City Council Meeting 7/30/2024

Good afternoon, everyone.

The July 30th, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 p.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, President of the Council.

Will the Clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Saka?

Here.

Council Member Strauss?

Present.

Council Member Wu?

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Here.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

Council Member Moore.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Nine council members are present.

Thank you very much.

There is not a presentation today, so colleagues at this time will open the public comment, the hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

We have 22. And additional public commenters are signing up at this point.

We have 25 in person.

Okay.

So, so far, 25 in person and 22 remote.

All right.

Here we go.

There we go.

All right.

We will give everybody one minute each and we will begin.

We'll do them in blocks of 10 and 10, starting with the in-person speakers.

Would you please read the instructions?

Public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

Public comment period is up to 20 minutes.

Speakers will be called in the order in which we are registered.

We will alternate in between sets of in-person and remote speakers until the public comment period has ended.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

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

First speaker is Samantha.

I believe it's Samantha.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, council members.

For the record, my name is Samantha Grad here today on behalf of my union, Teamsters 117, in opposition to the tip penalty legislation that's been introduced.

We want to be really clear about this.

This is a sub-minimum wage for certain workers in our city, and the labor movement does oppose that.

A decade ago, business and labor stakeholders came together and negotiated historic legislation.

It was a thoughtful compromise that gave businesses with under 500 employees 10 years to plan for this moment, where their wage rate would then equal the rest of the cities.

To move the goalpost on those workers now is to go back on the deal that was struck.

Workers are struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on their tables in our city.

We can and should look for ways to support small businesses who are struggling to compete against massive corporations in our city.

We can do things like utility assistance, subsidized loans for restaurant upgrades, streamlining permitting, tax credits for employee benefits, caps on commercial rent increases.

There's a long list of things we can do to support businesses, but we should not be doing that on the backs of workers in our city, and we oppose this.

Thank you.

I'm going to ask the audience or direct the audience to not to make noise in between speakers.

It does slow things down.

Please continue.

Alex Zimmerman.

See here, my dirty, damn Nazi fascist junta, bandit and killer.

I speak about to you guys.

When you stop acting like a freaking slave and idiot, one minute, It's a nightmare.

Nobody has this.

And I'm talking about this for 10 years.

I never hear one from you stand up and talk, give us three minutes.

How we can doing this?

I proposal for 10 years.

Open better room in City Hall.

One day per week from 9 to 9.

Please direct your comments to something on the agenda or within the purview of our committee.

We need this, doing this.

You understand me, you freaking slave?

Nobody supports this.

You accept one minute.

Why you accept one minute?

Can you explain to me?

I spoke more than 4,500 times from Tacoma to Overhead.

Nobody have one minute.

And you freaking slave, a bunch of idiot.

I never hear one.

For 10 years, somebody stand up and talk.

Give us three minute in better room.

It's enough.

Stand up, America.

Make America great again.

Please read the next three speakers on the signed up.

And everybody, when you hear your name, please sort of get in, be willing to speak.

Thank you.

As I call your name, if you don't mind speaking up and standing on, there's two podiums, this one and here.

I know there's a line, but there's two microphones here.

So Charlie is next, and followed by Charlie is going to be Patrick Gibson and then Joan Wright.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Seattle City Council.

My name is Charlie LaFamme.

I work at MLK Labor.

We're a coalition of more than 150 unions and 100,000 union workers all across the county.

And unions are resolutely opposed to a lower minimum wage for certain workers.

The whole idea of a minimum wage is that it's a minimum.

It's the floor that we set.

And we know that in Seattle, Those who earn the minimum wage have struggle meeting their basic needs, buying food, groceries, utilities, rent, childcare.

Unions help workers collectively bargain better pay and benefits so that they can afford these necessities.

But protections like the minimum wage provide a safety net to everybody with or without a union.

Businesses agreed to the minimum wage 10 years ago and they've had time to prepare.

But instead of paying people for what they're worth, They're making this change in the 11th hour.

Creating a permanent subminimum wage would be a deep mistake and would harm workers all across Seattle.

Thank you.

Do not, I will say it again.

Behavior, please do not clap or make comments in between speakers.

Hi, I'm Patrick Gibson.

I'm a member of Workers Strike Back.

I'm a renter in District 3. Councilmember Hollingsworth represents my district, and I am ashamed that she's introduced legislation blatantly attacking thousands of our city's most vulnerable workers, many of them women, immigrants, and people of color.

Her district is an epicenter of displacement in Seattle, with people constantly being pushed out of their homes due to ever-increasing rents, and she is making it clear who she stands with, Seattle's business establishment, instead of the renters in her district.

This all Democrat city council is attempting to permanently freeze a lower tier minimum wage for thousands of workers.

In the city of Seattle, we know 31% work for companies with fewer than 50 employees.

In King County, it's over 41% of workers who are employed by companies with fewer than 500. So let's be clear, we're talking about well over 200,000 workers in Seattle who would be directly affected by this legislation.

Council Member Hollingsworth must immediately withdraw this legislation.

We say no to a permanent two-tier wage system for Seattle workers.

My name is Joan Wright.

She, her resident of district three, rank and file member of OPIU 153 and a member of workers strike back.

Shame on the Democrats on the city council, especially council member Hollingsworth represents my district who has introduced this legislation blatantly attacking thousands of our city's most vulnerable workers, many of them women, immigrants, and people of color.

Residents of D3 and workers across this city will not accept this and we will fight back.

This is a blatant attack on thousands of Seattle's workers.

And Democrats say that they're doing this to help small businesses.

But if they actually wanted to help small businesses, the Democrats on city council who, you know, the small business that are struggling, why not do what Shama Sawant and the 15-Hour Movement called for 10 years ago and tax big business to subsidize smaller businesses that are genuinely struggling?

Why not pass commercial rent control to keep rent costs down for smaller businesses?

Why not expand the Amazon tax?

to support these struggling businesses.

We demand the immediate withdrawal of this legislation that is a no and a no two-tier wage system for Seattle workers.

We're going to be hosting a rally this Sunday, August 4th at 1 p.m.

outside of City Hall.

Come support this and fight back against this legislation.

Following, so now we have M.

Smith and then Shirley Henderson and then Summer Miller.

If you can please line up to the podium.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is M.

Smith.

I'm a resident of District 3 and I'm a member of Workers Strike Back.

I'm here to oppose the brazen attacks that the city council, a city council that's all Democrats, by the way, is waging on the $15 an hour minimum wage victory that working people in this city fought for and won 10 years ago with the leadership of the 15 Now movement and socialist council member Shama Sawant.

And as a District 3 resident, I find it particularly shameful that Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth is sponsoring this legislation.

Shame on you.

Democrats are doing this under the guise of supporting small business.

It's a total lie.

This isn't for small business.

This is for predatory business owners like Ian Eisenberg, who was found in violation of paying people below the minimum wage in 2016. And now he wants to legalize his wage theft with the support of his business partner, Councilmember Hollingsworth, and the Democrats on City Council.

This is shameful.

Withdraw this legislation now.

We need to oppose every attack on the $15 minimum wage, support working people in the city, and I hope that everyone here comes out to the rally on Sunday at 1 p.m.

at City Hall and opposes this legislation in the future.

Thank you.

Amelia?

Pause, please.

Amelia, I would like to go to the, after the speaker, we will move to the phone speakers.

