me in those phone calls.

I went close to kidney failure again, and in desperation, I sent a letter with my story to a U.S. senator.

And I am thankful to that dear senator that took the time to read my story and helped me to get my voucher section 8 voucher transfer.

Still, I will never get justice about all the serious infections I got and emergency surgery and damaging more my kidneys in those three years of homelessness.

The U.S. Senator was the only person that did listen about the injustice that I went through, and I am thankful.

I want to say that I support the work of We Are Shelter.

Please, we really need more funding for a new...

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Flower.

And we can take written comments as well if you'd like to add on to that, but we got that pretty well.

Kate Krug-Garvey and then Sue Luke, and then we're going to come back to in-person on list B, 11 through 20. Kate, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

There you are.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_18

Good evening, City of Seattle Budget Committee members.

My name is Kate Krug-Garvey, and I am the CEO of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, or KSARC, as you might have called it.

As you know, the City of Seattle has been a long, strong supporter and partner to CaseArts.

CaseArts provides sexual assault-specific services for victims and families, 24-hour crisis intervention and referrals, legal advocacy through criminal justice system, advocacy case management, parent education for caregivers whose children have been sexually abused, trauma-specific therapy, training for service providers, prevention programming targeting high-risk youth, All services are free and all are provided in English and Spanish as well as Mandarin and ASL.

On behalf of the KSARC community, thank you all for being part of the solution to sexual violence.

And to the survivors in our community, I want to say to you, you are not alone.

KSARC has provided advocacy and support to almost 1,000 Seattle residents this past year.

Chances are good that everyone here today listening knows someone who has been sexually abused.

Half of women and one-third of men have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.

The trauma of sexual assault is something that can affect the survivor's mental, physical, and behavioral health, their ability to form healthy relationships, remain in school or in the workplace, and so much more.

It often surprises people to learn that almost half of KSARC's clients are teens and children.

But we know recovery from trauma of sexual assault is possible, and thanks to the continued support from Seattle, it remains possible.

We are asking you to consider today, this budget season, renewing the Human Services Recommended Amount funding of KFARC.

Funding will continue to support programs, staff that provide legal advocacy, general advocacy services to children, youth, and adult victims of sexual violence and their families.

Services will help victims navigate the criminal justice system, access needed services, and for family members gain skills to protect and support their children or loved ones who have been victimized.

You can't change what we can't talk about.

Thank you for your leadership and willingness to be loud about sexual assault.

SPEAKER_04

Up next, we have Luke Sue.

I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

And then we're going to go back in person list B 11 through 20. As Sue is pressing star six, I'll let you're off mute, but we've got Greg Thiessen and Kel Brown on deck.

Okay.

Sue, take it away.

SPEAKER_15

Hi, my name is Sue Luke.

I'm a 75-year-old grandmother.

I ask that the council please double the funding for tenant services and rental assistance.

My story is about the Tenant Union, Be Seattle, and the Tenant Law Center.

Those organizations have significantly helped the residents at Alaska House Apartments in West Seattle.

Eleven years ago, when I first moved into the building for seniors and disabled, I was a happy camper.

But shortly afterwards, I realized that the residents were not being heard or respected.

So I decided to start a tenants group.

Recently, our very inexperienced new property manager didn't know anything about our Seattle local tenant protections.

She was bullying the tenant, the seniors, and removed access to the restroom and community room.

Be Seattle, specifically Kate Rubin, the executive director, helped us get it reopened, provided a know your rights training for the building, and directly advocated to the manager.

when the management removed all of our signs about the upcoming tenant meetings.

Then when two neighbors and I were served with retaliatory notices to vacate, the tenant law center helped us fight.

There have been a variety of habitability issues, including a bed bug infestation that was so bad that it led to a neighbor of mine dying by suicide.

Nationwide, seniors are being bullied and treated like children.

Please double the funds for tenant services and rental assistance

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Sue.

And we are gonna come back to in-person.

Before we jump in here, we've got two mics.

I'm gonna read the names of people who will be called in 20 minutes.

Matt Offenbacker, Evan Sexton, Jennifer Liu, Steve Changlin, Hugo Yang, Julia Chen, Oliver Mischka, and Taylor Farley.

You will be called in 20 minutes.

Up next is Greg, and then if Kettle wants to come to this mic over here, then we'll come back to Joseph, David Haynes, Barb Oliver, Jessica Peterson, Alice Scott, Marta Kidney, Matthew Corey, Tan Mack.

Greg, welcome.

Thanks for coming down.

SPEAKER_125

Good evening, council members.

My name is Greg Thiessen.

I'm here as a member of Seattle Mennonite Church, located in the Lake City neighborhood within Council Member Moore's district.

I am standing united with the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and to remind you yet again that as people of faith, we deeply believe that budgets are moral documents.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which he instructs the disciples that whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.

And Mayor Harrow's budget, as supported by your recent legislation, can largely be summarized as an increase to new spending on cops and surveillance, balanced by a defunding of affordable housing, social services, and the safety net.

Jesus continues in the parable, whatever you did not do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did not do for me.

We want to see a budget that fully reflects our values and prioritizes community investment, like preserving and expanding Jump Start funding for its intended purposes, the Equal Development Initiative, Seattle Green New Deal, and developing affordable housing our city desperately needs.

Instead, it exacerbates the homelessness crisis by defunding rental assistance by $1 million and tenant services.

while simultaneously increasing funding for the encampment sweeps that are responsible for 10 to 15 percent of the deaths of our unhoused neighbors.

I urge the council to increase funding for tenant services by 5.3 million so organizations like BeSeattle, the Tenant Union, and others can support renters and prevent displacement.

Eviction is the leading cause of homelessness.

You should be trying to keep people housed, not actively contributing to the crisis.

I have personally had to fundraise for a friend so that she didn't have to choose between emergency dental care and falling behind on rent and getting evicted along with her four year old.

Rental assistance isn't just window dressing on a budget.

It is life and death for people.

Budgets speak to the value of our city through public investment, and I want to see one that truly reflects our values of community care.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Greg.

And I did not mean to split up the church council.

So if you all want to stay in one place, please feel free to kettle.

Good to see you.

The floor is yours when you're ready.

SPEAKER_52

Good evening, friends, and with loving kindness, I invite you to stretch and to unclench your teeth and to relax your shoulders and breathe in refreshment.

My name is the Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown.

I'm the senior pastor of Plymouth Church, United Church of Christ, and the faith tri-chair of the Washington State Poor People's Campaign.

My faith compels me as a public theologian and faith leader in downtown Seattle to stand in solidarity with the Church Council of Greater Seattle and with under-resourced and disenfranchised and with those who are made vulnerable in this city.

As I stand in the first city of compassion named in the world by the Dalai Lama, I say that budgets are holy moral covenants.

made for and with the people.

And as a progressive Christian pastor, I share from my tradition that when there was no room in the inn for Jesus to be born, at the very least, his family was given an alternative in the stable.

Poverty is the fourth leading cause of death in this country, and 800 people die each day due to a lack of resources.

We want to see a budget that fully reflects our values of equity and thriving, as well as prioritizes justice and compassion, like understanding homelessness is created by greed, not by poor choices of the vulnerable, like fully funding mental, dental, and bodily services for healthcare and providing more housing units with low barrier access, along with basic income for all people, rather than pushing funds towards expanding militarized hyper-surveillance, traumatizing sweeps, and over-policing of black, brown, indigenous, disabled, queer, trans, and otherwise minoritized people.

You don't have to be religious, people of God.

But you are called to be priestly architects of this budget that speaks to our common values.

Forward together, not one step back.

Amen.

Amen.

SPEAKER_04

Up next, we've got Joseph Lopez, followed by David Haynes.

Joseph, welcome.

SPEAKER_128

Thanks.

My name is Joey Lopez.

I'm one of the co-executive directors of the Church Council of Greater Seattle.

It's always a bummer to go behind pastors.

I live in District 3, I work in District 2, and I worship in District 7. Throughout the church council's 105 year history in Seattle, we have worked with nearly 150 faith communities across the city of Seattle toward a future when justice is realized.

The church council urges you to build and pass a budget that reflects the values we can be proud of.

We feel you have a duty to invest city funds in equitable, evidence-based strategies that support thriving communities instead of expanding surveillance, sweeps, and over-policing of our communities.

We join a broad coalition of community organizations and leaders calling for the preservation of Jumpstart funding for its intended purposes.

We're calling on City Council to spend the Jumpstart revenue for its intended purposes, like supporting small businesses, the Equitable Development Initiative, Seattle's Green New Deal, and developing the affordable housing we desperately need.

The mayor's proposal to balance the budget at the expense of community care and investment does not reflect the values we believe the city should uphold.

Freezing jumpstart revenue spending for community programs and initiatives so that you can use nearly half to balance the budget is appalling and nothing more than stealing from those our city who have been and systemically excluded in our city.

The city needs more progressive revenue sources like Jumpstart, show bold leadership, create new sustainable solutions for all.

It's time for policy solutions that invest in communities addressing systemic racism and longstanding inequities.

We believe a budget is a moral document, speaking to the values of our city through public investment.

We will hold you accountable to living into those values.

Seattle can and should be for all communities.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

David, thank you for taking this one.

Then we'll have Barb after you.

David, welcome.

SPEAKER_64

Thank you.

I think the council should consider sending back the budget and carve out all of the racist woke policies that prioritize repeat offenders and criminals for getting to use the Prioritizing self-destructive junkie thieves who are connected to the underworld, who get to squander a majority of the homeless crisis money that was prioritized instead for repeat offenders.

And quite frankly, I think that the progressives are running interference for this less than transparent budget about the priorities from the jumpstart that were slipped in from the COVID crisis.

monies that literally paid off a bunch of protesters from Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protesters who hide behind 16 newly created nonprofits who got $30 million for Equitable Development Initiative every year and it's increased $30 million for community safety and public safety that undermine the integrity of the interpretation of fighting crime properly to make it safe by literally claiming that they're expert at alternative policing.

You have policies that are running interference for low-level drug pushers who are connected to the underworld, and you cannot go anywhere near the business community because you're in danger.

But if you're gonna, like, virtue signal crime-fighting hotspots, you gotta pay overtime to cops to fight crime instead of cops getting rich at law-abiding events.

But the thing is, you've exacerbated the public safety crisis and the homeless crisis and the housing crisis because you have a racist lens that you have to look to and judge somebody's skin color before you decide whether or not you're going to help them.

And you don't even judge the content of their criminal character, but you deem somebody who's white too privileged to even prioritize if they're innocent, homeless, and not bothering anybody.

But the homeless...

are being undermined by lead who keeps running interference for drug pushers and squandering a lot of money and the housing that needs to have the for-profits still develop because the non-profits are not qualified to build 21st century housing but they're politically connected to the

SPEAKER_120

Fuck you, David.

SPEAKER_04

David, this is your first warning.

David, this is your second warning.

Whoever antagonized him, that was not helpful.

Let's all be cool.

Barb Oliver.

If we had Nancy Guppy as the most famous, you might have built them.

Tough act to follow, huh?

I think you've built the most houses out of all of us.

Over to you, Barb Oliver.

SPEAKER_133

Everybody take a breath.

My name is Barb Oliver.

I am in charge of Sound Foundations Northwest.

We build about eight out of every ten tiny homes that go in the new villages.

And yes, that was me in Danny Westneat's article.

And those are the 200 homes that are sitting there undone.

We do not have a storage problem.

We have a village problem.

Okay, let me show you something.

This just came in this week.

So a high school student made this.

A high school student, okay?

And it says, tiny homes save lives.

Really simple.

Those of you that met me know that at the Hope Factory, we operate at a fifth grade level.

So this is very basic, okay?

Okay?

A lot of people have talked about homelessness today, but very few of them have offered solutions, and I have sent each one of you and your staffs a 14-page way that we can get to functional zero by the end of 2027. This is not some pie-in-the-sky new theory.

This has been around nine years and, like Amanda said, has gotten thousands of people off the ground.

Okay?

The budget that I gave you per year is less money to put a roof over the head, a lock on the door, food in the stomach, and wraparound services than to take somebody in a wet, soggy tent and move them from place to place to place.

Folks, look at me.

Homelessness is solvable, and we can do it.

2S.

First of all, fund the budget for homelessness.

Second of all, don't fund one home, one village.

Four, four villages per year will get you there.

In the 27 seconds I have left, I want to leave you with this thought.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

And change will come to you.

SPEAKER_42

thank you for resetting the room barb up next is jessica peterson followed by alice scott and marta kidney floor is yours hi council members i'm jessica peterson and i'm a participant in share and we're asking for five hundred thousand dollars to help with homelessness and we need shelters because without shelters, people die.

And this city hall has a space that could be used for shelters and you guys aren't doing that.

And we need...

money to keep up our day centers.

Like I've used our day centers.

They're a place where we can go to be safe and comfortable and take showers and do laundry and make friends.

And we need money to keep that up.

So please, please, please reconsider and give us money to have shelters.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jessica.

Up next is Alish.

SPEAKER_103

It's Alyssa.

SPEAKER_04

Alyssa, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_103

No, you're fine.

SPEAKER_04

My eyes are.

SPEAKER_103

Alyssa Scott.

I'm here on behalf of the tiny village homes.

My husband and I, y'all heard from him earlier, but my husband and I raised five children in a home in Ballard.

And we stayed there for almost 20 years until our landlord decided to sell.

And I got a brain tumor, and we ended up in a tent on the side of the road.

And by the grace of God, we were found and put into a tiny home where I was able to go to cancer care and be provided the help I needed to get back on our feet.

We both needed to get back on our feet.

And today, because of Lehigh and all that they did for us, we are productive citizens today.

And we were before until we got sidetracked.

And I would have never believed I would ever be there.

I did my senior thesis in college on homelessness, and I still couldn't drag myself out of it, and I still got a brain tumor.

And if this doesn't, if they don't build more homes for people out there, they're not going to heal, and it just goes back on the city.

So thank you.

That's all.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.

Thank you.

Up next is Marta Kidney, Matthew Corey, then Tan Mack.

SPEAKER_70

Thank you council members for taking into consideration the community needs shared here today.

My name is Marta Quirana and I am the community engagement manager at Low Income Housing Institute.

I'm here today to speak to you about tiny house villages and how they are the answer to houselessness by creating a wraparound path to permanent housing.

Lehigh is one of the leading tiny house village operators in Washington, and we have achieved this through on-site case management, mental health services, and chemical dependency programming, in addition to the security, safety, and privacy of a tiny home.

The ability to lock a door and lay down at night knowing you're completely safe cannot be measured.

Through our tiny house villages, in 2023, 120 people have entered substance abuse treatment programs.

Over 50% of people who completed the tiny house village program last year have secured permanent housing.

According to HMIS data, 98% of the people housed have retained their permanent housing.

Outreach to homeless encampments are important, but if we do not increase emergency shelter, where will an outreach team refer people to?

Tiny house villages are the quickest, cheapest, and most effective way to move people off the streets, out of tents, out of the cold, rain and snow, and into warm, safe, and supportive shelter.

At this time, we ask that you add two tiny house villages to the 2025 City of Seattle budget to support our community members in need.

Without a roof over your head and a place to clear your mind, how can you be expected to plan for your future?

Tiny homes are a big solution.

Thank you for your time.

And again, those of you that have not taken a tiny home tour, I offer that to you again.

I will leave my business card and outcomes reports on tiny house villages in 2023. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And if you haven't built a tiny home, talk to Barb.

Up next, Matthew and then Tan Mac.

SPEAKER_80

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

All right.

SPEAKER_80

Good evening, council.

My name is Matthew Corey.

I'm a shelter operations manager for the low income housing authorities, tiny home villages.

I'm here to speak on the hopes of bringing more tiny homes and communities into Seattle and into Washington in general.

I stand up here to share that I do, in fact, have lived experience with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as severe homelessness in my past.

Between the years of 2009 and 2017, I was often on a homeless with no help or guidance from anyone.

I really wish we had a tiny house opportunity when I was on the streets.

Somewhere safe to be with case managers that had the knowledge of how or where to get certain documents that I never learned growing up.

In the past year of working for Lehigh, I have seen and been a part of getting at least 30 people permanently housed.

I haven't been there very long.

And that is only counting the one village that I oversee now and not the other villages that I fell into when I'm needed.

As someone with lived experience on the streets, I am urging city council to provide funding for two new tiny home villages.

With more tiny house villages accessible, the amount of people that we could truly help is astronomical.

Please consider helping these people and helping us help them.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_40

And up next is Tan Mack.

Thank you for being ready.

My name is Ton, a staff member at the Low Income Housing Institute and a resident of District 3. I dedicated several years to AmeriCorps service and found myself at Lehigh last year.

Having learned so much about the community and the housing crisis in Seattle, I was inspired to stay on and continue this important work in housing and homelessness.

As I have coordinated and worked alongside hundreds of volunteers, it is apparent that the community supports tiny house villages, sees their success, and wants more.

As many have already pointed out, the homelessness crisis in Seattle is astronomical.

The city is displacing more and more of our unhoused neighbors over and over again instead of focusing on solutions that will break that cycle.

We need more tiny house villages.

The villages provide a stepping stone out of homelessness rooted in safety, dignity, and support.

Tiny house villages are the fastest, most efficient, and best solution to provide our unhoused neighbors temporary shelter, supportive services, and a path to permanent housing.

City Council, we are asking you to add funding for two new tiny house villages this year.

A few months ago, Councilmember Hollingsworth came to Lehigh's opening of our permanent supportive housing building, the Good Shepherd House.

What I remember the most is her and the congregation's spontaneous singing of We've Come This Far by Faith.

Please do not let us lose faith in the Council.

Please protect and expand affordable housing, shelters, and supportive services.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And to everyone, I am so sorry if I mispronounced your name.

Thank you for your grace with me today.

We are going to go back through the list of folks who were online that were not present.

They are still not present.

So we are going to go right into who is.

And the next 10 are Vanessa Kemp.

Paul Gerstmann, Terry Anderson, Ariana Riley, Kelly Merdinger, Claire Schwa...

Oh, that's my fault.

I'm so sorry, Claire.

Jamie Strobel, Brandon Gimm, Hillary Dameron, and C.

Macker-Wituki.

Okay.

If you are signed up but not present, now is the time to call in because I just skipped over a lot of people who are not present.

With that, I see Vanessa in the room.

Vanessa, star six to unmute.

Take it away.

Vanessa, star six to unmute.

Not pound six.

There you are.

When you're ready, we are.

SPEAKER_25

Hi, my name is.

Hi, my name is Vanessa Caton.

I'm an active and current renter and disabled queer person living in Capitol Hill, as well as an artist.

I urge the council to increase funding for tenant services, especially renter education and organizing.

Know Your Rights meetings and all the resources that they provide prevent people from becoming counselors, including myself, and from people from being bullied out of their homes.

And providing renter resources absolutely feeds into preventing us from becoming houseless, and then, you know, all the other issues that come with that.

With ground-up support, housing is a need for everyone.

We need tenant services, rental assistance, affordable housing, everything.

And we need support for our communities for organizing, or we can't support our artist communities or create more art or have the lovely Seattle communities that we have without people having these resources to ensure that they don't go hungry or hurt or any of that.

All of these things connect, especially in this budget, and I would like to see more funding go into these things, and we can slash SPD, surveillance, or all of these things that have demonstrably harmed our communities.

Don't defund the programs that prevent houselessness.

These programs help everyone in every type of housing situation, whether it's big or small.

Defund the sweeps, defund SPD, but don't cut planning and policy, and we need more support than ever for our communities, not less.

Thank you, I see my time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Vanessa.

Up next is Oliver Misca.

Is that correct?

There you are.

Star six to unmute, Oliver.

SPEAKER_12

Hi, Oliver Misca here, Seattle Public School teacher and small business owner.

There are too many things to bring up today.

The theme, however, is really council's passive acceptance of austerity, punishment, criminalization, and carceral thought behind the one Seattle pro business agenda.

After the mayor and the council tried to cut mental health funding in half from 20 to 10 million for 2024, students responded.

They wrote articles, organized conversations before school, after school, on Zoom, hosting student summits at their schools.

really refusing to be tokenized, excluded, and disrespected by the mayor and the council.

And that was something that came up over and over again.

I have the honor to organize and write with these young people, and it's clear that this budget tries to respond to students' demands in number, but not in the quality.

There have been consistent demands for safe, empowering third places for young people in the city, and they have asked for restorative justice practices and alternatives to policing.

The mayor is claiming to be investing in community safety alternatives, but students are not convinced.

Nor are the educators in our schools.

We need clarity of who's considered community.

And when it comes to community investments, we need to have a clear seat at the table for these partners that go above and beyond every day and might not fit the mayor's cherry picking and the council's chair picking of what they like that to look like.

Students from the Seattle Student Union are currently doing the work for you, trying to educate their peers on this budget process.

And unfortunately, despite numerous calls to your office, there's been little dialogue about really this plan and how we could do the spending better.

Right now, the city council should be investing in Sales Student Union as a central hub to engage students and public school students and have their voice in city politics.

This needs to be an investment and this infrastructure is not just the creation of another commission.

Students have demanded that we also fully fund our schools and we know this is up to the legislature and that's why we're calling you to support the people's big five.

And finally, so many great testimonies today.

The theme here is, you know.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you so much, Oliver.

Please do feel free to send in written comments.

Up next is Paul Gerstmann, followed by Terry Anderson, Ariana Riley.

Paul, you're off mute, ready to go.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_31

Evening, everyone.

I'm Paul Gerstmann, and I'm calling in to voice my support for Councilmember Hollingsworth's 2025 budget amendment to fully fund the Garfield Superblock project.

I live in the central district, just a few blocks away from Garfield, and my partner's daughter, Issa, is just a couple years away from attending Garfield High School.

The school and its proximity to the park are a big part of why we live here, but the facilities are aging, and the project needs full funding to renovate those facilities.

The council's action now can ensure the neighborhood keeps attracting residents and business and providing a safe space for the next generation of our community.

Garfield Park is a wonderful multicultural space and one of the city's most diverse and it deserves to be finished so it can keep serving everyone in the community.

So I want to thank you all for your attention and your work and I urge you again to support this amendment to ensure that the Garfield Superblock whole vision is realized for the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you, Paul.

Up next is Terry Anderson, followed by Ariana Riley.

Terry, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

You're off mute.

Floor is yours.

SPEAKER_08

Hi, my name is Terry Anderson, and I'm the interim executive director of the Tenants Union of Washington State.

I'm speaking today to urge the Seattle City Council to stop the proposed budget cuts for tenant services and rental assistance.

Instead of slashing the budget in half, we recommend you increase this crucial funding by $5.3 million.

We also support the solidarity budget.

The Tenants Union of Washington State received funds from the City of Seattle to operate a tenant rights hotline, in-person clinics at various community locations, and to conduct multiple virtual and in-person tenant rights workshops.

We offer these services in languages that tenants use, speak, and comprehend.

We have Spanish speakers on staff to help tenants who speak Spanish, and we utilize translation services for all other languages.

Our services educate renters about their rights during the move-in and move-out processes of their tenancy and everything that happens while they're renting their home.

Tenants who do not know their rights under the Washington Residential Landlord Tenant Act and through local and other tenant protections often operate out of fear and will move unnecessarily when they do not understand the notices posted on their door, even if it means becoming homeless.

In addition to empowerment-based tenant education and counseling, we also refer tenants to legal and other resources for additional help when necessary.

We help tenants form tenants associations to collectively address building issues that create solutions for tenants without having to litigate.

Our services keep families and communities intact.

The racial divide of home ownership in Seattle, along with systemic racist housing policies and practices, means that tenants are disproportionately black and brown and are lifelong tenants who live and die in rental housing.

The funding for tenant services and rental services saves lives in Seattle.

Please do not cut this funding.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And we're actually going to go back up to Evan Sexton, who is now present.

Evan, you're in the room.

Star six to unmute.

You're off mute.

We're ready to hear your public comment.

SPEAKER_27

Hi.

Uh, thank you.

Uh, my name is Evan Sexton.

I'm a resident in district four.

Uh, I just want to start by thanking the mayor's staff for the work on the proposed budget.

Um, facing that big of a deficit.

I know that they've put a lot of work, uh, the budget proposal.

Um, I am kind of concerned about the lack of planning for the systemic budget.

A lot of talk has happened about how every year money has been taken from Jumpstart.

But as context, every year that's also been sold as kind of a temporary stopgap.

And that just seems to me a little unsustainable, especially given that we still have a systemic budget deficit.

So I think that the conversation needs to be more explicit.

If we're going to keep taking money from Jumpstart, it can't.

keep being talked about as if it's a one-year thing.

It needs to be a real debate so that the public knows what's going on.

And then kind of along with that theme, you know, I and over two-thirds of voters, we voted to increase investment in affordable housing by about $100 million every year.

But unfortunately, since that passed, there's been a pretty significant decline in MHA revenue.

So we have not seen that increase of $100 million that we were kind of voting for when we passed the housing levy.

I understand that Jumpstart is currently being used to fill revenue gaps because of declining revenue in other sources, which is why we have our budget deficit.

But I think that if we're going to be using Jumpstart to fill revenue gaps, The first thing, the first kind of revenue gap we should probably fill is revenue gaps for stuff that's identified in the jumpstart spending plan.

So given that we're having that decline in MHA and we're not really meeting what we were expected to with the housing levy, you know, we should prioritize that.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Evan.

The remaining speakers that we're going to take in this set from online are Ariana Riley, Kelly Merdinger, Claire, I'm sorry, I'm not going to pronounce your last name, Jamie Strobel, Jocelyn Moore, Brandon Gimm, Hillary Dameron.

Ariana, I see you're off mute.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_25

Hi, good evening.

And I apologize for not being able to be there in person because I have to work tonight.

So I'm making my comments remotely.

I'd just like to say that this budget is a major embarrassment to the city of Seattle and fails the people of Seattle.

I am most concerned about the cost to OLS, tenant services, and domestic violence services, including lawyers for homeless youth, which I personally use as a teenager and who helped save my life.

Although I was not at risk of homelessness, they helped my situation and I wouldn't be where I am without them.

This council claims to want to go after crime.

The way to fight crime is by going after the crimes that occur most often and are most harmful, such as wage theft, rape, and domestic violence.

We can do this by keeping the Office of Labor Standards funding in place, not cutting it, by increasing funding for domestic violence services and tenant services, which help domestic violence survivors to be able to lead their abusers, and by defunding the police.

The police, at best, do not help domestic violence survivors and survivors of rape.

As we know, SPD is not investigating or prosecuting any rapes in Seattle anymore.

At worst, they are perpetrators themselves, often while on the job.

Defund the police, defund the surveillance base, defund police, which are harmful and useless, and please restore the funding for wage theft investigations and go after criminals that steal money from their employees.

and please increase funding for domestic violence services and tennis services so that people can survive.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Kelly Merdinger, followed by Claire and then Jamie.

Kelly, you're off mute already.

We're resetting the timer.

We're ready for you when you are.

SPEAKER_10

My name is Kelly.

I'm a renter in District 3. I'm also a social worker.

I worked at DESC as a case manager and therapist for several years.

I'm here to support the solidarity budget and jumpstart funding and demand that we fund life-saving services, affordable housing, tenant education, rental assistance, eviction protection, and a living wage for our human service workers.

I am personally terrified that we are funding more police positions, funding sweeps, and taking away services.

This will result in death and suffering, which as a city council, I would like you to be honest about it.

If you fund this proposed budget, what's going to happen?

Those are your values, and we should have an open conversation.

We have to invest in services that are preventative.

No one should have to perform their sufferings to be treated humanely and with dignity.

As a case manager, one of the most infuriating things was being a gatekeeper of services, which sometimes didn't exist.

We didn't have enough shelter beds or housing or even staffing.

And if housing came up for a client and this was a very small window, I may not be able to find them because they were just swept and violently displaced or had no safe place to charge their phone.

And I eventually left that job, as many did of my coworkers, not because I didn't love my clients and work, but because I was putting my own housing at risk.

Even outreaching my clients on the weekends, I couldn't afford my own rent.

and I didn't feel like I could do my job ethically.

So when I see police officers standing around harassing people, I'm filled with despair.

I recently was walking around my own neighborhood, Capitol Hill, when there were two police officers who had handcuffed a woman who was clearly experiencing a mental health crisis.

He called out to me and my friend for help, so we stood to observe, and the officers engaged with me when I told them I was a social worker and mentioned the Crisis Solution Center and the Mobile Crisis Team.

The officers were apathetic.

They knew of those services, but admitted that it took a long time for people to come, that there weren't enough beds, that even saying that they wish there was more help or funding.

So even these officers knew that they could not do that job, that they shouldn't be there and that their presence was escalating.

They didn't make that woman safer or me safer.

And I bring this up because if the crisis response thing is managed by the police instead of the ESC, there will be more violence.

The answers are not complex, simple to fund that hold life of sacred.

Okay.

Please defund the police.

Please fund these services.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Kelly.

Up next is Claire, followed by Jamie.

Claire, I see you're here.

You're already off mute.

We're ready when you are.

SPEAKER_25

Great.

Thank you, everyone.

Hi, my name is Claire Schwalco.

I'm a queer renter who works in nonprofit living and working in Lake City, District 5. I urge the council to increase funding for tenant services, especially for winter education and organizing by $5.3 million.

In my early 20s, I was fleeing domestic violence and facing homelessness.

I worked with Friends of Youth and the Housing Justice Project to gain safe and safe housing.

I later faced eviction during the pandemic, and the Seattle Housing Justice Project and Solid Ground helped me learn about my rights, advocated for me, prevented me from being denied future housing, and provided legal resources.

Thanks to these organizations, I was able to confidently navigate my rights as a tenant and continue to help renters advocate for themselves I also work with a large number of people facing homelessness every day in my job, and we could not do what we do without the support of these other organizations.

We are only able to help so much, and it is so critical for us to be able to refer our neighbors out to these other resources.

So I urge you to increase the funding for these services by 5.3 million so that organizations like The Seattle can continue to support our tenants.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Claire.

Up next is Jamie Strobel, followed by Jocelyn Moore, Brandon Gimm, Hillary Damerman, and I am going to take Marissa Perez, and then I'll explain where we're going to go from there.

Jamie, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

Not pound six, star six.

There, you're off mute.

We're ready when you are.

SPEAKER_23

Thank you, budget chair Straus and city council members.

My name is Jamie Strobel and I serve on the Seattle Planning Commission and have done so for over eight years.

I'm currently serving my second term as co-chair.

I come to ask you to please consider maintaining the staffing of the Planning Commission at its current level and reject the proposed cut of a third of the policy staff, the currently filled full-time senior planning analyst.

When I first joined the commission, I was a youth worker and a renter that was living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to find affordable housing.

I joined because I wanted to be a part of shaping the long-term vision for our city, a city that is livable, sustainable, equitable, and affordable for all.

Over the last 16 years, in addition to reviewing city department-generated work, the Commission has developed its own independent research work, including four topical issue briefs intended to shape and inform the current underway major update to the comprehensive plan, including updating the growth strategy, addressing displacement, meeting the challenge of supporting affordable housing, repurposing the right-of-way and mobility options in people-oriented streets, and other reports including a racially equitable and resilient recovery during the COVID pandemic in 2020, neighborhoods for all in 2018, family-sized housing in 2014, housing in Seattle in 2011, Seattle transit communities in 2010, and affordable housing action agenda in 2008. The Planning Commission was established in the city charter in 1946, to, quote, make recommendations to the legislative and other city departments on the city's broad planning goals and policies and on such plans for the development of the city at its present and future needs may require.

The diverse volunteers of the commission play a critical role in providing thought leadership and offering independent, objective advice and reviewing of city planning work.

It is a key accountability tool to both branches of city government and to Seattle residents and a critical tool for good governance.

Please help us continue our work.

Thank you for your consideration.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jamie.

Up next is Jocelyn Moore, followed by Brandon Gim, Hilary Damerman, Marissa Perez.

Jocelyn, you're already off mute.

We're ready when you are.

SPEAKER_25

Thanks.

CIDBIA, which is the Seattle International District Business Improvement Area.

I'm a community member of the CIDB.

Our community, as well as Little Sideline, are facing very serious safety issues.

Businesses are closing, property owners are struggling to collect rent, and the community's sense of safety and morale is rapidly declining.

Without action from the city, our district culture and economic vibrancy will continue to erode, affecting not just our community, but also the city as a whole.

As the city considered the 2.4 million public safety initiative, I hope you can consider to allocate at least 20% of these funding directly to the CID and community and the little Saigon community-based organization.

This local control is essential to addressing the specific public safety and economic challenges we face.

We need a dedicated public safety team now.

The time to action is urgent.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jocelyn.

Up next is Brandon, followed by Hillary.

Brandon, we We have you now, Brandon, star six to unmute.

You're off mute and we're ready.

SPEAKER_115

Hi, thank you all for being here.

Thank you, City Council, for the opportunity to speak.

I hope that you can be present with us who have come to speak with you today.

Again, my name is Brandon Gimm.