And please, this is, I am asking again, I am telling you, please do not clap in between.

This is not, we're just trying to get through public comment here.

My name is Shirley.

I am a socialist and also a central district queer small business owner and a member of Workers Strike Back.

And I was also somebody who was part of the fight for 15 in Seattle 10 years ago.

I am appalled to hear that Seattle's all Democrat and thoroughly corporate city council is getting ready to dismantle this historic gain of $15 an hour minimum wage, the strongest legislation of minimum wage in the country.

It's strong precisely because we built a powerful movement to win it, and we will to defend it.

Shame on Councilmember Hollingsworth, who, after getting endorsements from King County Labor Council and campaign donations from multiple unions, is now putting forward this anti-worker legislation.

She needs to retract this and apologize to the over 200,000 workers this legislation is going to directly affect.

Just like Councilmember Sawant demanded when we first...

for 15, Democrats should expand the Amazon tax to help struggling small businesses cover this increase in January instead of attacking workers.

I reject this dichotomy.

I urge everyone who opposes this to join us this Sunday at 1 p.m.

for the round.

Are we not going to the phone?

transition now to um remote public commenters and then we'll come back to you thank you um megan our first remote public commenter will be adam glickman adam will be followed by cleo gallagher remote speakers you may need to press star six after you hear the prompt you have been unmuted go ahead adam thank you members of the council adam clinton hi

Look, you are all smart, competent, accomplished people.

Many of you have a background in business and finance.

You all must have creative and thoughtful ideas about how to support struggling small businesses.

But all we have seen over the last eight months is multiple proposals to reduce wages for already struggling low-wage workers.

And you all know that that's not a sustainable solution.

You all know that that's just going to make workforce challenges harder, increasing turnover, making it harder to recruit and retain employees.

Reducing minimum wages for already struggling workers will depress demand and spending in our community.

This is an opportunity for you all to find ways Seattle can support small restaurants without hurting workers.

Find ways to help with other problems.

Find ways to solve other problems.

Put your knowledge and experience to work.

Other cities have done it.

Let's find ways to address the problems of these small restaurants without hurting workers

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Cleo Gallagher.

Cleo will be followed by Todd Carden.

Go ahead, Cleo.

Hey, I'm Cleo.

Last week I spoke about my personal experiences navigating life on subminimum wage with no health insurance in Seattle.

But since it seems like the plight of restaurant lobbyists has struck a chord, let's take a look at their claims.

They claim that small businesses must compete with rising costs of goods and inflation.

You know who else these issues affect?

The lowest paid workers in the city who have kept businesses lights on through thick and thin.

Instead of further punishing Seattle workers, it would be great to address some of the root causes of our shared issues.

Decades of research shows us that small business owners actually benefit from higher wages, less turnover, less advertising and training for new workers, and consumers have more money to spend at their establishments.

In the long run, profits are not actually harmed.

But if looking up data isn't your thing, I again urge you to listen to workers today.

And hey, Seattle Restaurant Alliance, But with all the union busting experience some of y'all have, you still fail to realize that nothing agitates and unifies us quite like slashing our wages.

See you next week.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Todd Carden, and Todd will be followed by Maria Mant.

Go ahead, Todd.

Todd, you may need to press star six.

Hello, my name is Todd Carden, and I'm here to speak on this issue from the perspective of a small business owner who's been doing business in Seattle for 27 years.

You know, it's been undoubtedly very difficult over the last several years, and I know that this ordinance strikes a very strong chord with folks out there who think that it's only purely to try to take away from our employees out there.

My employees are my greatest asset.

And my intent is to try to keep the doors open.

A 20 to 25% increase on top of the challenges that we face is really going to be instrumental for many folks out there.

I speak with lots of businesses to try to let them know that this is coming because most of them are not aware that this is a sunset that's going to happen.

It's basically going to be a ginormous fiscal cliff for some of them, especially since they're not even aware.

But I just I think that collaboration is the key here.

And if we need to find some balance, I think we want to protect our businesses and our employees at the same time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Maria Mann.

And Maria will be followed by Maddie.

Go ahead, Maria.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Maria, and I'm a recent UW graduate.

I paid my way partially through school from 2020 to 2021 to 2023. by working at different bars and restaurants across Capitol Hill.

And most of the months that I was a full-time student working 20 to 25 hours a week, I was really struggling to make my rent and to buy food on the wages that I was making.

And I really, really relied on my wages often more than my tips.

I remember when I worked at Terra Plata on Capitol Hill, in one night's dining shift, I would personally bring in at least $600 in tips, but I would get like $80 of that Because the way that these pitfalls are set up, a lot of these small business owners, a lot of them are great, but a lot of this money does not end up going back to servers for a lot of different reasons or to other types of restaurant workers.

And I just think it's important to remember that there's real people who are hurt by changes.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Maddie Danks.

Maddie will be followed by Paul Constant.

Go ahead, Maddie.

Hi, my name is Maddie.

I am a rank and file member of FDIU 925 and a member of Worker Strike Back.

I'm calling in today because I am incredibly grossed out to see the Democrats of City Council go for another attack on workers.

I've been in City Council countless times talking about the issues that workers are facing, making rent and making the cost of living in Seattle and to see an attack on the ability of the lowest paid workers in Seattle to ever make enough to afford to live in the city is frankly disgusting.

If you really care about small businesses, then you should have passed rent control when we were fighting for it last session because we included small businesses.

But you frankly just want to see workers shoulder the costs of businesses once again.

Creating a permanent two tiered system is not sustainable and it's frankly shameful.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Paul Constance, and Paul will be followed by Sarah Courtney.

Go ahead, Paul.

Hi.

My name is Paul Constance.

I am a writer at Civic Ventures.

Ten years ago, Seattle made history as businesses, workers, elected officials, and senior leaders came together and reached an agreement to establish a $15 pension.

Passed unanimously, and states and cities around the country have followed our lead.

Regardless of what opponents threatened at the time, raising the minimum wage didn't raise prices or cause widespread business closure.

The most recent high-quality empirical research from the University of California proves that raising wages actually creates jobs.

So now as we're on the home stretch, some on the council are trying to go back on the deal the city made with workers.

Seattle businesses have had 10 years to adjust to make this work.

As our founder, McKenna, was fond of saying, if they can't afford to pay their workers after a decade to prepare, they simply don't have a functional business model.

I HOPE THE COUNCIL REALIZED THAT SEATTLE'S ECONOMIC STRENGTH OVER THE LAST DECADE DIDN'T COME FROM THE TOP DOWN.

IT CAME FROM THE FACT THAT WORKERS AT BARS AND RESTAURANTS HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO SPEND AT BARS AND RESTAURANTS.

I URGE YOU NOT TO GO BACK ON THIS DEAL THAT WE ALL AGREED UPON A DECADE AGO.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

NEXT SPEAKER IS SARAH COURTNEY, AND THEN WE WILL RETURN TO IN-PERSON SPEAKERS.

GO AHEAD, SARAH.

Hi there, Sarah Courtney here, business owner in Seattle, restaurant owner in Seattle.

I'm joining with concerns regarding the sunsetting of the total compensation clause that goes into effect January 1st.

This change will increase my payroll as a business by over $50,000, which will put us out of business, making our 20 staff unemployed.

More importantly, it will not allow me to provide equity in my business.