I'm a public health nurse at Harborview Medical Center and also Seattle King County Public Health.

Your constituents are relying on you to lead our city into a better future.

And as a health care professional and citizen of the city, I'm here to request the council reconsider the financially and socially irresponsible budget proposal.

The current proposal reallocates funding to criminalize vulnerable communities, surveil neighborhoods, and inflate police budgets, all while defunding essential services and laying off city workers.

These policy choices not only gravely deepen budget deficits, but also aggravate trauma in the community for those most vulnerable, exacerbate housing insecurity, and undermine already fragile trust in local government.

As a nurse working at the youth detention center, it's abundantly clear that jail and policing are not the solutions to systemic problems.

On the other hand, community-led, evidence-based solutions prevent community violence by addressing root causes.

Last year, in anticipation of this year's budget so far, the Revenue Stabilization Workgroup released their recommendations for increasing the city's budget through progressive revenue options.

Progressive revenue is fiscally responsible and would prevent the city from having to cut essential services, allowing the city to invest in policies that actually create public safety.

Council members, I implore you, reconsider the path you've chosen for our community.

The proposal budget sows seeds of discord and dysfunction, and it's not too late to alter course.

We consider the budget that is ineffective and punitive systemic issues requires systemic solutions, not police violence and bloating legal cases.

Choose instead to invest in community led solutions and programs that actually address the root causes of problems in society.

Create a city that is run effectively equitably and compassionately as be a beacon of hope, not a case study and oppression.

So council members, please reconsider.

It's so many lives in the soul of our city at stake.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Brandon.

Hillary, we have you here.

Star six to unmute.

Hillary, there you are.

You're off mute.

We're ready.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, council members, for your time.

My name is Hillary Dameron, and I'm a resident of District 3 with children attending neighborhood public schools.

And I'm a proud member of the Garfield Superblock Coalition.

I am calling in today to ask you to help finish the Garfield Superblock.

project.

Please support council member Hollingsworth's amendment that will fulfill this promise to the central district residents and users of the campus, addressing real needs related to mental health, safety, and community investment.

The GFC campus holds the community center, a community pool, a teen life center, and a performing arts center with two high schools ordering the park and many organized activities on the playfield.

This is a campus that is used by everyday people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

An investment in this park is an investment in the people who use it.

For years, members of the Garfield Superblock Coalition have solicited specific design ideas for the park renovation that will create a welcoming, inclusive, accessible, and amenity-filled public space at this hardworking campus in the center of a historically neglected neighborhood.

The coalition has spent time speaking not just with neighbors and residents, but with the city employees who staff the community center, Medgar Evers School, and the Teen Life Center.

They are front facing workers who address the needs of the city related to youth, mental health, physical activity, and neighborly connection.

The coalition has listened to them and implemented their ideas and solutions in the park design.

We don't want these carefully considered designs to be left on the table.

In addition, the Garfield Superblock and surrounding neighborhood has persistently experienced so much gun violence.

It demands a response from the City Council.

Let's make the Garfield Superblock a place that calms and addresses violence, not a place where violence occurs regularly.

Please join Councilmember Hollingsworth's amendment

SPEAKER_04

Thank you very much, Hillary.

Up next is Marissa Perez.

Marissa, I see you're here.

Star six to unmute.

There, you're off mute.

We're ready.

Take it away.

Marissa, you're off mute.

Maybe your phone's muted.

SPEAKER_25

It was.

You are right.

Okay.

Can you hear me now?

SPEAKER_05

Yes, we can.

SPEAKER_25

Okay.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Marissa Perez.

I am a renter, a resident of District 1, and I serve as the Executive Director of the Seattle Human Services Coalition.

We represent over 200 organizations providing essential services across the city, including senior care, food equity, homelessness services, child care, and gender-based violence, among many others vitally important to the people of Seattle.

We listen to frontline human service staff and clients to develop recommendations aimed at maintaining, not reducing, the current capacity of Seattle's human services system and meeting the needs of all community members.

We are asking you to restore the cuts made across human service agencies by the mayor's budget.

You have heard tonight how vital it is to maintain these services and current needs already outpace current available funding.

These cuts in contracts will be devastating to individual agencies and to the community members they serve.

We are also asking that inflation adjustments mandated by city ordinance apply to all human service contracts, regardless of department, so that organizations can sustain service levels despite increased costs.

We are also asking that you hold to the wages by 5% to address wage disparities that impact frontline workers, which will stabilize the vital services these workers provide and ensure that we are fortifying and strengthening our capacity to respond to the needs of our community members.

We urge city leadership to resist setting the precedent that earmarked progressive revenue sources like Jump Start are merely buckets of money that can be used for general city needs.

These funds were developed with the promise of support from affordable housing, green infrastructure jobs, and others.

By stripping these restrictions via the proposed legislation, the city is going back on the promises to our communities.

We also support the recommendations of our member coalitions and agencies, including the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, the Meals Partition Coalition, the Seattle Food Committee, Services for Seniors, and the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you, Marissa.

Friends, we have...

We're about halfway point now.

We've been going for about three hours.

We've got about two to three more hours worth of people in person signed up.

That was the last person that signed up before 5 p.m.

remotely.

So I'm going to take executive privilege and we're just going to do in person until...

We get through it all and then we'll go back to remote because I have I see everyone has been in here since about 5 p.m So I'm now meeting the clerk's requirement to take people in the order in which they registered So we've got the Sea Park garage closing in about two hours We're gonna use both microphones.

We're gonna go back and forth between a and B and so we're gonna do the same kind of numbers so up next is A21 through 30. A30 has taken their name off the list.

And then we're gonna do B21 through 30. And we're gonna channel Barb Oliver and Kelly Brown.

We're gonna unclench our teeth, roll our shoulders back, and we're gonna enjoy the next three hours of this public hearing.

Up next is Lori Farmer, followed by Jeff Lang.

Natalie Hustron, Andy Pham, Jamie Fackler, Kate Mark, I can't, my eyes are bad, 27, A27, Aiden Stevens, Jason Austin.

With that, Laurie, welcome, take it away.

SPEAKER_114

Oh, thank you so much.

Let's see, okay.

Seattle City Council, thank you so much for listening.

I'm Laurie Roback Farmer and I'm an active registered voter and a semi-retired science teacher, but that's besides the point.

The reason I'm here is because I'm a Seattle urban nature guide and a salmon steward, both of which may be completely cut out.

So what I'm about to say is in a little different way.

I want to believe that my city is green, save environmental program, programming, if you know what I mean.

The answer is not privatization, which has a non-accessible vibration.

We need nature for our youth.

It's therapeutic.

That's the truth.

Being in the forest for our teens, we are mentoring connections that can be seen.

Connections, not rejections to the great out of doors.

Seattle's green reputation soars.

Field trips to our parks, beaches, and tidal pools.

Can't do that stuff within buildings of schools.

So give our community equal opportunity to urban nature programs.

For teachers, seniors, scientists, we are all volunteers.

So Mayor Harold Landon here, Seattle needs all environmental programs to be here.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you for grounding us.

Jeffrey, you're up next, followed by Natalie.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_108

Good evening, council members.

It's hard to follow that, but I'll try.

My name is Jeff Liang, and I'm an attorney who lives and works in the Chinatown International District.

I also serve as the board chair of the CID BIA.

I am here to ask the city to fund a dedicated We Deliver Care team in the CID and Little Saigon.

Public safety issues are driving deep economic decline in our community.

Buildings have burned down.

Restaurants, retail stores, small businesses, they're all struggling to stay afloat.

And many are behind on rent, and they're facing a looming eviction, which will lead to more empty storefronts.

Property owners are also facing challenges.

If property owners struggle financially, I am concerned that they will have no choice but to turn their properties over to lenders or receivers, which will mean that the CID and Little Saigon will be in the control of banks.

So when the CID and Little Saigon, when we've been given the city's challenges to handle in the past, we have responded with resilience and compassion.

However, our resilience has its limits.

We find ourselves now overwhelmed and alone in shouldering the city's challenges.

We've been told help is coming and to wait.

But we need help now.

So I ask the city to fund the proposed $2.4 million for the dedicated We Deliver Care in the CID in Little Saigon, and also to make sure that the funds are controlled by CID organizations and not being directed by someone else or another third party.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jeffrey.

Up next is Natalie.

Welcome.

We're ready.

SPEAKER_110

Hi, my name is Natalie Hudson, and I am the community safety manager for the Chinatown International District.

Since I started this position, the number one ask from community has been for a safety outreach team to serve the neighborhood.

I work on the ground in the CID, outreaching to different community members, hearing about their persistent fear.

People in the CID feel alone, and they need the We Deliver Care safety team to be a constant presence, providing immediate response.

The folks living unhoused in the neighborhood are also members of our community, and rather than ineffective and harmful interventions to displace people, we need people who can earn their trust, show them compassion, and get them access to the services they need to survive and thrive.

People are looking for someone to solve public safety in the CID, but no one person can accomplish that goal alone.

I want to work with the We Deliver Care team in Little Saigon to make short and long-term impacts that serve our small businesses and all residents.

I can't do that without your support.

I ask you to fund the proposed $2.4 million budget for the contract with LEED to show your support for this work.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_71

Thank you, Natalie.

Up next is Andy.

Thank you.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Andy Pham, representing Friends of Little Saigon and District 2. My position as a community engagement manager is to uplift the needs of our local small businesses, residents, and other key stakeholders.

Little Saigon is asking the city to support the $2.4 million CAD public safety proposal to fund the We Deliver Care safety team.

This team will help address the harms created by the untreated behavioral and mental health needs fueled by the pervasive housing and fentanyl crisis.

In addition, they will relieve some of the pressures so that our enforcement agencies can focus on the organized crime occurring in our neighborhood.

These concentrated harms happening in such a dense, diverse, and culturally historic area have directly impacted our most vulnerable community members.

They've experienced stalking, harassment, and armed assaults.

Black market activity, destructive fires, and gun violence abound.

INVEST IN THIS ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO STABILIZE THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS WE WORK TOGETHER FOR THE LONG-TERM VITALITY OF LITTLE SAGON.

THANK YOU.

SPEAKER_04

THANK YOU, ANDY.

UP NEXT IS JAMIE, FOLLOWED BY KATE, AND THEN A27.

SPEAKER_102

YEAH, THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER STRAUSS.

JAMIE FACKLER HERE.

I'M A SHOP STEWARD WITH PROTEC 17 OVER AT SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION AND INSPECTIONS.

And I'm here with our rep and some colleagues that are directly impacted by the budget cuts to our department.

And I'm asking, I'm urging you to fund those positions, to find it in the budget, to fund the positions at STCI.

The folks that are slated to be laid off, we'll see a 36% reduction in zoning review.

These are folks that review permits, demolition permits, single family, residential, DADUs, multifamily projects.

That 30% reduction in that one group by our numbers puts a total of, or a reduction in available time to review permits by 54%.

So that's over half of the amount of time that those folks will be able to review permits.

Work that they also do is stuff that's related to our virtual customer service center, Zendesk, answering questions.

I urge you folks, council members, to come to the Filipino Community Center STCI will be doing a fair there in open house and you can see how in demand the zoning planners are in that room.

Those folks, everybody has questions for zoning and these folks play a critical role in our department in approving permits and they provide a tremendous community service.

You know, personally in my role, we rely on these folks as review to really sort of intercept and address contentious problems with neighbors, whether that's in any of your districts.

You know, we see lots of complaints that are around zoning.

So I urge you to fully fund these positions and you'll hear some testimonials from some members that are directly impacted.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Jamie.

Up next is Kate.

SPEAKER_44

Hello, thank you, Council.

I'm Katie Mark.

I am a District 1 voter, and I am a proud union representative for ProTech 17. I just firstly want to say that ProTech 17 stands in solidarity with community testifying tonight.

We desperately need our city leadership to commit to finding more progressive revenue for our communities, our families, and all of our neighbors.

I'm really proud to represent city employees across Seattle, including the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections.

These frontline workers and frontline employees, rank and file union members, work directly with our communities every single day to ensure equitable access to critical public services.

Providing the most direct and accessible public services possible was identified as a main priority by the recent city audit that was done on SDCI.

These same city workers provide direct public facing services have been notified that their jobs, their livelihoods are now at risk of being laid off.

These city employees are absolutely critical in meeting the goals of the city outline and set audit.

Tonight, like Jamie shared, you will hear from directly impacted Protect 17 union members who are directly impacted by proposed layoffs seen in the mayor's budget.

We're asking for your help tonight to maintain critical public services, to maintain good union jobs, and to work together, continuing to build our shared vision of a thriving one Seattle for everybody.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Katie.

Up next, we have A27.

Thank you.

That's you.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, A27.

Thank you, Budget Chair Strauss, for the two minutes.

It's shameful that Council President Nelson keeps cutting our time.

My name is Yin Shi He.

I'm in Council District 2. I am a resident and an organizer in the Chinatown International District.

I am a supporter of mutual aid efforts in Little Saigon, whom have served over 200 hot meals a week.

I am here to advocate for expansion of Jump Start and a supporter of solidarity budget to invest in communities.

And I'm also a ProTech17 member.

When class privileged house folks and business chamber complain about people being on the streets, they should be blaming Council Member Wu for shutting down Little Saigon's Navigation Center and stopping Soto Shelter from being built.

Yet the lead care team was funded.

Where would they go?

They need mental health services.

They need safe consumption sites.

which none are currently funded.

Stop the sweep, stop wasting taxpayer money on violence that do not help individuals, especially after a sweep, which is state-sanctioned and funded violence, there are ripple impacts.

After sweep is when my family and friends who park in CID have their car windows broken into, or when mail and packages get taken.

There are downstream ripple impacts when the state perpetuate violence And those costly incidents occur.

City council are responsible for setting these conditions.

Stop taking funding from black, indigenous, people of color communities who designed and advocated for Jumpstart, which is intended to provide resources for communities historically and currently underfunded.

You should be expanding Jumpstart, not taking from it.

And when you take Jumpstart to cover cities' reckless spending, which isn't what Jumpstart was legislated to fund, that means you opened the city to a lawsuit.

I repeat, when you take Jumpstart to cover city's record spending, which isn't what Jumpstart was intended to do, that means you opened the city to a lawsuit.

Stop getting SPD 46 million bonuses and ghost cops.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And please feel free to send in additional written comments.

I'm gonna move on to Jason Austin.

Floor is yours.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_77

Good evening, council members.

My name is Aiden Stevens, and I work in District 5 at Hunger Intervention Program in Lake City as the lead for our senior meal programs.

I am here today to testify in support of sustaining a $1 million investment for meal programs in the 2025 budget.

I want to thank Council Member Hollinsworth for her support.

The need for nutritious and culturally relevant food and community spaces has never been greater.

We have seen the number of elders coming in for a meal increased by over 300% since we launched our Lake City Seniors Program in 2013 and our East African Elders Program in 2018. These programs have grown from 50 meals per week to more than 600. This rise in demand is being driven by a rapidly increasing food costs and a nationwide rise in poverty among older adults.

Last year, it was reported that the poverty rates for adults 65 and older in Washington had climbed to 9%.

When our elders are fed, they are healthier both physically and mentally.

They are more social and need less high-cost care from our health care system.

Sustained funding for our programs will make it so community members won't have to worry about whether their meal delivery will be able to continue.

Lose access to in-person community lunch due to staffing issues.

Investing in meal programs across the city means investing in the public health of our communities.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Aiden, and thank you for helping me keep us on track in the correct order.

Now is time for Jason.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_139

Thank you so much.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Jason Austin, District 2 resident and program director at the Meals Partnership Coalition.

I am here today to urge you to sustain a $1 million investment for meal programs in the 2025 budget.

I want to thank Councilmember Hollingsworth for her leadership on this issue and urge the council to include this funding request in the balancing package.

Members of the Meals Partnership Coalition are the front line of defense against hunger in Seattle.

Our 45 member organizations produce over 4 million ready to eat meals every year.

These meals are served every day at senior centers, daycare and after school programs, churches, homeless service programs, assisted living facilities, and cultural institutions.

Every neighborhood in Seattle contains at least one meal program supporting everyone who calls Seattle home.

This investment will help our members stay afloat.

In 2024, Seattle meal programs saw a dramatic increase in demand from the previous year.

This increased need could not come at a worse time as state and federal funding for hunger relief programs is decreasing.

When people are unable to feed themselves and their families, they will resort to whatever means necessary to get their next meal.

Meal programs provide stability and structure to people who otherwise end up cycling through the medical and criminal justice system at great expense to taxpayers.

Again, I urge you to sustain a $1 million investment in the 2025 budget to invest in the safety and well-being of everyone who calls Seattle home.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jason.

Up next, we've got B, 21 through 30, which means, again, we have two microphones.

We're going to go Donovan Allen, Sam Oliver, Timothy, no last name, Roxanne Estes, Jesse Pena, John Grant, Diane Huang, Ted Damon.

B-29 and Brittany Moraski, two microphones.

Let's alternate.

If your name is Donovan Allen, you are up.

If your name is Sam Oliver, you're up after.

We are on B-21.

B-22.

We're going to go with B-22.

Sam Oliver, the floor is yours.

Two minutes.

If Donovan is around, just come back up to the front.

SPEAKER_138

Good evening, council members.

My name is Sam Oliver.

I'm a lifelong Seattleite and registered voter.

As a former client and current employee of the Low Income Housing Institute, I've seen the impact that these services paid for by the city have on the lives of its unhoused citizens firsthand.

Tiny home villages in particular seem to be an expressway to permanent housing when compared with congregate shelters.

As Marta touched on already, these numbers speak for themselves.

As a city, we are faced with a crisis that calls for our leadership in humane and pragmatic solutions.

I'm here tonight to ask that you fund at least two more tiny home villages in the 2025 budget.

Tiny home villages are a shrewd investment in a better, more just Seattle for all of us.

I cede my time.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Sam.

Donovan in the room, raise your hand.

Donovan, if you're here, not seeing you.

We're going to move on to Timothy T. B.

SPEAKER_99

23.

SPEAKER_01

Good evening, city council members.

My name is Timothy.

I come here this evening to speak on behalf of the low-income houses.

I haven't been...

in the low income houses, in the shelter, in the tiny village for more than a year, my wife and I.

I come this evening to plead on behalf of the tiny village that the city council grants them more fund to build two more new villages for the growing population of homeless people in the city of Seattle.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Timothy.

SPEAKER_04

Up next is Roxanne Estes, followed by Jesse Pena.

Roxanne, welcome.

SPEAKER_96

Hi.

Hi, my name is Roxy.

I grew up in Seattle.

I've spent my whole life in Seattle.

During COVID, I lost my job and my car, my place to live.

I ended up homeless.

And I was swept like, I don't know, seven, eight times in a matter of two weeks at one point.

It's pretty ridiculous.

But after finally getting into a tiny home, I now have a safe place where I know that it's going to be there when I come back.

And I have a place to eat.

And then the laundry and all of these things, they mean more than you would ever believe.

We take for granted the small things like water and heat and things like that.

So two more tiny home villages or more would make a huge impact, I think.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Roxy.

Up next is Jesse Pena, followed by John Grant.

Jesse, welcome.

SPEAKER_130

What's up?

I'm Jesse.

So, about a year ago, my home, well, first off, my home is longer than I'd like to admit, but my home, a homeless camp.

We got the word we were shutting down, dead of winter.

Lehigh comes in, swoops us up, gives us a place to stay, four walls and a roof, a home.

And they shacked us up for the dead of winter in a motel.

And that means a lot.

And with those two new villages they were asking for, maybe they can help out me and a lot of people like me.

And the 18 of my old crew, they gave tiny homes to, gave apartments to.

And these tiny homes, man, it's footing.

It's traction to get your life back together.

So think about it.

SPEAKER_04

Thanks, Jesse.

John, you're up.

SPEAKER_119

Sorry, I'm tall.

Good evening, council members.

My name is John Grant.

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

This evening, you've heard some very moving stories from many of our clients whose lives have been changed thanks to the tiny house village program.

We actually have 11 tiny house villages plus our RV safe lot, Salmon Bay Village.

I especially want to thank council member Bob Kettle for his support of that program.

This is really an opportunity for us to do more for our community.

We saw an increase in outreach in the budget.

We need to see a correlating increase in shelter.

We need to build a bridge to somewhere.

We need a place for people to be able to rest their heads, have security, and tiny houses are the most cost-effective way to do that.

We're asking for the city to include two new tiny house villages in the budget.

I know it's a tough year, but it's also really tough on the streets.

In addition, I'm here to talk about the jumpstart payroll expense tax.

We really support the that was established for this law.

This was something that was put together not just by affordable housing advocates, but also by small business owners, labor, and many folks in the community.

And we ask that the council respect that stakeholder process.

KEEP THE SPEND PLANNED AND MAKE SURE THAT 62% OF THAT REVENUE IS GOING TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

AND I HAVE ANOTHER PROPOSAL RELATED TO THAT.

WE'RE ASKING YOU TO FORWARD FUND JUMP START FOR THIS YEAR.

TAKE THE FUNDS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ALLOCATE FOR 2025 AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE IN THE FALL NOVA IN 2024. This is a budget neutral proposal.

It would allow us to expedite housing faster.

We can get permits started.

We can expand the pipeline and get more housing quicker.

We also want to make sure that we have a stabilization fund.

Right now, there are affordable housing properties that are being put on the market.

This represents an existential threat to the city's affordable housing portfolio.

Please create a $30 million stabilization fund using the reserves from the payroll expense tax.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thanks, John.

Up next is Diane.

Diane, welcome.

And then Ted will be after that.

SPEAKER_81

Thank you.

Good evening, Seattle City Council.

I'm here to respectfully urge you to save Seattle PD's Mounted Patrol Unit.

It has been my honor to serve alongside SPD's Mounted Patrol Unit for the past two years, hosting over 180 law enforcement families for events with the horses that foster connection and community and promote officer wellness.

At these events, the unit has served surviving family members who have lost their officer in the line of duty and officers recovering from being shot in the line of duty.

These families have expressed heartfelt appreciation for the opportunity to visit with the horses in a safe and therapeutic environment.

The unit has played an essential role in advocating for officer wellness and has paved the way for us to collaboratively care for the wellness of officers serving our communities.

The unit has also excelled in serving the Seattle community.

In addition to patrolling Alki, Rainier Beach, Columbia City, Third and Pine, Georgetown, the Aurora Corridor and City Parks, they have also served the Ronald McDonald House, Seattle Public Schools, specifically with Highland Elementary, They have served Garfield High School with Emphasis Patrols.

They have served with CPAL, Holiday Beats in downtown Seattle, and Launch Learning Summer Care Program, and the list goes on and on.

Cutting them out to patrol unit will mean cutting an invaluable unit that so richly serves the Seattle community and strengthens public safety.

And it's also a unit that is uniquely equipped to serve their fellow officers internally, promoting officer wellness so our officers can serve our communities with excellence.

It is with great honor and respect for you and your leadership that I ask you to consider every option to keep this Seattle's Mounted Patrol Unit intact because once it's gone, the 100...

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Diane.

And up next is Ted, followed by Taggart, and then Brittany.

SPEAKER_121

Good evening.

My name is Ted Dedman, and I'm a land use planner for the City of Seattle's Department of Construction Inspections.

I'm here tonight to express my opposition to the 2025 budget, because it will cut my team significantly.

I want to also use this time to call out two statements that were incorrectly made during the last budget meeting by the mayor's appointee.

The first is that permit timelines will not be affected.

This is not true because the mayor's office has failed to communicate that land use planners review building permits.

If you get rid of all the land use planners, then there will be a backlog of building permits, and then that will discourage new permits.

The mayor's office also fails to consider the influx of permits coming next summer because of middle housing.

The second statement that was made is that our sole job duty is to review permits.

This is not true because a typical day for a land use planner involves informal coaching, staffing the questions counter, attending pre-submittal conferences, assisting colleagues in other departments, and working on special projects.

All this is to say is that SDCI has worked really hard to develop a positive relationship with the community and applicants.

The currently proposed budget undervalues my value, and the impending backlog risks damaging that relationship between the city and the community.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Ted.

Taggart?

Taggart, I'm going to have you stand really close to that microphone.

I'm going to have you pull it up.

Yep.

Stand as close as you can.

SPEAKER_54

MY NAME IS TAG.

I'M RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SIX.

SPEAKER_03

CLOSER.

SORRY.

WE'RE GOING TO GET IN ON THIS.

SPEAKER_54

I'M RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SIX AND I'M HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE MEALS PARTNERSHIP COALITION TO SUPPORT SUSTAINING $1 MILLION IN THE STATE BUDGET FOR MEAL PROGRAMS.

I THANK COUNCILMEMBER HOLLINGSWORTH FOR LEADING THIS ISSUE AND I ENCOURAGE THE REST OF THE COUNCIL TO SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT INVESTMENT.

In the fall of 2023, I started volunteering at Teen Feed, a local dinner program near my home.

Every night from weekends to holidays, Teen Feed cooks over 65 meals for unhoused teens and young adults.

There's a quiet hunger crisis in Seattle impacting young people from all backgrounds.

And throughout my volunteering experience, I learned how much impact programs like Teen Feed can have on fighting food insecurity.

These programs offer more than just a healthy meal, though.

I've seen at-risk youth come in for dinner, who then get connected to other necessities like clothes, internets, and even referrals for jobs.

These meals also minimize food waste in the area.

Teen Feed repurposes thousands of pounds of perfectly good food every year that would otherwise end up in landfills through donations from farmers and other meal providers.

As the city reevaluates its budget for the following year, I ask that they consider the importance of these programs when discussing funding.

Soaring food costs have affected everyone, especially hunger relief programs.

Sustaining and adjusting the previous investment in these programs provides nutritious meals, community, and much, much more.

Once again, I thank Councilmember Hollingsworth for leading this issue, and thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Well said, Tag.

You make D6.

Next, we are going back to a...

31 through, oh, sorry, Brittany.

I'm ahead of myself.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_66

Well, first, I just want to thank you all for your stamina.

I have had the opportunity to get up and stretch my legs and I recognize that you have not.

So thank you for listening to the voices of your constituents and taking time away from your families.

My name is Brittany Morosky.

I have lived in Capitol Hill for eight years.

I recently moved to Ballard and I'm here to encourage you to protect funding for the Seattle Public Library as outlined in Mayor Harrell's proposed budget.

I'm a board member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

We provide more than $5 million in private funding for library programs and collections every year.

These are things that we all love, free public events, more than 100,000 new books every year, and much more.

But what's most important is they enhance, they do not replace city funding for the Seattle Public Library.

I serve as the incoming chair for the Joint Advocacy Committee.

In this role, I work with supporters who care deeply about our library.

You have been hearing from them, in particular related to reduced branch hours when the library needed to do that as a result of staffing limitations.

We know, you all know, that Seattle loves its library.

It's a point of pride for all of us.

And in the last year, the SPL set a record for patronage.

We know our neighbors spend time using the library, they donate to help it grow, and they want to raise their voices when they feel it is at risk.

We appreciate that Mayor Harrell recognized the importance of maintaining library operations in his budget proposal, even though SBL has been required to take some cuts.

If this budget is passed, SBL could continue to increase hours, not reduce them further.

That, we know, is what our city needs and wants.

Now, we know more needs to be done to expand library services, so we'll be back again and again, but I hope that we can continue to work in this way.

So we thank Mayor Harrell for his work, and we hope that you support it and move it forward as well.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Brittany.

Up next, we're gonna do our A section, A31 through 40. We've got Miles Hagopin, Leo Fallot Bellamonte.

There you are.

How are you?

We got Lauren Tazzi.

Thank you for spelling that out for me.

Scott Rippold, Samantha Sanchez, Mark Becker, Council Member Hollingsworth's running out because we just had somebody move from Capitol Hill to District 6. Sorry, Councilmember Hollingsworth, we've got more people up there.

Mark Becker, Casey Burton, Kate Rubin, Gina Petri, Jeannie Whitesides.

With that, Miles, welcome.

SPEAKER_117

Hello, my name is Miles.

I'm with the Seattle Student Union, and I go to Franklin High School.

I was here last year demanding funding for mental health resources.

I was here two years ago with thousands of students at your door demanding money for mental health resources after the shooting at Ingram and the tragic death of a student.

I'm here this year after the Garfield shooting and the tragic death of another student to ask the same thing, to keep your promise of $20 million for school mental health resources.

instead of implementing only 10 million currently.

Keep your promise from 2020 when you all said that you would defund SPD by 50%.

As James Baldwin said, I can't believe what you say, but I see what you do.

And a year where schools are severely underfunded at the state level and five schools are being closed, it is so important to give funds to schools.

But you all just approved a new hiring bonus for the Seattle Police Department.

You have done this when SPD has already a proposed budget of $458 million this year.

I would say SPD has done one good thing this year, which is disbanding the horse unit.

Other than that, they have assaulted people like my dad.

They have murdered people like Charlena Lyles, a black woman and a mother of two SPS students.

The police come from a white supremacist origin.

They were slave catchers in the South and they still uphold white supremacy today.

Defund SPD, invest in our schools, please.

I go to school in the South End.

We deserve the same funding as richer schools in the North End.

You give out money like candy to SPD, but when it comes to students, there simply seems to be nothing.

This is a black and white issue.

Either you care about students or you don't.

You have consistently shown you don't care about students and workers and unhoused people in this city.

Tax the rich, defund the police, fund mental health resources, and fund real safety past the solidarity budget.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Miles.

Remember, friends, jazz hands.

Leo, over to you.

SPEAKER_58

Yes, hello.

I'm Leo Falpe-Monte.

I'm also a member of the Seattle Student Union, and I am a sophomore at Nathan Hale High School.

I'm also here to...

for increased funding in our schools.

Councilmember Dan Strauss, you went to Nathan Hale High School, the school I went to.

And at Nathan Hale's, students are going to school scared and unhappy, in part to you not fully funding the $20 million in...

August this year.

At Nathan Hale High School, we had a survey that went out for students about how happy they were and if they were, you know, at risk.

And students who were deemed at risk in December were not brought in for conversation until May of the following year in part of not having enough staff at our school.

I was wondering if you, as a councilperson, if you were still at Hale, would you not vote for...

$20 million, and would you hope to not have funding in your own high school?

And I ask of any of you on this council, if you were actually in high school, how would you like to not have your schools funded and to not have mental health resources funded inside your own schools?

Thank you.

Thank you, Leo.

SPEAKER_04

Up next, we've got Lauren Tassie, followed by Scott, who did not give me a pronunciation, so I'm not going to try.

Lauren?

SPEAKER_105

Yes, hi.

Hi.

I'm a retired early childhood teacher, so I'm going to sing my public comment.

Imagine affordable housing.

It's easy if you try.

No one is hungry above us, a new Green Deal sky.

Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Imagine free transportation, a guaranteed income too.

Quality childcare and progressive revenue.

Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Imagine labor standards, no cuts to immigrants or refugees, livable wages, and a lot of electricity.

Imagine all the people living with dignity.

You may say that we are dreamers.

Well, that's what we are.

We hope today you'll join us and the world will live as one.

I ask you to please stop the sweeps because they're inhumane.

I ask you to invest in people and communities because that makes our city healthy.

and I ask you to build more livable, well, small houses, and please invest in the Seattle Solidarity Budget.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Lauren.

Up next is Scott.

SPEAKER_73

Thank you, council members, for staying up past my bedtime.

I'm Scott Ringgold.

I work across the street here as a supervisor of land use planners on SDCI's zoning review team.

We're the front-facing professionals who help customers make sense of Seattle's land use code and make sure that new development meets the standards enacted by council.

Addressing you, I'm speaking only for myself today, but on January 2nd, best we can tell, SDCI proposes to shrink the zoning team from 25 to 16 planners.

That's a 36% reduction.

It's a disproportionate hit to hours available for plan review, more like a 55% hit.

At council's direction during the boom years, SDCI has saved a core staffing reserve, a rainy day fund.

We know master use permit volumes and revenues are way down, but the department still maintains heavily, relatively healthy reserves across other cost centers, including and customer service.

You may hear that the department's expenditures are limited by colors of money, Hands are tied.

Be that as it may, I submit that our zoning reviewers are mission critical to the timely, accurate review and issuance of any building permit, any new housing.

And building permits are the vast majority of what our team review, not master use permits.

Zoning reviewers are our most sought-after customer service professionals.

To train planners reassigned from other specialties, that's a two-year process.

I don't know what latitude remains for Council to course correct, but I believe we're facing an imminent predictable crisis.

It undermines any progress toward recommendations of your recent permitting audit.

So thank you for the work you do and for helping our team to do ours.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you, Scott.

Up next is Samantha Sanchez.

Nope, that's not correct.

SPEAKER_68

It is not.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Sorry, I can't read.

SPEAKER_68

Sonatina Sanchez.

SPEAKER_04

There you are.

SPEAKER_68

Yes, thank you.

My name is Sonatina Sanchez.

I'm a renter living in District 3. I also serve on the board of the affordable housing organization I live in.

As a resident member, I am here today representing the Seattle Renter Organizing Council.