OUR FRONT-OF-HOUSE TEAM MEMBERS WOULD BE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE SEVERAL COMPENSATION CLAUSE INCREASING THEIR WAGES.

THEY ALREADY MAKE ON AVERAGE $87,000 PER YEAR.

OUR BACK-OF-HOUSE TEAM, OUR KITCHEN STAFF AND QUARTERS MAKE ON AVERAGE 20,000 LESS THAN OUR FRONT-OF-HOUSE EMPLOYEES.

AND THOSE EMPLOYEES WILL NOT RECEIVE WAGES THIS YEAR IF THIS GOES INTO EFFECT.

SO I AM OPPOSED TO THE or would like this, have big concerns about the total compensation clause.

Okay, so we'll switch back to you in person.

So we're going to start with Summer, correct?

And then after Summer, it'll be Donnie Wolfgang, I believe it's Wallace, and then Alex Olson.

If you can please stand up to these two podiums so we can get people, public commenters in.

Please, thank you.

Go ahead.

My name is Summer.

I'm a renter in Seattle and a worker strike back activist.

As a District 3 voter, I am appalled by Joy Hollingsworth and her proposal to undermine Seattle's historic minimum wage law.

Despite earning just above the minimum wage, I struggle monthly to cover rent, food, and other basic necessities.

We are all of us enduring the intense cost of living crisis.

It is deeply troubling that this betrayal comes from elected Democrats who claim to champion unions and diverse communities.

This cut would affect over 200,000 workers in construction, food, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and other industries where workers are overwhelmingly black, immigrant, and female.

Seattle set a groundbreaking example by being the first city to win a $15 minimum wage.

If Democrats go back on their commitment and betray working people, that will open the floodgates for big business to attack working people all over the country.

I urge city council and the mayor to reject this progressive move.

No business succeeds without the dedication and hard work of its workers.

Every worker deserves a fair wage that allows them to live with dignity.

Please join us for the rally on Sunday.

My name is Dominic Wolfgang Wallace.

I'm a member of Workers Strike Back and a District 3 voter.

As a District 3 voter, I must say I'm ashamed of my representative, Joy Hollingsworth, for introducing this.

You're a disgrace to both your office and the city of Seattle.

We are in the midst of a cost of living crisis.

The workers affected by this change already can't afford to take care of themselves under our current wages.

I personally make $24 an hour and live in a comparatively cheap studio apartment for my neighborhood and am struggling to keep up with the cost of this city.

I demand that this legislation is immediately withdrawn.

We need a higher minimum wage, not this absurd two-tiered system that is blatantly anti-worker.

I must say the Democrats of City Council, this all-Democrat board, have at the very least done us a favor in showing how worthless they are for defending working people.

Thank you very much.

Following Alex will be former Council Member Shama Sawant and then Lainey Nugent, if I'm not mistaken.

All right.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Alex Olson.

I'm from District 6, and I'm a member of Workers Strike Back.

I'm here to speak in the strongest possible terms against the proposed scaling back of minimum wage protections.

No amount of hiding behind so-called small businesses will change the true nature of this legislation, a blatant attack on this city's working class, on immigrant communities, on women and people of color, because these are the communities that will face by far the most direct material harm from this proposal.

Hundreds of thousands of workers fall under the loophole of what is considered a small business under 500 employees.

As the cost of living rises, they need a real wage, not pay stagnation.

These businesses have had a full decade to figure out how to pay their employees a living wage.

That transitional period was never intended to be permanent.

Now, at the earliest possible opportunity, you're making the choice to work not for the people of this city who elected you, but for the corporations that own you.

The workers of this city are in a crisis.

We can barely afford to live.

This is not the solution.

To the corporate Democrats on city council who stand against the working class, shame on you.

Council Member Hollingsworth, shame on you.

Thank you and good afternoon.

Labor leader David Rolf, who played a key role in our movement to win Seattle's $15 minimum wage, recently said, quote, these guys got 10 years to get their act together, and if they haven't figured out how to run a successful business without screwing workers, shame on them.

They don't deserve to be in business.

Undermining Seattle's minimum wage is political suicide for anyone who tries, end quote.

And on that last point, we should be perfectly clear.

Right now, workers have to fight like hell to defeat this bill, but the Democrat, Councilmember Hollingsworth, who introduced this bill, and any others who vote yes on it, should be brought down in the next election, whether or not this bill passes.

In fact, if Hollingsworth wants to have any political future, she should withdraw this bill immediately and apologize to our city's workers.

She should not have introduced it in the first place.

Hollingsworth pretends to be a friend of labor in her election, and she made lots of promises.

She got a number of union endorsements and union donations.

For the thousandth time, we can see the Democratic Party is absolutely no friend of labor.

We need—working people need a new party.

That's what Worker Strike Back is calling for.

Excuse me, I believe the next, I believe it's Laney.

Okay, then we're gonna go on to Calvin Priest.

Margo Stewart, Gabriel Jones.

We warned after our movement won this historic minimum wage law that big business and the Democrats would try to attack it.

So it's not surprising, but it is utterly shameful.

Many of these Democrats, including Joy Hollingsworth, took money from unions promising to support workers.

They're doing the opposite.

They pretend to defend small business, but they're lying.

They failed to pass a single piece of pro-small business legislation that Kshama Sawant introduced over the last decade, including commercial rent control.

Democrats run Seattle in the interests of mega corporations and landlords alone and against the interests of both workers and small business.

They lie when they say this is about the pandemic and inflation.

Inflation has been devastating for workers.

The last thing needed is this vicious attack on the wages of the lowest paid workers in the city.

We will fight back the same way we won this law, by building a united movement.

When we fight, we win.

When we fight, we win.

When we fight, we win.

All right, my name is Margo.

I work and run on Capitol Hill, and I demand that the city council and the Democrats on it reject this shameful attack on minimum wage workers.

I think it's insulting that my own council member has put forward this attack after accepting money and endorsements from organized labor, and I think she should withdraw and apologize to the workers of this city.

corporations paid for by working people.

My partner is a tips line chef who works on Capitol Hill for the small business minimum.

Their boss owns at least three businesses, multiple houses, and trades ancient Egyptian jewelry as his expensive hobby.

These are the sorts of corporate bosses that this tiered wage system would actually be serving.

And as others have said, if there are genuinely struggling small businesses, They should fight with our movement for things like rent control or attacks on Amazon that all these Democrats voted against, as I recall.

But this is what the Democrats do, right?

Under pressure from our movements, they support progressive things, but this is what they do when they think nobody's looking.

They turn around, they roll them back, and attack working people.

That's why I'm a member of Workers Strike Back, and that's why I think you should come to our rally.

After Gabriel, we'll go back to remote public commenters.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Gabriel Jones, and I'm here to speak today on the repealing of the minimum wage.

It seems like this council really just doesn't like paying workers.

Every time I've been out here, there have been two direct attacks made to worker minimum wages, this one being the most egregious.

And with the cut of the EDI funding, it seems like the council is really against working class people.

If you want to prove you're not, and you want to actually stand up for people, not just the people who own businesses, you have to vote no on this.

Because if you don't, all we can do is make sure you don't get elected again.

Anyone who says yes to this, I know I personally, and many will make sure that you will not be elected again.

Because when we fight, we win.

When we fight, we win.

When we fight, we win.