SROC was formed in 2021 and we were able to secure $50,000 in the 2024 budget to research an Office of Rental Standards.

The vision of this office is to consolidate the work related to tenant services that is currently distributed amongst departments like SDCI and the Office of Civil Rights.

This move is designed to save money and create a better relationship between tenants and property managers by giving everyone one place to turn to for assistance.

This money was never released by the mayor's office and so delayed our work by at least one year.

We are requesting this $50,000 be reinstated and the development of this office be a priority in 2025. The most cost effective way to address homelessness is to prevent it by helping people stay housed.

This is what tenant services and rental assistance do.

Tenant education, organizing, and counseling improve communication between tenants and management, help deescalate conflict, and connect tenants to resources that stabilize their housing situation.

Funding tenant services is an investment in public safety by helping renters maintain stable housing, which reduces the risk of displacement, homelessness, and the social conditions that contribute to crime.

The mayor's budget exacerbates the homelessness crisis by defunding rental assistance by $1 million, the in-tenant services and eviction defense by $811,000, while simultaneously increasing funding for the encampment sweeps that are responsible to pretend to 15% of the deaths of our unhoused neighbors.

Organizations funded in 2024 by tenant services grants include Be Seattle, Tenant Law Center, Housing Justice Project, Solid Ground, Queer Power Alliance, Somali Community Services of Seattle, Via Comunitaria, Interim Community Development Association, Tenants Unit of Washington State, and United Indians of All Tribes.

City Council needs to increase funding for tenant services by 5.3 million so these organizations can continue to support renters and prevent displacement.

We need to...

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next is Mark Becker, followed by Casey Burton and Kate Rubin.

Mark, welcome.

SPEAKER_62

Good evening, council members.

My name is Mark Becker.

I live at Nicholsville North Lake.

There are more homeless people living unsheltered than there are shelter spaces and housing resources available combined.

Maintaining the status quo is not sufficient.

We need more investments in resources to meet the need.

That is why we need to raise new progressive revenue and reject the mayor's proposal to permanently turn the jumpstart tax into a city slush fund.

Progressive revenue would allow us to meet the needs of our city instead of making service providers compete over limited resources.

Low income people are often one emergency away from becoming homeless.

We must prevent people from losing their housings.

The mayor's budget proposal would slash funding for tenant services, eviction prevention, and rental assistance, putting more Seattle renters at risk of becoming homeless.

We urge the City Council to double the funding for tenant services and rental assistance, and end SPD's over the budget asset progressive revenue, preserve the jumpstart spending plan, and make meaningful investments to address our homeless crisis.

Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Mark.

Up next is Casey and then Kate.

SPEAKER_112

Casey had to go home.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

Up next is Kate.

SPEAKER_112

Hi, my name is Kate Rubin.

I'm the organizing director of Bee Seattle, and I'm a renter living in Beacon Hill.

I'm here today to urge you to increase the funding for tenant services and rental assistance by $5.3 million, doubling the funding from the previous year.

Bee Seattle is a small organization focused on renter education and organizing.

Our two staff members serve around 785 renters annually.

Renters typically come to us frustrated by unresolved issues.

We equip them with knowledge of their rights, guide them in navigating landlord-tenant relationships, and teach strategic organizing skills.

This knowledge spreads through their communities, often reaching those who might not otherwise have access to these important tools.

Our work helps to prevent homelessness and ensure housing stability.

We do more than provide information.

We actively deescalate conflicts that would otherwise spiral into costly and traumatic evictions.

Renters often consider withholding rent when facing habitability issues.

As organizers, it's our responsibility to prevent destabilization by encouraging renters to stay current on their rent while helping them navigate disputes and advocate for necessary repairs.

SDCI has reported a massive increase in code compliance calls.

Without tenant services, these numbers will only rise.

We play an important role in ensuring tenants know how to get necessary repairs completed, reducing the need for city intervention, and easing the burden on SDCI.

The burden of cuts to tenant services will disproportionately fall on black and indigenous communities of color, elders, and disabled people, those most at risk of displacement and homelessness.

Investing in tenant services is an investment in public safety and community stability.

But at our current funding levels, organizations like Be Seattle are overburdened.

To keep people housed, prevent homelessness, and reduce strain on city resources, we need to increase funding, not cut it.

I also urge you to restore the $50,000 for the tenant work group to investigate the creation of an office of rental housing standards that would be able to streamline the different programs for renters.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Kate.

Up next is Gina Petri.

Jeannie Whitesides after that.

And then after that, we will be back to list B31 through 40.

SPEAKER_39

Okay.

Hi, I'm Gina Petrie.

I'm here testifying on behalf of the Puget Sound Mobilization, which is a coalition of feminists, unionists, and community activists.

So we are urging you to do two things on this budget.

It's to invest further in reproductive health care and not make any cuts to human and social services.

So first, I want to say that we agree with the Seattle Solidarity budget comprehensive platform of budget priorities and especially want to call out the health care points, which is that health care is a human right.

And in that, there should be funding for free and easily accessible health clinics and continued support for reproductive health and gender-firming care and public health programs.

And on the abortion front, a recent study at UW showed a 50% increase in the number of out-of-state pregnant people coming to Washington for abortions, including coming to a large number of Seattle clinics.

This won't be changing anytime soon, given the state of reproductive health care in this country.

and I urge council to find more funds to support these overwhelmed clinics.

So now I want to say something about the proposed cuts in Mayor Harrell's budget.

As a former social worker and a feminist who also works with radical women, I think it is unconscionable to be considering making any cuts to human services.

I cannot tell you how many clients I had whose lives truly depended on any and all of the services that people have talked about tonight and that are being considered to be cut, including gender-based violence programs, tenant and legal support, and food and meal programs.

So I think this is particularly unacceptable given how many people are struggling to survive in this city, and it's just getting worse.

So as has been talked about, the Jump Start tax made more money than expected.

It's no surprise.

And so we really urge you to build on this progressive revenue and fund health care, human services.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Gina.

Up next is Jeannie.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_56

Hello, everyone.

My name is Jaune Whitesides, representing District 1. For three years, I've been a volunteer with the Environmental Education Team as a Seattle Urban Nature Guide, along with all these people in Chief Seattle Blue.

I'm also a founding member of the Citywide Environmental Education Advisory Council, which raises funds for our programs, like free buses for students, and supporting our 100 volunteers from all walks of life.

I moved to Seattle in search of truth and freedom.

with the question of how do we heal our blighted cities, and how do I heal myself?

Because I knew the natural history of Seattle is a beacon for the United States of America.

Well, Seattle has shown me many truths, and thanks to these naturalists and guides who have taught me how to grapple with truth in a very positive and real way.

That truth doesn't have a capital T, because we learn something new every day, but it does truly connect with people, especially young people.

that in a way that invokes their curiosity, their creativity, and their care in this exceptional and wild urban environment.

I work with the Seattle World School, Chief Sealth International High School, and the tree equity and education program we call the Maple School, where students are restoring a large plot of land, both a pollinator garden and an orchard in Beacon Hill.

Most of them planted their first tree here.

We just launched our third year with 11th graders and have connected with over 500 students.

Everything we do is about a positive experience.

These are trained public education specialists who meet communities where they are at and partner with amazing organizations in the field all across Seattle.

This is their calling.

And their story started on this land many moons ago, 30 to 50 years.

They have a lot of knowledge and wisdom and are able to share it with the public.

It's not something that can be found again or rebuilt.

It's an irreplaceable gift to the city with a grounded perspective of equity and partnership.

We ask that you appeal the $1 million reallocation, save the discovery in Carkeek Park Nature Centers and the environmental education staff positions.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Thank you.

Up next, we have Section B, 31 through 40. Jamie Carlson, Charlie Engel, Shannon Sabo.

I'm not going to try B34.

David Gill, Katie Gendry, Paul Sillies-Mountain, Mia Winn, I'm sorry, and then Dee Powers.

Jamie Carlson?

SPEAKER_100

Hi.

SPEAKER_04

Jamie Carlson.

Yep, that's me.

Welcome.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_100

Good evening, my name is Jamie Carlson.

I'm a land use planner at SCCI and also a Protect 17 union member.

I'm here to address the 2025 to 2026 budget cuts and how they impact our department.

Several land use planners that are pivotal to our team are posed to be laid off at the end of the year.

And I wanted to share a personal testimony of one of my colleagues who is not able to attend, but her story is nonetheless important.

Annie is two weeks away from her due date.

She is going to be welcoming her second child.

And now, rather than recovering from birth and bonding with her newborn baby, she will be frantically applying for jobs.

Annie is the main earner in her family, and she is also the insurance provider.

Without her insurance, it would cost $2,000 to insure both her partner and her two children.

And the impact that this has is also stressful, but it is fearful for her.

She has a house payment or a mortgage, excuse me, and a newborn baby to take care of.

So she's trying to navigate these stressful times and one of the life's biggest transitions.

the department has repeatedly ensured that our jobs were safe, that we've had a big enough fund to weather these slow periods, and that her position was not one to be cut.

So had she known this prior to applying for this job, she might have chose a different path.

But that is not the case.

And she wants to thank you for taking the time to consider impact that the layoff has on her and her family.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

Thank you, Jamie.

Thank you, Annie.

Charlie?

SPEAKER_78

Unfortunately, Charlie had to go home.

SPEAKER_04

Charlie had to go home, too.

Are we on Shannon?

SPEAKER_78

Yes.

SPEAKER_04

Shannon, welcome.

Good to see you.

SPEAKER_78

Good to see you.

Okay.

So, hi.

I'm Shannon Sabo.

I'm a land use planner at SECI.

And I'm at risk of layoff.

I am here on my own time as a member of Protect 17. And I'm here to comment about the mayor's proposed budget and my layoff.

But before I start talking, I do want to talk and acknowledge the themes that we've heard tonight and three particular ones that are dear to my heart.

Housing affordability.

domestic violence, and rental assistance.

I have personally been in a position in my life, different times, where I have benefited from those programs.

And I'm standing here before you as a city employee now, who is at risk of hopefully not having to use any of that in the near future.

So my goal today is to put a face and story to my position.

I have lived in Seattle for about six and a half years, and I've been an urban planner for 10. Working for the city of Seattle has been and still is viewed as a significant career accomplishment.

I remember when I was offered my position with the zoning review team.

It was the afternoon before my wedding.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I had made it.

I had successfully pulled myself out of the cyclical pattern of poverty and created a chance for sustained stability.

I grew up in a financially unstable environment.

I understood the stigma of financial challenges and the volatility of success early on.

I was informed that my position was at risk of layoff on the first day of fall quarter of graduate school at UW.

This experience working for the city of Seattle inspired me to pursue my graduate degree in information management to further offer my services to my community here in Seattle.

I have since had to withdraw from the fall quarter due to this impending layoff.

I want to continue to the life that I've established here in Seattle and losing my position will force me to pursue employment outside of Seattle and leave.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

And thank you for sharing your story.

SPEAKER_04

Look, I'm bad at reading handwriting.

Please.

SPEAKER_79

No worries.

My name is Noelle Moreno.

I am a land use planner, and I'm with the zoning review team.

And I'm a PROTEC 17 member who will be affected by the proposed budget cuts.

I was clearly and I still am very nervous to provide my comment but I do think that this job and the communities I serve are worth weathering this feeling and feeling anxious.

I've had the pleasure of providing zoning and permitting information in Spanish to our Seattle residents which according to the Office of Immigration and Refugee Affairs is the number one non-English spoken or language spoken in the city.

In my eyes, this service is vital as it reduces the knowledge barriers associated with development, which, let's be real, are pretty large even for native English speakers.

Providing in-house Spanish land use services creates a permitting process that is more accessible and equitable to an underserved community.

The budgets won't only affect permitting timelines, because it definitely will, they will also negatively impact equity, one of SDCI's core values.

So let's not only talk about DEI, let's be about DEI.

So I urge you to reconsider the proposed budget cuts and thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next we have David Gill.

David, still in the room?

Once, twice.

Moving on to Katie Gentry.

Welcome, Katie.

Good to see you.

SPEAKER_95

Hi, my name is Katie Gendry.

I'm here with Services Not Sweeps Coalition and in support of Solidarity Budget's nine guarantees.

I have and will continue building close relationships with hundreds of unsheltered people, and I also bring direct service provider experience in street-based outreach.

During my outreach experience, unsheltered people have desperately asked me for referrals to non-congregate shelter and to permanent housing, of which there's never enough to meet the overwhelming ongoing need.

People need voluntary low-barrier supports and trauma-informed mental health, physical health, and substance use disorder treatment options.

Health and housing go together.

Stop the sweeps.

The mobile crisis team should not be housed within SPD who have no resources or expertise to match the needs of people experiencing crisis.

Can you find compassion within yourselves to divest from police, punishment, surveillance, and criminalization, and instead invest in evidence-based solutions to reduce violence?

Jumpstart is not a slush fund.

Develop more progressive revenue streams.

fund systems of community care, such as food access, worker protections, tenant services, eviction defense, rental assistance, affordable housing, non-congregate harm reduction shelters funneling to housing, voluntary behavioral health services, and voluntary treatment services, legal counsel for homeless youth, and programs addressing gender-based violence.

Invest in community and build towards a Seattle where all people have the chance to survive and thrive.

Can you find it within yourselves to be open to change your perspective?

Put yourselves in the shoes of someone less fortunate than you and lead with love and not fear.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Katie.

Up next is Paula Solis, Mountain Mia, and then Dee Powers.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_47

Welcome.

My name is Paula Solis, and I am a six-year Seattle Urban Nature Guide volunteer, and a retired consumer protection attorney with the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

testify, and I strongly urge you to reject the mayor's deletion of the Parks Department environmental education program from the proposed budget.

The 30-year environmental education program is cost-effective and hugely successful.

It's a machine that works.

With a relatively small staff of 4.85 full-time employees, more than 100 experienced and trained volunteers provide services to 20,000 Seattle residents annually.

In 2023, program volunteers gave more than 3,400 hours of free labor, allowing the city to do more with less.

So what does this program do in real terms?

The school program alone served more than 5,000 students last year with 575 individual field trips.

These trips take kids from kindergarten to fifth grade into Seattle's parks with hands-on classes on subjects that range from beaches to forests to insects to spiders, you name it.

Many of these kids served by the programs are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and have little or no experience in the outdoors.

Teachers build these programs into the required curriculum so that their classroom lessons become reality.

The anatomy of a spider is made real by actually holding one.

The budget proposes to explore alternative delivery systems that would privatize this function.

That makes absolutely no sense when the program works so well and so effectively.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Paula.

Up next is Mal.

Mal is not here.

You are Mal.

SPEAKER_59

I'm somebody who signed up for me.

I'm Chanel.

SPEAKER_04

You're Chanel.

SPEAKER_59

Chanel, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

What's your number?

SPEAKER_59

It's 38B.

SPEAKER_04

38B?

Yeah.

We'll take it.

SPEAKER_59

Okay, thank you.

Hi, my name is Chanel, and I'm an advocate for Stop the Sweeps and Services Not Sweeps, and I'm currently living the experience.

The city is currently sweeping at an alarming rate with no success.

Displacing people is not a viable solution.

It's only making life harder for people who have a hard enough time as it is.

The I doesn't really need more tiny home villages either.

What they need is actual housing to move people into from the tiny homes because they end up getting kicked out more often than not They end up going right back into the circle of sweeping.

So there are so many sweeps and so few parking spots that aren't blocked, we end up playing musical RVs.

I've been attending a vehicle residency meeting for over two years, and our voices have gone unheard, and all the blocks remain in place.

I don't understand how a concrete block has more rights than people's homes, and why can't we just park together in a lot?

We don't want to be parked next to businesses or in your causeways.

We want to park as a community together.

Have you ever had to pack up your home and try doing it every three days?

It's nerve-wracking, and when they do tow your home, it can be devastating.

I had a friend who lost his RV a few years back, and he started doing fentanyl, and he ended up dying in the cardboard box he moved into.

He would never have done opiates before he lost everything.

I promise you, if you keep on with this budget, more people are going to end up giving up and dying on the streets.

That's it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And can you sign up just so that we have your name, because we're supposed to be registering your name.

Just put B38 next to it, if you would.

Next I have signed up for B39 is Mia.

That's you, wonderful.

And then Dee Powers, if Dee's in the room.

That's you, great.

SPEAKER_41

Hello, my name is Mia.

I'm here with the Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice.

I'm also representing myself.

I'm here to address the proposed cuts from tenant services and rental assistance, also the proposed cut from the Office of Police Accountability.

So I live in low income housing and this directly affects me.

I access these services.

These services keep me off the street.

These services keep me housed.

These services keep my friends housed.