Thank you.

first remote public commenter for this group will be jim buchanan and will be followed by ben byers go ahead pause real quick megan just a second just i'm just doing a time check we have uh exceeded the first 20 minutes i just want to get a nod from colleagues to continue with public comment go ahead please all right it looks like jim has dropped off the call so we will go to ben byers Then go ahead.

You may need to press star six.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to give this comment.

I want to thank Councilmember Hollingsworth for introducing this legislation, and I want to voice my support for it.

I understand we've heard from a number of public commentators who have spoken about the 10 year time frame that businesses had to plan for this.

Of course, I don't think anyone could have predicted that four years ago we would have been faced with a devastating global pandemic.

that particularly hit restaurants because we were not able to serve our customers.

We're finally digging out of that hole, and the sunset of the tip credit sincerely threatens our ability to continue to move in a direction that allows us to continue to operate.

We want to pay our employees well.

We want to continue to serve the city of Seattle, everybody in the city of Seattle.

And so I want to thank Council Member Hollingsworth for introducing this legislation and encourage all members of the council to support it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Paula Sardinas.

Paula will be followed by Alex Kim.

Go ahead, Paula.

Good afternoon.

My name is Paula Sardinas, and I represent the Washington Build Back Black Alliance, 3,000 small businesses and NGOs.

We have passed wage theft legislation in multiple states, and we also support rent control.

We're speaking today to thank Councilmember Hollisworth for bringing this legislation over a decade ago.

No one could have predicted the impact of COVID-19 or the nearly 1,000 businesses that would close in Seattle.

We know that restaurants are the backbone of Seattle's neighborhoods, especially in the black and brown community.

As a mother, I have two children that have worked in tip service, and I can tell you a lot of what you're hearing here today is false.

No one is anti-labor.

No one is anti-minimum wage.

But what we cannot do is to continue to watch our restaurant industry in Seattle close.

If businesses close, there will not be any jobs.

Councilmember Hollingsworth has taken a thoughtful approach to bring everyone to the table to ensure that businesses thrive.

This tiered approach ensures that we have two things, a thriving minimum wage and a thriving restaurant industry.

Thank you.

We look forward to the continued conversation.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Kim.

Alex will be followed by Jim Buchanan.

Go ahead, Alex.

Hi, my name is Alex Kim.

I'm a food delivery driver and District 2 resident calling in today in support of pay-ups.

Very recently, there's been news that DoorDash would be raising their Seattle regulatory fee from $5 to $7.

I want to clarify that this is actually only for long-distance orders, not all orders.

As well, there will be some kind of extra charge for DashPass customers.

However, it's not clear how that will be implemented.

While not ideal, it is far too early to take action on this as we don't know how it will affect things.

Also, will companies like Grubhub be the same, or will they compete on price as a cheaper option?

This action is an admission by DoorDash that their fees previously did not have a connection to how much workers were paid.

As we are paid by time and mileage, naturally long-distance orders will pay more than short-distance.

This is the main reason why bike couriers are disadvantaged.

It's not pay-up, but the way that fees have been implemented.

This is even worse on Uber Eats, which charges the highest fees regardless of distance.

I would also please urge you to not permanently lower wages for workers at small businesses.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jim Buchanan.

Jim will be followed by Karen Taylor.

Go ahead, Jim.

Hello, Council.

First, I would like to say that we as Black people don't need anybody else to speak up for us for what our needs are.

And I also would like to benchmark that Our councilwoman, Hollingsworth, represents us more than anybody else that has been on the council or is on the council right now.

Restaurant industry, which I have a lot of experience on, any server that's looking to live off of an hourly wage from a restaurant that's in the wrong industry, you've got back-of-the-house people in the restaurant that make $25 an hour.

why they don't like servers that the cooks don't because the servers milk the situation.

They can leave with $400 or $500 a night, two to five per night.

So, you know, that needs to be balanced out.

You know, you're looking out for the goose, look out for the gander.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Karen Taylor.

Karen will be followed by Susanna Damdeer.

Go ahead, Karen.

Hi, my name is Karen Taylor.

I'm a domestic worker.

And I am speaking today to say that we should definitely not create a two-tier system for our minimum wage.

Minimum means minimum.

And the fight 10 years ago for a minimum wage was wildly popular.

And workers' rights are wildly popular right now.

So it seems like a very weird fight to pick with us.

I showed up then, I'm going to show up again.

The thing is, there's always these little carve outs and compromises that we're supposed to do to legislation and to get things through sample.

And then if you're just going to repeal it 10 years later, and you think we're not going to be watching, that's ridiculous.

We are watching minimum wage should be minimum wage and businesses have had plenty of time to prepare for this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Susanna Damdere.

Susanna will be followed by Erin Bird.

Go ahead, Susanna.

Susanna, you may need to press star six.

Hi.

My name is Susanna Damdere, and I'm a resident of Seattle in District 3, and I own a small business, a cafe, with two locations in Seattle.

And I want to register my concern with plans to sunset the total compensation option for small businesses in 2025, and I thank Joy for looking for an alternate solution.

This compensation would result in a 20% increase to our labor costs.

It's really very likely that these costs could cause me to close my doors and lay off approximately 20 employees.

I think that's the last thing that anyone wants to see.

Like many restaurants, we are saddled with high debt and high costs.

During the pandemic, I took out over $200,000 in loans, and I now have high monthly loan payments.

And I've seen my labor costs increase every year.

My rent goes up annually.

My cost of goods increase as my small business vendors react to their own cost increases.

I am unable to compete with large businesses on the same playing field, which is what the sunset will create.

I am a responsible employer providing many benefits like generous paid time off, paid meal breaks, free shift meals.

My employees reward me by staying.

They've been there over two years on average, which is like 20 years if you've ever worked

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Erin Bird.

Following Erin Bird, we will go back to in-person speakers.

Go ahead, Erin.

Hi, I'm Erin, and I have been a restaurant owner for over 20 years here in Seattle.

I'm a resident of District 6. I'm in support of sunsetting the total compensation clause, mainly because it's just been a nightmare owning a small business in this city.

When I started 20 years ago, it was actually kind of fun and it was great.

But over the years, it's just gotten harder and harder.

And I know it's been harder for workers too.

And I do support everyone who works for me.

But the truth is, because of the minimum wage going up, I can't give my core workers who are actually doing the leadership roles as much money per hour as I want.

And of course, it's well over minimum wage what I pay my core workers.

But now I'm going to have to close one of my restaurants because there's simply no way some of my restaurants that aren't performing at full level can make it.

So thank you for introducing this legislation and you have my support.

Thank you.

Okay, we'll go back to in-person remote public commenters.

And then I believe it's Lainey.

And then after Lainey will be Aaron Moore, and then allow Francis.

My name's Long.

I'm a member of Workers Strike Back, massive corporations like McDonald's fought viciously for many loopholes, including outrageous ideas like allowing companies to pay people with disabilities a lower wage.

These same corporations tried to use small business as a shield to argue for a longer phase-in.

longer phase in age increases while McDonald's would have absolutely no problem paying strong minimum wages pegged to inflation.

They tried to use genuine concerns for working people about small businesses to argue that big businesses need more time.

At the same time, Shama and 15 Now argued that big businesses like McDonald's should be taxed to help small businesses that would struggle to pay so that workers at small businesses wouldn't be left behind.

The Democrats rejected the solution and instead gave a decade of for small businesses to prepare to pay the minimum wage.