And I don't know how you can sleep with yourself at night to vote against these services as many people have come up here time and time again and said this is a moral issue.

And we will hold you accountable.

I want to remind you that you work for us.

We do not work for you.

Also, in regards to the cutting from the Office of Police Accountability, I've witnessed police brutality, excuse me, in Capitol Hill, where there was 10 officers called for one individual who was going through a crisis because his dad had just died on the phone with him, and a police officer slammed him to the ground and put him in handcuffs for screaming and yelling because his dad had just died on the phone.

It's unacceptable.

It's unacceptable.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

We're going to give it just a second.

All right, Dee, we're ready.

SPEAKER_61

Good evening, Council.

My name is Dee Powers, and I am proud to be a renter in District 3 after spending seven years living in my vehicle down in District 2. Over the last year, the Seattle Renter Organizing Council helped plan and advocate for an Office of Rental Housing Standards intended to help renters with issues similarly to how the Office of Labor Standards currently helps workers with their worker issues.

The City of Seattle allocated $50,000 for a tenant work group to study and facilitate the creation of this office.

But instead, y'all held onto the funds.

You rolled them back into the general fund.

We were expecting that money.

We were hoping for that money.

We want this office, we want a streamlined method of handling renter-landlord issues without resorting to eviction.

This year's budget doesn't make up for your failures last year.

Instead, low-income vulnerable renters like me are horrified to find that you're not expanding services for the 40% of us who rent our homes, you're cutting it even further.

We need tenant services as badly as we need rental assistance.

Monetary assistance when times are tough is useful, But the education and non-monetary support that tenant organizing groups such as Be Seattle, the Tenants Union of Washington State, Solid Ground, those orgs that get grants out of SDCI, they are who taught me how to advocate for myself.

It kept me from being evicted after only one year of living back indoors, because I was able to communicate properly with my landlord.

Please don't cut tenant services from this year's budget.

Preventing homelessness is just as important as anything else you have.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Dee.

We're going to move into Section A, 41 through 50. I've got, and again, two microphones line up.

Sam Wolf, Lori Ross, Daniel Lugo.

A45, Leah Leakin, Charles H., Michael Dixon, and Rachel Kaye.

SPEAKER_46

Sam Wolf, welcome.

SPEAKER_04

Good evening, counsel.

SPEAKER_46

Thank you for waiting.

My name is Sam Wolf.

I work for PDA as Seattle's lead program director.

I'm here tonight to advocate for the Little Saigon safety team proposal, which would allow the WDC team, a highly skilled de-escalation team, to provide 16-hour-a-day milieu management in Little Saigon, immediate on-call response to community concerns, and coordinate and augment existing case management teams area.

WDC is currently working as part of the Third Ave project on Upper Third Ave.

Being on Third Ave and doing the same work there, they've seen significant outcomes in terms of de-escalations provided, managing public space, preventing overdoses, and more.

Through collaboration between WDC and lead case management teams, we've gotten over 70 people into intensive case management and over 40 people into permanent housing.

My hope with this proposal is to bring these outcomes and this strategy to the Little Saigon area.

We started drafting this proposal back in 2023 after a pretty rigorous community-led issue identification process, adapting the current strategy in the Third Ave area to the needs of Little Saigon.

Recently, we've seen a large displacement of people from the Third Ave area into the Little Saigon area, which makes the need even more dire than it was when we started talking about this in 2023. That's all I've got to say, but I hope that you all consider this much-needed proposal for this really complex issue in Little Saigon.

We really just want to start working on it in the same way we have on Third Ave.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Sam.

Up next is Lori Ross and then Daniel Lugo.

Lori, welcome.

SPEAKER_51

Good evening to the City Council and to all my patient neighbors.

Thank you very much.

I'm Lori Ross.

SPEAKER_139

I am a...

A little closer to the microphone.

SPEAKER_51

I'm a volunteer with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Environmental Education Seattle Urban Nature Guides, the SUN Guides.

because I believe that a healthy relationship with the natural world is hard to maintain within a growing and densifying city, especially for people who may have financial, physical, or social barriers to travel outside of the city.

The environmental education team at Seattle Parks and Recreation provides opportunities for a deeper connection with nature through education and outreach at parks throughout the city.

This is a basic function of the parks department.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IS A MATURE AND WELL FUNCTIONING DIVISION OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.

IT HAS AN EXCELLENT AND WELL REGARDED SUN GUIDES VOLUNTEER PROGRAM WHICH MULTIPLIES THE REACH OF A SMALL AND DEDICATED STAFF MANY TIMES OVER.

Pardon me.

It is short-sighted and destructive to dispose of a mature and well-functioning homegrown program containing a wealth of institutional knowledge and deep commitment to the ethos and mission of Seattle Parks for small, short-term gain.

This is less akin to trimming fat from the parks than it is to purging its microbiome, impoverishing the quality of life in Seattle in ways that will be hard to recover from.

I would like to ask you to support the Parks Department's continued commitment to meeting its obligations to inviting citizens in every neighborhood to access the full potential of their parks.

Please continue funding environmental education.

No further cuts.

SPEAKER_109

Thank you, Lori.

Daniel, welcome.

Thank you.

Hello, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

For the record, my name is Daniel Lugo, and I work at the nonprofit YouthCare as their director of government affairs.

YouthCare is a Seattle nonprofit dedicated to ending youth homelessness.

And just last year, we served over 1,700 young people.

I want to bring to your attention a budget proviso that Councilmember Wu has graciously sponsored, and it's to support the development of our Constellation Center project.

And so the Constellation Center is going to be in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and it's going to be a youth empowerment hub with 84 units of on-site affordable housing that Community Roots Housing is partnering with us on.

We are going to be putting two workforce development programs into the facility.

We have been talking to our young people and they're thankful for the housing that they've received, but they want more help maintaining their housing.

And so workforce development is that next step.

We are also going to be partnering with communities in the area.

Like, for example, the YMCA, Fair Start.

Fair Start actually partners with us to run a barista training program.

And so in the Constellation Center, it's going to be a community space.

We're going to have a cafe.

We're going to have computer labs.

We're going to have meeting rooms.

And it's all open to the public.

And so at the cafe, for example, young people can enroll in the barista training program.

So the Constellation Center, again, it's going to be a hub for youth empowerment in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

And again, we're so thankful for Council Member Wu's support and urge the committee to include it in the past budget.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Daniel.

Up next is Mr. Minello.

I am not good at reading handwriting.

SPEAKER_48

Thank you.

Yes, for the record, my name is Terminello.

I live in District 3, and I run a business based in Capitol Hill.

That's citywide and multi-county wide.

And I'm here to support funding for meal programs in Seattle.

Meal programs provide over 4 million meals in the Seattle area.

That's a gift to the city with ripple effects of hundreds of millions of dollars.

It's a...

NUTRITION PROGRAMS LITERALLY AND PUN INCLUDED FEED INTO MANY OTHER PROGRAMS.

EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON MEAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS WILL PREVENT FURTHER SPENDING NEEDED IN THE FUTURE.

YEAH, SO I JUST THINK THAT THIS IS AN INVESTMENT THAT THE CITIES NEED.

I THINK IT'S UNDERFUNDED EVERY YEAR AND I THINK THAT WE NEED A $1 MILLION INVESTMENT INTO MEAL PROGRAMS TO HELP FEED INTO OTHER PROGRAMS AND HELP NEIGHBORHOODS AND CITY PEOPLE AROUND.

THANK YOU.

SPEAKER_04

THANK YOU.

UP NEXT WE HAVE LEAH LINCOLN AND CHARLES ABBOTT.

WELCOME LEAH.

SPEAKER_92

Hi, Council Members.

My name is Leah Lichen.

I live in District 2, and I work as a direct service provider at YouthCare, a local nonprofit that supports homeless youth.

When human services are well funded, we can ensure that existing shelter beds are filled and that teams are well staffed.

While I was working at the adolescent shelter, we always had eight or more open beds.

During my shifts, I would receive calls from youth in crisis asking if we had any open beds for them.

Though we had many open beds, we were understaffed and could not accept new clients.

I had to turn these teenagers, most of whom were experiencing domestic violence, away and give them the phone numbers of other resources.

I've already tried calling that number.

That shelter is full, they would usually tell me.

They didn't feel safe at home but had nowhere else to go.

If there was more funding for better wages, this could have been avoided.

If we were to raise progressive revenues, then we could start funding human services at the level the community needs.

Today, I am requesting that you amend the mayor's proposed budget to include inflation adjustments for all human service contracts and increase all human service wages by 5% in accordance with the UW wage study that you guys ordered.

Prioritizing these changes will help our most vulnerable community members and human service workers feel safe and supported.

Thank you for hearing us today.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Leah.

Charles Abbott.

Rachel.

Two minutes, welcome.

And Michael Dixon, do we have a Michael Dixon still in the room?

SPEAKER_03

Rachel, the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_38

Hello, my name is Rachel Kay.

I'm here to testify about my experience as a low-income person who was also present in When my friend, UC, got killed during an eviction on March 20th, 2023, I attempted to help my friend deal with the trauma of eviction.

She had been evicted twice as a child, keep in mind, and the Seattle Police Department would not allow me to assist my friend and threaten me with arrest.

And then she mysteriously wound up dead.

And her own mother was not informed about her death for six months.

Her death was easily preventable.

She only owed $6,000 in rent, and she also requested mental health assistance.

But her property manager, John Ibanez, from the foundation group, sent cops to traumatize her instead.

I'm not naive enough to think that this council cares about people who are shot and killed at the hands of police.

that she was going to face certain hardship on the street as a trans woman.

Secondly, I want to reframe the question about public safety.

So last year in 2023, 299 people in Seattle died.

That compares to 64 people who were murdered.

Housing is public safety.

Please support the Seattle Solidarity budget and the Stay House, Stay Healthy co-op.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you for your testimony, Rachel.

We'll move on to section B41 through 50. We have Devon Dell, Ray, Joy R, Rata, Sharon, Rachel, Phoenicia Zang, and B50.

Devon, welcome.

SPEAKER_126

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Yes.

SPEAKER_126

Good evening.

My name is Devon Dell and I live in District three.

I'd like to address today the misguided priorities of the council.

The decision to slash funding for essential human services while simultaneously increasing police salaries and investing in surveillance packages is not just irresponsible, it's shameful.

This year, the City of Seattle has a $251 million shortfall.

You have increased this budget deficit by giving cops over a 24% salary increase and approving the procurement of an expensive police surveillance system.

At the same time, you're getting the budget for affordable housing, which will literally leave our neighbors out in the cold to die.

You're removing huge amounts of funding for tenant services through the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, which will increase the number of vulnerable renters losing their homes and joining the thousands of other people already living on the streets.

This council claims to care about our community, yet your actions speak louder than words.

Why not just take everything helpful away all at once and give it to the police and the overcrowded, deadly jails?

People are dying on the streets, families, renters, seniors, and our local workforce is struggling.

Our infrastructures are all in tatters, yet all we see is a focus on policing and corporate interests.

This isn't what Seattle's residents want or need.

It is a regression to old, worthless politics from over a decade ago.

Our communities are calling for compassion, not increased surveillance and militarization.

We need to invest the well-being of our residents, not just the budgets of the privileged few.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, David.

Up next is Ray.

Do we have Ray?

B44.

B44 is no longer here.

B45 Joy R. Welcome.

Good to see you.

SPEAKER_60

Hello.

I'm a social worker and volunteer with the Services Not Sweeps Coalition, where we oppose the increased funding of violent encampment sweeps that do nothing to solve the crisis of homelessness we have right now.

I've been witness to many of these brutal sweeps from the city and police.

that only causes more harm and trauma, steals people's belongings, throwing it in dumpsters, or impounding their only shelter to tow yards where it's broken into and trashed.

You are spending millions of dollars on waging a war on the poor.

You are spending millions of dollars on erasing people.

That simply shows you only want people dead and gone.

There are simply not enough resources being offered to people trying to survive outside.

This is stated by city workers who are there, that there is nothing else to offer as the police surround tents or RVs to make sure people leave.

Use any possible moral consciousness you have as elected representatives to represent those who are the most vulnerable in our community, to represent those who have nowhere else to go and are trying to survive.

It's your job to represent those who are left behind, decimating vital community resources that are already barely holding on and funding more sweeps, more police, more surveillance, and incarceration does not provide public safety for anyone.

When the needs of all people in a community are met, housing, healthcare, accessible treatment, and support for substance use disorder, job opportunities that pay a living wage, education, food access, those that are life-sustaining services that meet people's needs, When people can thrive, not just survive, that is public safety.

Listen to the people who you've been leaving behind.

Support the solidarity budget demands that leads to a community that will thrive, that promotes the care that is lacking.

Stop your war on the poor.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Joy.

Up next is Rata followed by Sharon.

SPEAKER_129

that they gave me, is that okay I go ahead and use?

My original number was 65. They were tired and they went home.

SPEAKER_04

We are gonna tick through in the order in which you signed up, so I am gonna ask you to keep your original number.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_129

That how the people go ahead first in the beginning.

That's okay, I can keep 65, I like 65.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, we are rolling through this.

Rata, you are up next.

SPEAKER_65

Hi, my name is Sharon Kosla.

I'm with the Garfield Superblock Project.

Councilmembers, I'm here to ask you to help us get this long-awaited Garfield Superblock renovation project over the finish line.

Councilmember Hollingsworth is gonna put an amendment in front of you in the coming days, and I need your full support.

Councilmembers, attendance at Garfield High School is down.

The senior class is 436, the freshman class is 300. Do you know that a bullet went through the second floor window at Nova High School last week?

This is unacceptable.

We need investment in this super block.

We need activation, and we need community outside because they want to be outside.

When this park is completed, the new amenities and the outdoor museum will bring so many people out to this block.

The existing businesses and community projects on Cherry are going to be lifted up, and new small businesses are going to surface.

Our project is just the beginning of something much bigger, but it starts with the park.

Our coalition has been working tirelessly in this community to get this project right.

We are so proud of the money that we have raised, and we just need a little bit more.

When you see the amendment in the coming days, don't hesitate to ask to be the co-sponsor of this amendment.

Don't hesitate to show your support.

Please don't let this project fail.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next in Coleslaw, B47.

That was Sharon, not Rauta, sorry.

I am Rachel Severin.

Rachel, welcome, thank you.

SPEAKER_50

My name is Rachel Severin, and I am the head chef and co-manager with the Phinney Neighborhood Association's Hot Meal Program in Phinney Ridge, and also a member of the Meals Partnership Coalition.

We at the Hot Meal Program urge you to sustain investments in food security by supporting council member Joy Hollingsworth's proposal to include ongoing funding for community meal programs in the 2025 city budget.

Nearly 30 community groups in Seattle have benefited from the emergency food fund in the 2024 budget, including ours.

Food insecurity is at record high levels and there is decreasing state and federal funding.

This modest investment in community safety and wellbeing will help keep our doors open.

The emergency funding that my program received was crucial in keeping us afloat this year.

Rising food costs have been a huge issue for us.

Basic ingredients have become more expensive and take up a larger portion of our budget.

And the more expensive groceries become, the more people who come to our meals and the more supplies I need to purchase.

The food I cook is important for addressing hunger, but it is also important for trust building and empowerment.

Guests at our meals have access to a social worker, art therapy, medical and dental clinics, haircuts, community, and more.

As a chef, if I don't have enough funds for ingredients, supplies, and kitchen maintenance, then I can't create the environment for people to access other crucial services.

If the emergency food fund is not renewed in 2025, it will become harder to serve people generously and compassionately.

I urge you to support Council Member Hollingsworth's proposal to sustain this funding in the 2025 budget so we can continue to meet the needs of our community.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you for your service to the community, Rachel.

Up next is Venetia Zeng followed by, I can't read the handwriting, it's my fault, B50 after that, welcome.

SPEAKER_93

Hello, good evening, council members.

My name is Finika Jong, and I am commenting today on behalf of Solid Ground.

We're a service organization that's been supporting Seattle communities for the last 50 years.

We're members of the Seattle Human Service Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness, so fully wanna uplift their recommendations from tonight, including applying inflation adjustments consistently and following through on the city's commitment to stabilizing human service workers.

But I wanted to focus on a couple of specific budget cuts that would reduce critical services.

Firstly, the proposed budget eliminates city funding for solid grounds benefits legal assistance program.

So this is a program that helps provide free legal support for people on low incomes.

So that's, and specifically to help them keep their public benefits, so benefits like SNAP and food assistance, access to Medicare and Medicaid, accessing our state's temporary assistance for needy families program, all programs that are really designed to help leverage state and federal dollars so that people can meet their basic needs.

So we're asking council to restore these cuts for $180,000 for legal services like benefits legal assistance, as well as LCYC, which you'll hear about in a second.

And we're also very concerned about funding cuts to tenant services, which you've all heard a lot about tonight.

But one example of the work that Solid Ground does from these funds is providing our tenant services program, which helps give workshops.

We operate a voice message line that any renter can call into that's in both Spanish and English.

And folks are calling in to help get their solutions to an unhealthy living condition, or they're calling in to request payment plans, or they're getting connected to rental assistance and legal supports.

And so this program served last year 1,700 people across Seattle and King County, and we struggle to keep up with the number of calls.

So we're really asking for increased investments for tenant services.

Thank you all so much.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And I'll let you take it from here.

The floor is yours.

SPEAKER_135

Good evening, council members.

My name is Ria Yeo, and I serve as the executive director of Legal Counsel for Youth and Children.

LCYC is the only legal aid provider in Seattle that is focused on supporting youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.

There is a proposed budget cut which would eliminate funding from the city of Seattle in the amount of $123,662.

for LCYC's Youth Homelessness Program.

We provide holistic legal representation, including addressing many areas of law that function as barriers to stable housing, such as protection orders, debt relief, and access to public benefits.

We have strong community partnerships with large multi-service organizations and smaller population-specific organizations to ensure we're reaching young people who disproportionately experience homelessness, specifically LGBTQIA youth and youth of color.

Our partners include places like Solid Ground, also receiving cuts in this budget, and Youth Care, seeking funds for the Constellation Center.

Since 2019, when we first contracted with the City of Seattle for these services, LCYC supported over 750 young people to reduce or prevent their experience with homelessness through legal aid.

We continuously have a wait list, demonstrating the dire need for our continued services.

A reduction in services due to lack of funding would be devastating.

LCYC helps young people identify and pursue legal pathways for safe housing.

That might be pursuing guardianship with an aunt after experiencing abuse at home or might be helping with resolving medical debt when they can't afford rent.

A modest investment.

to address housing instability can help prevent years of long-term homelessness.

This rings true for both LCYC and Solid Ground.

We ask that a total of $180,000 be reinstated to maintain legal services that can...

SPEAKER_137

Thank you, and as a reminder, you can leave your written public comment in this box if you like, and I can distribute to council members tomorrow.

Thank you.

So we are now gonna move into section A.

So we're gonna go into numbers 51 through 60A.

So if you're within that range, if you could please line up, and we're gonna start with number 51A, which is Reverend Joseph Sharon, I believe, and then we'll move on to number 52. Thank you.

SPEAKER_127

So good evening.

I am Joseph Sheeran, and I serve as pastor at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church on Finney Ridge.

I live in District 6, as do many of my congregants, but there are also a lot of us who live in Districts 5 and 4, 3 and 7. Before I came here, I managed political campaigns in Nashville, Tennessee, which is another growing city with difficult limitations on its ability to raise revenue.

In my last campaign five years ago, I managed a reelection campaign of my friend, Freddie O'Connell, who is now mayor of that city.

I say all this so that I can tell you that I do understand the pressure that you are under and the responsibility that you bear.

And I have a guess at the hopes and the love that moved you to seek this office, to seek this service.

It seemed to me that it's been a rough year for many of you.

A year that has not gone how you hoped, how you might have imagined.

Now we've all just sat through hours of people asking you to fund their priorities.

And there are those who are not here.

Those who don't need this time to reach you, to bring pressure also.

Many of my congregants voted for you.

They're good people, people with hopes and dreams for their city, people who believe in the story of Seattle as a city that is steadily moving forward, a just, progressive, caring place to live that's always trying to do better.

We pray for the people of our city, and we pray for all of you.

We pray for these hopes and for the challenge before you.

In the context of this story that Seattleites tell about their home, I'm frustrated by the proposal that seeks to balance the budget on money promised to the cause of sustaining and expanding care.

As a sign on my little church says, hopes, not your fears.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Reverend Joe.

Up next is Rick, and then we're gonna have Darrell Powell, Aiden Carroll.

And we'll go through the other part of the list once we get there.

SPEAKER_123

Hi, my name is Rick McKinnon, and I live in District 4. Oh, no, District 6. Wait.

I got another one.

No, I'm in District 4. Oh.

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Can we restart the timer?

SPEAKER_99

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Okay, sorry about that.

We'd love to have you over.

I'm really tired now.

Reverend Joe is a good pastor.

SPEAKER_123

So here are my comments.

I'm still seeing homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks here in Seattle.

That is truly an outrage.

The city of Seattle needs to establish, reestablish a year-round 24-7 mats on the ground congregate shelter so homeless people can get off the sidewalks and come inside both during the daytime to socialize and at night to sleep.

If we don't want to see our homeless neighbors sleeping on our sidewalks or in our parks, we need to give them a way to come inside.

The currently empty King County Administration Building might be a great location to serve that purpose.

The City of Seattle and King County government officials know where they have vacant building space that might be utilized for this purpose.

That shelter could also become a resource center and a point of contact for social services for homeless people.

The City of Seattle's Jumpstart Tax was created to address Seattle's homelessness and housing affordability crisis and should be used for that purpose before siphoning off much of that revenue to fund other City of Seattle programs and projects.

I would like to see the City of Seattle's Jumpstart Tax fund the year-round, 24-7, mats-on-the-ground congregate shelter that I'm proposing.

I would also like to see the City of Seattle's Jumpstart Tax support Councilmember Morales' proposal to stand up another 100 tiny homes for our homeless neighbors here in Seattle.

Please use this Jumpstart Tax revenue for its intended and designated purposes before using it to balance other City of Seattle expenses.

I also learned about tonight and support full funding for the Garfield Superblock.

Actually, I read about that in the Seattle Times a while back.

And I also support the Meals Partnership Coalition.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Rick.

And if you want to move to District 6, we'd love to have you.

I'm teasing.

Up next is Darrell Powell, followed by Aiden Carroll, Nano, A57, A58, A59, and 860. Anyone here with those numbers?

Aiden, I see you.

Come on up.

Is Daryl here?

He's gone.

Daryl's gone.

Aiden, you're up.

Welcome.

Good to see you.

SPEAKER_91

So your job, first and foremost, is preventing preventable deaths.

And there's a lot of things we ought to do differently, but that seems...

I don't have to get into the extreme things that I believe to point out that many of y'all last fall campaigned on a promise of better shelter to improve the quantity and quality of the shelter system.

And those of us who have been to a lot of sweeps see the details of the negotiation, if you could even call it that, that is overwhelmingly, not that people don't want help, but there's a real change piece called survey surfusal is not a myth, but it is surrounded by them.

You know, most people would settle for a tiny home.

We need more tiny homes.

please do not put both of them under the control of Lehigh, because even Lehigh doesn't like having a monopoly on the villages.

You go to an up sweeps, you see the problem where somebody gets referred, packs up all their stuff, and then somewhere somebody realizes, oh, you got kicked out of another village a year or two ago.

You can't go back to any of the other ones because you're blacklisted from all of them.

There's an open letter or two about Lehigh's.

One of the many signers put it on northseattleneighbors.medium.com.

I'm not saying get rid of Lehigh.

Lehigh can be reformed.

It's not like they're SPD.

Solidarity budget and guarantees support that.

Lobby for the state and feds to improve disability benefits.

We've all seen the deaths and the torture that result from these policies.

We need more upzoning.

We need more shelter.

We need more housing.

We need to stop letting police...

Thank you, Aiden.

SPEAKER_04

Anyone else?

A57, 58, 59, A60.

Anyone?

I'm going to move on to B's.

51 through 60, Ray Rogers, David Toledo, Nick Andrews, Ryan D, Colby Tran, Zach C, Chanel, Lilithia Williams, and Victor Rice.

B51, Ray Rogers.

That's you?

You're 53. Ray Rogers in the house.

One, two, three.

Ray Rogers is not here.

David Toledo.

Going once, going twice, going three times.

Nick, welcome.

SPEAKER_118

Hello.

Good evening, Council.

Nice to be here.

I'm mostly here to speak about line item SPR 105A, which is getting rid of environmental education funding for the city of Seattle.

I think many of us who moved to Seattle, grew up in Seattle, were born in Seattle, are all...

struck by the natural wonders that we live in.

It's a rare city that has salmon runs and the tide pool, resident orca pod, not a lot of those cities out there in the world.

This particular line item removes nine out of 10 environmental education jobs in the city.

It effectively guts it completely.

It's a 40-year-old program that's now ending in 2026. It's striking to me that the people most impacted by this are children on field trips, elderly people going to birdwatching expeditions, people who really most need our city's services.

I think there's plenty of other places where we can make cuts.

My council person was able to name all the horses that are gonna be losing their jobs, but I'd like to have some focus on resources for people.

So if you could, I'd like you to consider making an amendment to restoring funding for environmental education in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nick.

SPEAKER_113

Up next, Ryan D. Even all my name is Ryan Driscoll and I'm a resident of D3 and here today in support of the solidarity budget as we go into this budget season and you all discuss the modifications that you'd like to see to the mayor's budget.

I want to make sure that we're on the same page about some of the phrases that many of you use as you talk about going into the budget.

Good governance and fiscal responsibility.

So let's start with good governance.

Good governance has many parts, including effectiveness and efficiency, transparency, and making sure the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable are elevated in the decision-making process.

When we look at some of the most pressing issues our city are facing, what are the experts in the data saying are the most effective and efficient solutions?

Does the data support taking away $1 million in rental assistance to keep people out of homelessness so that we can use that money to add over $800,000 to fund sweeping our unhoused neighbors across the city?

DAXperts recommend that we remove funding from food assistance, funding for victims of gender-based violence, and youth mental health supports to pay for new surveillance systems that our own Office of Civil Rights didn't recommend.

A large part of good governance is looking at the root causes and investing in the long-term solutions that it'll take to deal with our most intractable problems, not funding short-term Band-Aids that'll make some people feel like something's being done while causing harm to the most vulnerable.

Be honest with people about the deep investments that it'll take to solve our city's issues and how you plan to get there.

And show us your work.

Be transparent and justify your decisions in a clear way that all of us residents can see and understand.

In addition, when you're hearing from community, make sure you're hearing from all of the community.

Are the renters, gig workers, and low-income residents being heard as much as the homeowners and the businesses?

Did the over 50% of Seattleites who are renters support cutting $800 million from tenant services and eviction defense?

I can tell you that when I worked in community engagement for the city, one of the most common topics that people had questions about were their rights as renters and the issues that they were having with their landlords.

Fiscal responsibility.

Being fiscally responsible means looking at what's going to be efficient and effective.

Is it fiscally responsible to fund over 100 police positions that won't be filled?

Or is it fiscally responsible to spend millions of dollars on the World Cup?

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Nick.

SPEAKER_04

Ryan, thank you, Ryan.

I can keep track of my notes.

Colby, welcome.

Welcome.

SPEAKER_89

Good evening, council members.

My name is Colby Tran.

I'm a senior and the ASB vice president at Garfield High School.

I've been collaborating with the Seattle Student Union to win the $20 million last year for mental health resources and violence prevention for SPS.

We've noticed that much of the 19.5 million has not been going directly into schools, and we ask that you honor your promise last year for that money regarding the money last year.

Garfield High School has had many traumatic events occur in the past couple of years.

For the next week or so after each event, students have counselors they can speak to to vent their feelings and get things off their chest.

But once that week is over, school seems to be business as usual.

Trauma doesn't just last a week.

Mourning doesn't just last a week.

Students are expected to perform in their classes while balancing their trauma without a safe space they can go to.

Schools need to have designated safe third spaces for students to take care of their feelings with professional help.

They should have access to these spaces at all times of the day throughout the entire school year to ensure the mental well-being of our students.

Now, mental health has lots of intersectionality with physical and social health.

We equally value the physical health of our students and believe that students should feel as safe as possible at school.

The police outside of our building have made me feel much safer walking through the neighborhood, and I believe that should be implemented throughout all schools in the district.

Gun violence, unfortunately, seems to be inevitable, but students need to know that the district is trying to make us feel safe, because from a student's perspective, it doesn't look like that's happening.

After all, school should be a place to learn and meet new people, not a place to fear for our lives.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Well said.

SPEAKER_99

57?

SPEAKER_04

57 going once, going twice, three times, 59, 60. Do we have Lithia, B-59, B-59, B-59?

Victor, you're up.

Take it away.

SPEAKER_24

Thank you.

Victor Rice.

I live and work in District 7. I'm here on behalf of the Sun Guides.

So the Seattle Urban Nature Guides, also known as Sun Guides, are a team of three part-time and three full-time employees, and as we've heard, over 100 volunteers that bring environmental education to parks across the entire city.

Under the reduced environmental programming section of the Parks and Recs budget, all but a single staff member of the education team is going to be eliminated.

Sun Guides have been running community, school, and public programs for nearly 30 years and interact with over 20,000 individuals annually.

The Environmental Education Department operated on a budget of $680,000 last year, and from that we're able to complete 572 programs.

This is all made possible through our staff's orchestration and training of volunteers such as myself.

The volunteers' work last year was appraised at $108,000.

So I ask you, how many other allocations in the budget come with their own guaranteed 16% discount and an armada of people eager to work for free?

There's a little fraction in the armada there.

THESE NUMBERS ARE NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE DEDICATED STAFF KEEPING THE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS ALIVE OR WITHOUT THE DISCOVERY IN CARKEY PARK VISITOR CENTERS AS A HOME BASE FOR EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND ADMINISTRATION.

WHILE OUR EXISTING PROGRAM IS BEING ELIMINATED, A SIMILAR AMOUNT OF MONEY IS BEING PUT UP TO FUND THE RED BARN RANCH.

which shares objectives with a portion of what the Sun Guides already do, but exists only as an idea and would channel funds to the city of Auburn.

This budget fails to recognize an already extremely efficient program running that supports youth mental health through access and understanding of nature.

This council cannot in good conscience state that they are, quote, optimizing use of limited dollars, end quote, while the budget is positioned to gut one of the best educational organizations we have, while readily throwing a similar amount of money at a program with less reach that's out of our city, and that won't have any impact for years.

Please reconsider how this amount of funding for environmental education is being allocated and avoid the terrible mistake that is looming in the budget.

Thank you.

I have some reference material from everything we did in 2023 here.

There's eight copies.

It's a beautiful document.

Quick read.

SPEAKER_04

If you want to leave it there, we'll take a look.

Just right there and we'll pass it around.

Thank you, Victor.

Thank you very much.

Up next, we've got the B section, B62 through 70. Matthew Hopper, Ruth Ewald, Sue Kay, Hailing Yang, Jack Kimsey, Wildern Wildreth, Linnea Scott.

B62.

B62, welcome on up, Matthew.

SPEAKER_124

All right, good evening.

Good evening.

Council members, my name is Matthew Hopper.

I live at Nicholsville North Lake.

Most people can't imagine that they would experience homelessness.

And just a few years ago, I was working as a data scientist in biotechnology, and I did not imagine that I would be in the position that I'm in now.

I'm here to tell you from personal experience that housing insecurity and homelessness can affect anyone.

More and more people are becoming homeless every day and the city needs solutions.

Failing to provide housing services leaves residents more vulnerable to physical and mental health crisis, ultimately creating more expenses for the city.

The best path for Seattle's budget and for Seattle's residents is to provide appropriate funding for housing services.

We urge the council to increase the funding for tenant services and rental services rather than cutting it in half.

Preserve the jumpstart spending plan for affordable housing and equitable development initiatives and make meaningful investments to address our homelessness crisis.

Thank you for your service, your work on the budget and taking the time to hear us.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Matthew.

Up next is Ruth Ewald, B63, B63, B63.

Moving on to Sue K. Sue K. Hui Ling, B65.

Thanks for waiting.

SPEAKER_129

My name is Huiling Yang.

I am a community health nurse currently working at Seattle Public School.

So I'm here in solidarity with my students and their families and many community members that are represented tonight by the speakers.

And I'm also a resident voter in District 3. The city's budget does not center community care.

It does not reflect an equitable redistribution of care resources.

It defunds community care.

It defunds childcare, youth care, elder care.

It defunds access to nutrition, to shelter, to clean air and clean water.

The city's budget robs the collective of health equity.

and boasts its ambitious appetite to dominate and to police.

Policing does not keep people safe or even safer.

Statistics have shown that in Seattle since 2015 has been by the hand of law enforcement.

One in every six stops and fricks by SPD are deemed unconstitutional.

Policing is a historic and immediate risk factor for public health, for it's rooted in racism.

We are not okay with the city budget upholding racist policies and practices.

We are not okay with 24% racist.

I need more time.