Now bosses are claiming they didn't know or they still aren't ready, and they are being aided by Democrats like Joy Hollingsworth to prepare an attack on our $15 per hour minimum wage.

Join us for a rally Sunday, August 4th at 1 p.m.

outside the city hall.

Thank you.

Aaron, and then followed by Aaron will be Alan.

Hello, my name is Aaron Moore and I'm a renter from District 4, as well as a member of Workers Strike Back.

I urge you to withdraw this minimum wage attack.

This represents big business using small business as a battering ram to bust down the door of the poorest members of our community and rob them.

We need to recognize that individuals and small businesses actually share a common stake in our local communities.

Big businesses are the ones that are the odd one out.

This is not a choice between healthy small businesses and a living wage for workers.

That is a false choice being presented to us.

As the people representing our communities, you should be interested in defending them during a time of exploding costs.

Thank you.

Last name, Francis.

Okay, I'm gonna move forward.

Gabriel Newman.

Followed by Gabriel would be Destiny.

I believe it's Gund or Sund.

Good afternoon, Seattle City Council.

My name is Gabriel Newman and I represent GSBA.

We're Washington's LGBTQ plus Chamber of Commerce.

I'm here to encourage you to continue the total compensation policy that has been benefiting workers and businesses in this city for a decade.

As an LGBTQ plus chamber, we see firsthand the impact that small minority and first generation businesses bring to enrich the communities they serve.

It's hard out there for a small business.

The average restaurant is still $160,000 in debt from the COVID pandemic.

Low margins, the low margins restaurants make on average only two to 4% mean businesses barely make enough to be sustainable.

This incurs in part because food is one of the most sensitive commodities to economic shifts such as inflation and the rise of gas prices.

These are neighborhood staples, cafes, restaurants and third places that give our communities the charm and character that pull them together.

Moreover, Total Comp provides an avenue to healthcare.

The average statewide marketplace cost for insurance is around $500 a month.

This allows part-time workers a way to access insurance in a way that's tenable for them.

Thank you for continuing this policy that's been around for decades.

Followed, Destiny, is gonna be Charlie.

Hello, my name is Destiny and I own a bakery in Pike Place Market.

Today happens to be National Cheesecake Day.

Thank you, Joy Hollingsworth, for introducing this legislation because we understand that this is actually about saving jobs.

It's needed and it's needed fast.

I'm just gonna speak from my heart.

This is my reality.

I employ six people and I do take the tip credit.

My employees are amazing.

I wish I could pay them all $100 an hour.

I'm doing my best right now to save my bakery.

I'm still paying off my emergency SBA loan.

I've almost exhausted my pandemic government money.

I lost over $16,000 last quarter.

The truth is Pike Place vendors are struggling.

All of our transactions are down by significant numbers.

In July, my business was down over 2,000 transactions.

Looking at $3 an hour in addition to a current minimum wage is not sustainable for my business.

I've raised my prices as high as my customers are willing to tolerate.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Charlie Anthony.

I am a small business owner of Moshi Moshi Sushi in Ballard and also the president of the Seattle Restaurant Alliance, representing the thousands of independent small businesses, restaurants and bars that grace our great city.

And thank you for the opportunity to speak today in support of Council Member Hollingsworth's bill to maintain the carefully negotiated compromise that was made 10 years ago.

And when I hear the complaints about how we've had 10 years to get ready for this, what nobody could have anticipated was a global pandemic, followed by a shutdown, followed by the largest inflation spike our country has seen in 50 years.

And during that time, and I've gone back and I've checked the pay rates on the OLS website, since 2017 to 2024, the minimum wage paid by small businesses has gone up 57%.

Compared to large businesses, it's only gone up 33%.

Next year, without this action, small businesses will pay 20% more.

Big businesses will only have an inflation adjustment.

And that is what we're talking about here.

We're talking about the burden of small business, and we're talking about how would this council balance your budget if you had to give a 20% across the board wage increase.

Thank you.

The last two in-person speakers for the set is going to be Sean Case and then Matea.

Hello, my name is Sean Case.

I've been a wine cook in Seattle for eight years and a resident of District 3 for as long.

In those eight years, I've struggled to afford Seattle and have moved five times seeking cheaper rent.

I also feel moved to say I'm actually not a member of Worker Strike Back, but I appreciate the energy they're bringing here.

So the business lobby pushing this legislation points to the pandemic as justification.

These business owners say their business has struggled through COVID, but they fail to mention why they made it through COVID at all.

It's because of workers like me and my peers who went back to work a mere two months in the pandemic, risking our safety to feed people.

We kept these restaurants alive, and now we're being rewarded with this proposal to permanently cut our pay.

You should be working to establish rent control and taxing big business to fund social housing and make this city livable for working people.

Instead, you're listening to lobbyists who are telling you that some of the lowest paid workers in the city are making too much money.

That's absurd.

Tips are not to pay wages and it should be illegal to pay below the minimum wage.

So let's call this what it is.

It's wage theft.

Councilmember Hollingsworth, this is a whose side are you on moment.

And there are sides.

This is not a nuanced issue.

You're either with workers on this or you're against us.

It's that simple.

Is there a Mateo?

Hello, I'm Matea.

I'm here on behalf of restaurant workers.

I've been in the restaurant industry for seven years.

I rebuke this life-threatening legislation.

I've been everything from a dishwasher to a sous chef, and in that time I've worked with incredible people that share common struggles.

We don't make enough to live.

All around us are people in our community that work hard to maintain the luxuries and services that you enjoy and still have to toil with the inability to support our basic needs, all for a few hands to pull from our pockets the means to which that prosperous life can be achieved through wage theft and tip theft.

The subminimum wage is unacceptable in our ever-growing, ever-changing economic landscape.

We need full minimum wage across every industry to allow the hardworking people in our city, our neighbors, to keep up with the inflation and the rising cost of living, and the subminimum wage is absolutely inadequate.

Every major OECD nation has come to the obvious conclusion pay their workers what their labor value is, and nothing less.

The fact that one of the wealthiest cities in the nation won't meet that standard is a festering contradiction.

If this gross legislation is passed, we'll be trying to remove you from that seat.

We just want to be able to live, and the maintenance of this legislation and sub-minimum standard will kill us.

We deserve to live.

We'll go back to the remainder remote speakers.

We have three currently.

Thank you.

Our first remote speaker for this group will be Ry Armstrong, followed by David Olson.

Reminder that you may need to press star six when you hear the prompt.

You have been unmuted.

Go ahead, Ry.

Hi, everyone.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for your time.

I am a queer artist and activist here in Capitol Hill.

who is a gig worker and works three part-time jobs just to make ends meet.

I would highly recommend that we keep up the minimum wage as it is and as it was set 10 years ago, or if not, do away with tips altogether and pass a $25 minimum wage so that working people can survive in this city.

It's not enough, and we have to step up and do better for the people of Seattle, so I would encourage that this amendment not pass.

Joy, I know that you're trying to find compromises between constituency groups, but this is not one that we should make working people of Seattle.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is David Olson, and David will be followed by Dwanita Hunt.

Go ahead, David.

Hello, Council.

My name is David Olson with Anthony's Restaurants.

I'm here today to thank you for introducing Council Bill 120830 and encourage you to protect small businesses in Seattle.

Our Seattle-based locations do not enjoy the benefit of total compensation consideration due to the fact that we have over 500 employees, and the impact on those locations has been significant.

Without the continuation of total compensation and the elimination of the sunset clause starting January 1st, all small businesses in Seattle, from nonprofits to daycare to restaurants, will face an immediate increase in labor costs of over 20%.

We request you keep the existing system in place by removing the sunset.

Small business restaurants already have made drastic changes to pricing, hours, menus, and more coming out of the pandemic to try to recover and now deal with inflation.

I can't imagine how small business can adjust pricing or make other changes to compensate for labor cost increases.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Dwanita Hunt.

After Dwanita, we will return to in-person speakers.

Go ahead, Dwanita.

Hello.

Hello.

My name is Dwanita.

I'm a general manager at a hotel in downtown Seattle, and I'm here to support the total compensation.

Local small businesses, particularly restaurants and other hospitality businesses, are fundamental to building a thriving community.

Restaurants struggled to survive through the pandemic.

The average restaurant accumulated $160,000 in debt after any government relief programs, which could take four years to retire.

Restaurants continue to struggle with supply chain challenges and historic inflation.

Total compensation can include medical benefits, allowing for the cost of medical benefits to be counted to make up the balance towards the minimum wage, not only incentivize small businesses to provide health care to their employees, it also assists in the overall cost structure.

Continuing the total compensation through employee tips and or payments toward an employee's medical benefit plan for small employers makes sense and will not place additional stress on small businesses who otherwise will have to adjust their budgets

Thank you, we'll go back to in-person speakers.

Okay, we're gonna be calling.

So we're gonna go back to Brandon Petit and then Ariana Riley and Alberto Alvarez.

Again, we have two microphones.

Hello?

You have to get really close to the mic.

Okay.

Thank you so much for having us here.

I think there's a bunch of misunderstandings about how the practicality of this law will come out.

And there's a very similar law you can look at in Washington, D.C. And the effects of that are not what people here are fighting for today.

The actual effect is that there's not actually enough profit margin for restaurants or small businesses to make up for this difference.

For a small neighborhood restaurant, it's close to $50,000 for a lot of people I've talked to.

That is either 50% or 100% of the profit that they could make.

So because of that, they're going to have to change their compensation model to something different.

We've seen Ethan Stoll restaurants do that.

We've seen restaurants in Washington, D.C.

do that.

And the effect of that is that workers make less money, customers pay more money, and employers make less money.

So it's actually lose, lose, lose, and there's no benefit to anybody.

Thank you.

And as a reminder, if you can just state your name before you start public comment to make sure that I've called your name.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Ariana Riley.

I'm a delivery driver in Seattle.

DoorDash yesterday threatened to impose a $2 fee on orders in Seattle, which, as it turns out, only applies to so-called long-distance orders and dash-pass orders.

In most markets where pay-up doesn't exist, DoorDash already charges extra fees for longer distances, but doesn't pass this money along to the drivers.

DoorDash has also stated in the past that DashPass, their subscription service, is something that they lose money on in all markets, not specifically in Seattle.

If someone orders from close by and isn't a DashPass subscriber, they won't be charged an extra fee.

My wait times between orders now in Seattle are less than they were before pay up and less than they are when working in Everett recently where pay up is not in effect.

RESTAURANTS TELL ME ORDER VOLUME IS THE SAME YEAR-OVER-YEAR FOR DELIVERY AND MOST DRIVERS I TALK TO ARE DOING WELL.

PLEASE KEEP PAYUP IN PLACE AS IS.

THANK YOU.

FOLLOWING ALBERTO IS GOING TO BE ERICA LEE AND THEN JASON AUGULINK.

GET SOCIAL HOUSING TO VOTERS THIS NOVEMBER.

YOUR FAKE CONCERN FOR A COMPLETE PLAN OF EVERY PROJECT THIS WILL HELP BUILD IS DISINGENUOUS AT BEST.

FOR IT WAS THIS gift of millions in back pay to SPD, which is rife with sexual harassers, racists, and officers who devalue the life of the young woman they killed.

Where is SPD's plan to fix themselves for all the money we throw their way?

Point two, drop any action to reduce, repeal, or delay living wages in Seattle.

A decade-long agreement to phase in a People died.

People were forced to move.

People lost what little money they had.

We all were brought down below zero.

Drop the sham of a bill.

This council needs to empower the people they are supposed to serve.

All people, not just the wealthy and business groups.

No reduction.

No repeal.

No delay.

Hi, my name is Erica Lee.

For viewers, this is a follow-up to my appearance on June 25th and to the Woodland Park Zoo Zoo staff appearance on February 20th.

I spoke last Tuesday in front of King County Council as well.

Zoo staff have gone over 200 days without a contract.

The zoo is now deleting social media comments about zoo president Alejandro Grijal referring to unionized staff as posturing and blocking those commenters.

I moved to Seattle by choice eight years ago and now I want to leave.

You don't know this, but I helped some of you get elected.

Your perceived indifference to this issue makes me never want to help again, and my reputation has led to two presidential campaigns reaching out to me to help them win in this state.

I am not experienced.

Seattle makes me feel small.

Council members running straight to Grohall and the board with our concerns is not how this should work.

Convening a special board meeting to evaluate Grohall's and Dalrymple's failed leadership with everyone in the room is how this is supposed to work, so we can counter false narratives, not rely on phone calls and emails between all of you and a zoo president you and members are friendly with.

Believe us, not them.

Cajal makes $460,000 a year and mocks people who work hard for him, asking for more money and to be able to live in the city.

Together, he and Dalbert will kill the dreams of people who want to work at the zoo.

We deserve accountability.

This is really how we do.

We have Jason Aguilin, followed by Brianna Martinez and Michael Goldstein.

More than six months of pay-up is showing us that it's failing from all angles for nearly everyone.

Restaurants are hurting, some have laid off employees, some have closed.

Umabap in District 3 shuttered a couple weeks ago.

Home Grown is closing 10 of its 12 locations.

Baka Bak Chicken, with a location in District 3, is now using its own delivery service.

Most restaurants can't afford to make that pivot.

Seattle's restaurant landscape is on a bad trajectory and will be so much worse in the fall.

Pay up needs to be revised.

It's adjustable.

Not taking any action is reckless.

The voters won't forget being abandoned.

Good afternoon, everybody.

My name is Brianna Martinez, and I'm here to advocate on behalf of restaurant and bar workers asking that you honor the compromise that was made a decade ago to pay us the same minimum wage as the rest of King County.

Full stop.

Um...

I've heard the argument that businesses run the risk of shuttering.

They can't grow their equity.

But we, you know, people who are living and working here run the risk of getting evicted from our homes.

We don't have health insurance.

We need to live.

We're not the same as businesses, you know, like we're actual people.

I understand businesses and restaurants are made up of people, but it's not the same thing.

And I am empathetic to the plight of small businesses who can't stay open, but I would recommend maybe like applying for grant money from the Washington Hospitality Association Political Action Committee.

I know we had millions of dollars in 2023 to help out.

Just don't take it from our paycheck.

That's $3 that we could use for health insurance.

Thank you.

following michael is there a michael um michael goldstein i believe that's his last name so it's the g if i can't pronounce your last name i okay then stefan moritz and then eunice how and i believe it's paul osher if you can please line up there's again two microphones thank you

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Stefan Moritz.