You made me wait.

So I need more time.

I am just tired.

I work in this school.

I am not okay with 24% racist for police and a 50,000 police hiring bonus check.

SPEAKER_04

We are not okay.

Thank you for your comments.

You can please feel free to send in written comments.

The same rules apply to everyone up next is B68, Jackie Kimsey.

Jackie, if you want to come on up, the microphones are ready for you.

We've got 17 minutes before the Sea Park closes.

Aiden, first warning, no clapping.

We're going B68.

Roll the time.

Thank you for coming.

Just one second.

There you are.

SPEAKER_111

Hello, City Council members.

My name is Jackie Kimsey, and I'm a software engineer here in Seattle.

I'm appalled at how the 2025 budget uses my taxes to worsen the housing crisis and take away basic services from those who need it most.

It's impossible to go anywhere in downtown Seattle without seeing the results of the massive gap in services for our most vulnerable citizens.

Housing, healthcare, food are human rights, and you are currently failing to meet the needs of the people you lead.

If affordable housing is defunded, the result will be more unhoused people, obviously.

If you defund human service workers, the result will be more desperate people.

Every cut in funding for rental assistance, tenant services, and eviction defense will only lead to more threats to the safety of us all, including me.

I may not be one of the homeless people who use these services, but I am the...

I will...

or the threats of your decisions here at this budget.

This budget looks like it was designed to send Seattle spiraling downward towards collapse.

To add insult to injury, the budget includes a massive raise and 50K bonuses for police.

The Seattle Police Department who make this city even more unsafe with their sweeps and their harassment of citizens.

That's more money for a department known for its deep rooted racism and sexism, money for officers responsible for a 10% of homicides in this city, and many unconstitutional stop and frisk offenses.

The SBD must be defunded so that we can fund the essential workers who actually help people in this city.

This budget must be updated to prioritize the health and safety of the citizens in Seattle.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

Up next, B69, Wildren Wildreth.

B70, Linnea Scott.

B71, Katie Wilson.

B-72, Jim McM.

B-73, Toretto Abbott.

B-74, Jesse Simpson.

I see you here, Jesse.

B-74.

And if anyone's parked in Sea Park, it does close in 14 minutes.

Jesse, take it away.

SPEAKER_82

Good evening, council members.

Thanks for your attention here and through a long budget hearing.

I'm Jess Simpson, Director of Government Relations and Policy for the Housing Development Consortium.

We know that affordable housing is the foundation of a thriving and resilient community.

Despite some recent progress, the need for affordable housing is greater than ever.

In this budget, I urge you to double down on your commitment to increasing and sustaining affordable housing by retaining the long-term jumpstart spending plan and its robust allocation for affordable housing.

The Jumpstart payroll expense tax has been tremendously successful in allowing us to scale up investment in affordable housing.

After decades of underinvestment, Jumpstart's made it possible for this council and mayor to make record investments in affordable housing year over year.

While HTC appreciates that the proposed budget increases affordable housing funding overall, we're concerned about the proposal to eliminate the Jumpstart spend plan restrictions permanently.

Relying on Jumpstart indefinitely to balance the general fund undermines the very reasons for which it was created to invest in affordable housing and equitable development.

We believe in a diversion of Jumpstart funds to avoid major cuts to the general fund needs to be temporary and paired with a commitment to scale up progressive revenue to close the budget deficit in 2027 and beyond as the structural deficit will only grow.

We know that the need for more affordable housing is immense in this city and beyond, but so is the capacity of our affordable housing sector, which has an active pipeline of tens of thousands of potential affordable homes.

This fall, the Office of Housing received requests totaling 360 million to build and preserve over 2,000 affordable homes, but only 112 million in fundings available.

So our members stand ready to quickly scale up production of the affordable homes.

that we desperately need, but additional funding is crucial to unlocking that potential.

Thanks for your leadership, commitment to affordable housing, and look forward to continued partnership here.

Thanks.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Jesse.

For those who are remotely present, or you called in earlier and you were waiting to call back, now is the time.

We've got two people left.

Camille Baldwin-Bonnie, and then Renaissance, and then we're going to go to C.

Makarwatuki online.

Anyone else who wants to call in, now is your chance.

Camille, welcome.

Good to see you.

SPEAKER_72

Thank you.

My name is Camille.

I am a member of People Power Washington, a supporter of the solidarity budget, a mother, a healthcare worker, and I've lived in Seattle for 30 years.

It is egregious to me that in the context of a $251 million deficit, the city council has refused to consider new progressive revenue to address the deficit, while at the same time, ballooning the city budget with inflated cop salaries without any meaningful accountability, continuing to fund ghost cop positions, and spending millions of taxpayer dollars on surveilling the public.

while simultaneously defunding affordable housing that creates public safety, and cutting a 2% cost of living increase for human service workers who are already being paid starvation wages and competing with their own clients for housing, and defunding rental assistance and tenant services.

This budget actively contributes to the homelessness crisis, fails to address root causes, and undermines public safety.

Thank you, and I yield my time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Camille.

We do have Shannon before you, Renaissance, sorry.

Anyone else with a card still in everyone's talk except for Timothy and Bennett?

Timothy, Bennett, do you guys wanna talk tonight?

Tim Kitchen, do you want to talk tonight or no?

Sign up, and then sign up, you'll go after Renaissance.

Bennett, you don't want to sign up?

You didn't want to sign up.

Shannon, then Renaissance, then Timothy, and then we'll go online.

Welcome.

Thank you for waiting.

SPEAKER_94

I am Shannon.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I want to speak about my deep concerns about the proposed budget cuts to social services, particularly those affecting tenant services and support for unhoused people.

I'm also a social worker.

Some of this will come from my social work background.

So, tenant services are critical to keeping people housed and preventing homelessness.

In a city where rents are high and landlords already hold significant power, these services help level the playing field for tenants.

Without them, more people will be displaced and our homelessness crisis will worsen.

significantly.

Tenant services are already underfunded, and cutting them further would be disastrous.

I'm also concerned about the increasing reliance on policing to manage homelessness.

People who are homeless often have nowhere to go.

It's not just about enforcing laws.

These policies criminalize survival.

Sweeps, drug stops, and other tactics don't solve the root causes of homelessness.

They only make things worse by pushing people further from the help they need.

Effective social work and research shows that punitive measures aren't solutions.

Instead of moving backwards 300 years without data methods, we need to invest in real solutions, housing, mental health support, and community-based services.

By cutting these services, we're abandoning the very people who need the help most.

I urge the council to reconsider these cuts.

We need policies that empower people to advocate for themselves and create a healthier balance of power between tenants and landlords.

Instead of displacing people and policing poverty, let's invest in services that address the root causes of homelessness and help people stay housed.

Again, I'm a mix of social worker and lived experience.

I've been at several different classes, and this comes from both experience and social work practice.

I urge you to listen to this voice.

SPEAKER_05

Thanks, Shannon.

Renaissance?

SPEAKER_04

And again, if you are calling in online, I see a couple more people coming back.

Present now is the time to call in if you wanted to speak online.

Renaissance, floor is yours.

SPEAKER_84

My name is Renaissance.

I'm the director of campaigns at 350 Seattle.

I'm an organizer with Seattle Solidarity Budget, and I'm an organizer with Who Streets Our Streets.

And before I walk away from testimony today, I'm going to submit a letter from Who Streets Our Streets that was sent to each one of you, but I am also submitting it in public comment.

make sure that it enters into public record i am astonished and encouraged to see all of y'all still awake after all of this inundating public comment um it's hard to keep track and keep focus of all of that and so i want to say thank you um for that and i want to thank you don strauss for holding to what everybody expected we were going to see when we came here But I'm also reminded that it's not always like this at public comments when we come to city council and how many people today that had to leave to go take care of family and friends and other things that weren't here to make their comments.

We passed over lots of those.

And so I would like to see more of this kind of commenting while the budgeting process is going through because we are missing a lot.

The other day, a friend of mine reached out to me and asked me, yo, does this city council know about the budget proposal that Seattle Solidarity Budget has actually produced?

And I'm like, we've been coming to this city council for years.

And then I was reminded that y'all are newer here.

And then I also thought about we've been fighting the surveillance city and all of the surveillance this entire year and thought that y'all had.

There's an opportunity here.

for us to learn more.

But something that you should know about solidarity budget is it is very similar to this public council tonight where people from all over the community for the last four and a half years have been writing, creating, and analyzing a budget that is for the people, by the people, and of the people.

And with this, I'll submit this paper for you all to read it on your own.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you.

And thank you for your comments.

But I got to say the way I'm leading this meeting is not the way I lead meetings.

This is how the old school councils of many years ago, not from 2020, but this is how business used to be done.

And I believe this is how business should be done with that Timothy kitchen.

And then we're going to go online to anyone who is still online waiting to go.

Timothy, you got two minutes.

SPEAKER_141

Thank you for your time.

It's good to see folks I've met, and Marissa Rivera, and Dr. Stanser-Ross, and I think I've met a couple of you others.

Okay, I don't have a fully prepared written out thing, but I'll just briefly give my take on this.

My background is I live in Fremont.

I went to the University of Washington.

I've started two businesses.

One of my best friends from the University of Washington student government.

We made friends with each other and we started a Facebook business that over time has made over a million dollars in revenue.

I've since started another business that buys and sells products here in Seattle.

So I go around...

Sorry.

just been sitting and watching the whole time so my brain is adjusting okay so I guess the what I'm trying to say is from my experiences as a business owner and with budgets it appears to me that investing will give us more of a return on investment rather than I'm personally in favor of increasing the jumpstart tax personally I think progressive revenue will help our city rather than hurt it.

I haven't looked up the solidarity budget specifically, but it sounds like I would probably support it.

So just the last two thoughts here.

There's been a lot of population growth in Seattle since 2010. In 2022, I believe, according to the Seattle Business Journal, the Seattle GDP had $96 billion.

And from what I've learned from watching Seattle City Council meetings, the cause for our deficit is primarily inflation and wage cost.

And so I believe our revenue should adjust to that.

And we have made a great deal of money in Seattle, specifically through the tech boom.

And I would like that to make our whole city better.

And I think that would be a positive investment for everybody and would save money.

It's like preventative stuff rather than going to the scene of the crime and just preventing the crime in the first place.

Something like that.

Anyway, thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Timothy.

We are going to move back to online public commenters.

We have three still present.

We've got C.

Makarwatuki, Mao Trinh, and Ruby Romero.

C., I see you.

You are off mute.

We're ready to go when you are.

SPEAKER_17

Awesome.

SPEAKER_04

Can you hear me all right?

Yes, we can.

SPEAKER_17

Okay, so I know this is tough because it's late, so thank you for listening.

Um, my name is C and I am from Dan Strauss district.

And I was one of the students that witnessed the Ingram high school shooting.

We fought for that $28 million in mental health funding for Seattle public school students last year.

And I'm here to talk about the importance of prioritizing funding for Seattle public schools and the student support systems.

As a result of testifying, I actually got literal death threats from adults online telling me and my peers to toughen up that we don't need mental health support.

And literally we were told to kill ourselves.

by multiple adults.

And it was pretty awful as a high schooler to go through that.

But I'm still here back at it again.

The council initially approved the $20 million in funding, and I was so relieved.

I literally cried like happy tears, knowing that I could graduate and my classmates would be cared for, that there'd be significantly less violence and suicide in our schools.

And then the council changed their minds and betrayed the office.

You cut that budget And you said that you couldn't do it because it just wasn't possible.

But then you voted yes to millions of dollars to build a second jail and bonuses for Seattle Police Department.

This is the same SPD that fucking maced an 11-year-old girl at a George Floyd protest.

And the same police department that ran over a girl speeding, joking about how her life had limited value.

And these are the same jills that multiple people have committed suicide in.

And pretty soon it will be the two-year anniversary of the shooting.

And we have to think about what has actually changed.

Gun violence and suicide still plague our Seattle Public Schools.

More kids have died.

Literally last month, one of my good friends, who was a Seattle Public School student, died by suicide during Suicide Prevention Month, and I can't help but wonder what could have been done.

He was only 17. I cannot take this anymore.

My community can't take this anymore.

And now that I hear we're closing schools, So not only are you unable to give us mental health support, you're just closing schools altogether.

I think you guys need to rethink your fucking priorities because you do not represent a young...

See, that's your second warning on language.

SPEAKER_04

Um...

For anyone still listening, please don't curse at public comment.

Up next is Mao Trinh, followed by Ruby Romero.

If you have registered or want to speak, now is the time to call in.

Mao, thank you for unmuting.

We are ready.

SPEAKER_34

Uh, yeah.

Um...

My name is Mal.

I am a school and museum educator living in Seattle District 3. I just want you to know that as a recent Seattle transplant coming in from Los Angeles, I don't say goodbye to my friends anymore.

I say be safe to them, not because it's what my peers want me to do, not because it's that I want to be different, but because I've suffered trauma while being homeless from housed folks.

and not from the peers from my street.

This budget proposal, along with the voting in of SODA and SOPA laws, creates a climate that demonizes and further traumatizes folks who are struggling day to day and going through a tough time.

As an educator now, my heart breaks for when my sophomore students have to skip social studies class in order to work under the table so that their families can barely make rent.

All while many of them lack the adequate support for mental health, and I tell them to be safe as well.

My heart further breaks for the migrant families who have been ping ponged back and forth between Seattle and Kent.

My fear of what will happen to our most vulnerable neighbors extends to the families who may easily be swept into the margins and swept alongside with our unhoused peers, and I tell them to be safe as well.

To put things short, I do urge the council to consider that further funds for social programs such as Jump Start to avoid cutting from Jump Start and avoid putting any more money to a force that turns a blind eye to justice when people are shot in their sleep by a speeding enforcement vehicle or shot to death when they're having a mental health crisis.

That way, when I'm saying be safe, I don't feel this weight.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04

Thanks, Mal.

And thanks for hanging on with us so long.

Ruby, you're going to be our last speaker for the night.

So star six when you're ready.

We're ready.

There you are.

You're off mute.

SPEAKER_25

Great.

Hello.

Thank you so much for hearing us today.

I appreciate the time.

Can you all hear me?

SPEAKER_04

Great.

We can hear you, Ruby.

SPEAKER_25

Okay.

Thank you for that.

So I'm a 33-year King County and Seattle resident.

That's my entire life.

I am an active member of the arts community.

I was a participant in the Seattle Restored Program.

I've been a part of many programs that are being cut today.

um our proposed cut today excuse me i shouldn't speak so affirmative but anyway so i just want to say i'm from district one uh from council member saka's district and uh i would really like to see some more engagement with the community there just as a on the record i want to say that this is actually the radical policy is what you guys are doing here.

I appreciate you taking our public comment to the extent that you have today.

I hope that you heard the community.

There's not much else to say, and there's a lot more to say when it comes to exactly what's wrong with a lot of the systems and policies that have been here.

And as some of you may know, we're actually colleagues.

That's for another day.

I grew up a block away from Aurora.

I've seen all of these sodas and sopa laws and all of these tax cuts happen before.

We're not doing anything new.

Sweeps have happened from City Hall Park since the late 1800s when we first had a city fire and people were displaced then.

That's on your own seattle.gov website.

I've also mapped out the sweeps that have been occurring and it's ridiculous how many times you sweep from the same exact spot without increasing any shelter or housing and specifically scattered site permanent housing.

Last thing I'm going to say is please don't cut the parks department programs when literally those are what is going to bring Population to areas that you're concerned about, that is the number one thing that fights actual crime and, you know, nefarious activity is visibility.

So to cut concierges, to cut the music program is not okay.

I appreciate you guys.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for listening to us today.

Have a good day.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you, Ruby.

We have reached the end of the list of registered speakers remotely or physically present.

It is 10.04 p.m., 12 hours and 34 minutes after we started committee this morning.

The next Select Budget Committee is in 11 hours.

I'm not gonna do the short math.

It's basically in 11 and a half hours.

So we'll see each other very soon.

Looking forward to seeing you and thank you for being on time for both meetings, everyone was.

So we'll be back here tomorrow morning on Thursday, October 17th at 9.30 a.m.

We'll only be taking written public comment for the remainder of the central staff presentations We will take verbal public comment on the 30th when the chair's package is released.

I want to thank everyone downstairs in Seattle Channel right now.

I want to thank all the volunteers from the individual offices.

I want to thank Tenelle and Nick and everyone in security who stayed late two nights in a row.

I want to thank the clerks and everyone for doing the most.

This is...

refreshing actually to be back here after the pandemic like this so thank you all for coming if there's no further business to come before the select budget committee we will adjourn hearing no further business before the select budget committee we are adjourned we'll see you all at 9 30 a.m