I'm with Unite Here Local 8 and the King County Labor Council.

Local 8 is the union that represents hospitality workers here in Seattle.

Some of our members would be affected by this legislation that is being considered by you all.

I've spent a lot of time talking with members in break rooms during negotiations, and we talk about the cost of living, the rent, the groceries having gone through the roof, and wages having not kept up.

Everybody I have talked to has said our top priority is to raise wages, to fight for better wages.

Going after the income of tipped workers at this point is the worst thing that you can do as a city council.

It's proven that tip penalties most affect those workers that struggle the most economically.

And it's also a bad idea for the businesses that will not be able to count on the income that workers spend in local businesses like restaurants.

During the time you're trying to solve problems like homelessness, cutting the wages of people who are one step, one paycheck away from homelessness is the worst thing you can do.

Please do not move forward with this legislation.

Council members, my name is Eunice Howe, and I'm the president of the Seattle chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO.

We are the first and only organization of Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander workers, most of whom are union members and our allies advancing worker, immigrant, and civil rights.

Many of us work in the service industry, often multiple jobs, as we support family here in the States and back home in our countries.

TIP work is often a path to helping our families not just survive but thrive.

As workers of color, we know all too well the racism and discrimination of a two-tier system in our society, with our communities coming to this country centuries ago to work dangerous jobs, yet we're blocked from living in certain neighborhoods and owning property, for example.

This proposed permanent to penalty and minimum wage legislation is perpetuating discrimination amongst workers.

We speak out in opposition to this and ask that all workers be included in a minimum wage floor.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Paul, and I see that there are already a lot of people here, so I'll try to keep this as quick as I can, just make a couple points.

First, one thing to keep in mind is that I think this is going to be extremely impactful for counter service restaurants in particular.

It's not like we can just paper this over with a service charge or raise our prices much higher than they already are.

I think one thing that feels especially grotesque is when you go to pick up a cup of coffee and all of a sudden it costs $8, $9.

The prices cannot...

not go up in the future.

Second, we're not trying to lower the minimum wage.

I think everybody agrees that Seattle is a very expensive place to live.

Everybody understands this.

And everybody on our staff already makes above the threshold for next year.

We also offer health benefits.

We do the best that we can.

But without a tip credit, it's going to be really hard to

The next three speakers are going to be Linda Morton, Gary Cesarity, Ian Greer,

Hi, my name is Linda Morton.

I'm a small business owner in Seattle.

Thank you, Council Member Hollingsworth, for proposing this legislation.

If Council were to plow ahead with a drastic 20% increase in sunset clause poses for only small businesses, it would ignore the current plight of independent restaurants post-pandemic.

It would be heart-wrenching and for many, the end of the line.

Under this policy, everyone will continue to earn minimum wage regardless of how it's earned, and everyone's minimum wage will continue to increase.

The reason why passing this policy is so important is because it continues what has worked for the last 10 years.

since minimum wage passed, increasing wages year after year.

And it continues to allow small businesses to be able to adjust rising costs, inflation, and to be able to support local jobs in Seattle.

To be clear, full-service restaurants in the city have never recovered from the pandemic.

We've already lost many independent businesses.

If this doesn't pass, many of our favorite small restaurants and coffee shops will be replaced with corporate chains and big businesses.

I urge you to pass this legislation and continue the policy as it's been worked on.

Hello, my name's Gary.

I'm a Seattle business owner.

It's my first time speaking at a council meeting, and although many things have concerned me throughout my 30 years in the restaurant business, but none have been as serious as what's happening today.

Owning a restaurant is something I'm very proud of, especially in Seattle.

We started our company and opened the Queen Anne Beer Hall in September of 2020, during one of the most unstable times in our city's history.

It's pretty scary when we have the highest liquor tax, the sugar tax, the highest minimum wage, but we love Seattle, and we went all in.

We're now a staple in our community.

We pay our kitchen team well over the average hourly wage, and we offer full benefits to our team of close to 50 team members, medical, dental, and vision.

Our tipped hourly team makes well over the average wage with gratuities.

Many of our tipped employees made six figures last year.

Even with the success that we had, it's still tough to make a profit.

Never expected for inflation to rise the cost of all of our products and services.

Do we let our servers go and go with quick serve?

Do we raise our prices more again this year?

Really support our team.

Following.

So we have Ian followed by Ian's can be David Thomas Paris and then Shara Oakley.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ian Greer.

I grew up and live in Seattle, and I currently am a restaurant worker at a small business in Alki.

I want to add to the comments in opposition to the proposed legislation affecting tipped workers and highlight the unique precariousness faced by immigrant and refugee restaurant workers who overwhelmingly make up the kitchen staff in restaurants all over the city.

These workers are the most vulnerable and yet most necessary members of Seattle's enormous service industry, and yet many receive pennies on the dollar in tip compensation for the enormous value they add to our local economy.

Cutting their wages by $3 an hour in many cases would leave them with a fully sub-minimum wage.

Just this week, my coworker and friend, a dishwasher, had her car towed from the street beside our work and had to pay over $500 to get it back.

That single charge devastated her, erasing months of savings she planned to use to send her daughters, who live in Ecuador, to school.

And now she has no idea how she's going to be able to make their life work.

Your proposed legislation will make her and tens of thousands of other TIP workers upending their families, erasing their savings, and incentivizing us low-wage workers The $500 bill is beyond the reach of all of us right now.

How do you think we're going to manage under this new legislation?

We have...

David?

Hi, my name is David Tamash-Parris, and I'm a member of Tech for Housing, a local group of tech workers who believe Seattle's thriving tech sector can and should benefit all of its residents.

And I have to say, when people noted that you were the do-nothing council, that was not an invitation to become the undo-everything council.

This brazen attack on a living wage must be rejected.

I wanted to provide some context in addition to everyone who was so well-spoken today.

about how we got here with a large so-called tip credit.

The 2015 legislation had a design flaw.

The minimum wage went up in nominal terms.

The minimum compensation was pegged to inflation starting in 2021. The authors were understandably expecting typical inflation, Under 2%, the tip credit would have completely evaporated starting this year.

It was not supposed to still be a thing.

Even under 3%, the tip credit would be half of what it was.

Businesses benefited from this want to keep benefiting from it on the backs of workers, and we should not let them.

We need to, this would be a ghoulish betrayal of the everyday working people you're supposed to represent, and you should reject it.

Following Shara is going to be, I believe it's Ravkin and then Keith.

I don't see a Shara, so it's S-H-A-R-A.

Okay.

All right.

So it'll be Ravkin and then Keith.

Was it Ravkin?

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Rivka.

I'm a renter in District 5. Hello.

I'm against sub-minimum wage.

Over the past couple years, we've seen that inflation is independent of wages.

They raise their prices even when our wages don't go up.

And minimum wage has kept us afloat.

The grocer doesn't care about the size of the company that I work at.

My landlord doesn't care about the size of the company that I work at.

Insurance doesn't.

The bank doesn't.

So why does this city council?

We're all charged the same, so why are we paid differently?

Thank you.

We have Keith, and then followed by Keith is going to be Amy, I believe Amy Gunner, and then Gwen Hart.

You see this?

This is housing violations I caught my landlord on yesterday.

Took four months to get an investigation on this from the SDCI.

You see this?

This is labor violations that took me 20 months to get an investigation on from my wage-thieving employer.

This is a small business.

These are both family businesses, okay?

Now...

When we steal, we get fired, we get evicted, if we do anything wrong.

But if the employer, if the scam employer or the scamlord does anything wrong, we have to wait months and months and months just for justice.

And against this backdrop, we're having our deal reneged on that we got 10 years ago for this minimum wage.

This cannot stand.

This is not what we voted for.

This is not on any of your platforms.

And it's not what I expect from a fellow vegan.

Thank you.

Is there an Amy?

Is there an Amy?

Okay.

Just get really close to them.

Okay, thanks.

Hi, my name is Amy Gunner.

I own Portage Bay Cafe.

I have restaurants in four of your districts.

We've been in business 27 years and have about 250 employees.

I believe that the negotiations around the $15 wage were done in good faith, and a lot of people came together to make that so.

It was an unintended consequence that we got to this point now 10 years later.

No one at those tables could have predicted that inflation was going to act the way that it did.

I do not believe that the people at that table would have agreed if we said, at the end of 10 years, small business is going to face a 20% increase.

And so the argument that we have time to plan for it or that it was preset and you should be able to deal with it, it was never the intent of this law.

to keep our business going the way that we want, to be able to keep our employees that we love, we would be basically looking at what would be the equivalent of a 40% increase in our rent.

If I had restaurant owners sitting here telling you that their rents were going to go up 40, 50%, then maybe that would make more sense.

Our employees are paid well.

Our employees all earn over.

Thank you.

Time's up.

And we have Gwendolyn Hart.

Gwendolyn Hart, followed by Simon Baron, and then John Stremsand.

Hey, stop with the disruption.

You're engaging in disruptive behavior by addressing the speakers, et cetera, so please stop that.

They can be talking right now.

You're a lifelong alcoholic.

My name is Gwendolyn Hart.

I'm a renter in GreenLake and a Worker's Shutback activist, and I'm here to defend the minimum wage.

It's ridiculous to say this is for the benefit of small businesses when you draw that line at 500 employees.

I'm a tech worker.

All companies I've worked for barely scraped above 100, but they all got regular venture capital infusions to the tune of millions of dollars.

Does that really sound like small business to you?

And just for the record, I'm not sure what's so small about four locations either.

If you want to help real small business, you should be looking at the only group that's made money during the pandemic.

Corporate giants like Amazon and Microsoft have been raking in billions.

Meanwhile, Seattle has the most regressive tax laws in this country.

They traded once to subsidize struggling small business, as was proposed 10 years ago.

They've only gotten richer since then.

Business owners do not have a monopoly on suffering under the pandemic.

Working people are in a crisis right now.

It's nonsense to take what little money we have out of our pockets.

Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks all call Seattle their home.

who are made to pay the cost of living here.

If you council members claim to stand for diverse communities and for labor like you do in your election speeches, then you should reject this aggressive attack on working people.

Simon and then followed by Simon will be John.

Good afternoon.

My name is Simone Barron, and unlike many of the people in here, I am a real restaurant-tipped worker, and I have been in Seattle for 23 years.

The minimum wage hike as it stands in Seattle and our state has devastated restaurant workers and their ability to maximize their income, and it has created instability in our industry.

Total compensation is not a proper tip credit, but it is the last hope for our smallest operators to try and stay alive and provide jobs.

Since 2015, as the wage hike without a tip credit has gripped our jobs, workers like myself have been subjected to surcharges, service charges, non-transparent pay models, Patty Murray's awful tip pool, the elimination of tip lines, tipping, support staff jobs, hours and shifts, and all those things have been cut, and in many cases, we have lost jobs.

As a tipped restaurant worker, I have been negatively impacted by all of this.

And I currently work in a large corporate place, and the water is now on their porch, too, and we're going to see some of the same things happen to them.

We are looking at the ninth consecutive wage hike despite having gone through a major pandemic.

So let that sink in.

I commend you, Joy Hollingsworth, for proposing this legislation.

Thank you.

Following John would be Lucky Star.

On Sunday, I ran into a delivery worker named Tony.

Tony has been doing deliveries for two years.

He has had his income cut to one fourth of what he used to make.

That is devastating to anyone.

One of the pro $35 burrito people spoke last month about wanting to have dignity doing this job.

No job title defines one's dignity, but not being able to pay your rent crushes people emotionally.

The pay up bill has harmed the dignity of so many people.

Every Tuesday, we get gas lit by a handful of privileged people who are saying, don't look up, everything is fine.

Restaurants are down 40 to 50%.

Last summer, I averaged $24 an hour.

This summer, I make less than half of that.

By increasing the minimum wage, you have destroyed my actual income.

The pay-up bill is the same issue as the tip credit.

You can't just pay people more.

It has consequences.

Please learn from mistakes and think about the long-term effects on workers, not what sounds good to them today.

Thank God he gave the LGBTQ his queer eye.

Instagram, Martin and me, 1970. Bitch, I'm Madonna's lefty star.

That's God, God on my Instagram.

Mother Earth!

Mother Nature, yeah, that's God, saves on every dollar bill to 100, saves the Zion's money, the top 3%.

We are priceless, America.

We can pay military, Secret Service, Navy SEAL, FBI, Police and fire, secrets, all the way to first responders, security.

350!

And yay!

Pay America's trillion-dollar debt.

He knows we don't pay enough for us to survive.

We've got to live off it.

Two trillion credit!

And yes, pay the world.

Pay the world to stay out of our oceans.

And we pray, God, please help us save our oceans.

Thank you.

Thank you, please.

And take your seat.

Our next speakers, Sarah Sharon and then Ali Gambi, I believe.

And then I believe it's Maria Smith.

Hi, good afternoon.

I'm Sarah Charron, Chief of Staff of UOCW 3000. I was an original member of the Income Advisory Committee who struck this deal.

We're obviously in opposition of you all picking this policy up.

We really push you all to let the legislation, the law, fully be realized.

One of the original intents of this minimum wage ordinance was to allow full implementation happen.

It's a win-win actually for workers and businesses.

When workers have more money in their pockets, They spend money in our economy, and our economy is allowed to grow.

When low-wage workers have money, they are a little extra money in their pockets.

They go out and eat.

They support our small businesses.

That was one of the main intentions of this legislation.

It has not been allowed to be fully realized, and that is what we are encouraging you to do.

One thing that hasn't been focused on is all the other rising costs of businesses, rent, food costs.

Let's pull those folks in here and ask them if they will give people a break.

to be the one that is bearing the burden of the cost.

So let's bring those folks in.

We urge you to put this legislation down immediately.

We have five more speakers on the list.

So we'll go ahead, unless there's objection with everybody that signed up.

Go ahead.

We have Ali, and the following Ali, I believe, is Monia.

Hello, everyone.

With the pain, my love and respect to the community and the council for taking a position, which is the toughest position to fill these days because the whole world is going crazy.

Our city's got challenges.

So I respect and love you for taking this position.

I just want to share my story.

I don't say what's right, what's wrong.

I share you my story.

I own Cherry Street Coffeehouse.

I serve Seattle since...

Early 80s, final square cents, early 90s.

So about 32 years.

I have served this community for a long time.

And I still work my store.

I still clean grease trap.

I still deliver.

And I still work in the kitchen.

So I'm not sitting in this expensive house by the water or anything.

Solving all the problem here is just taxing the rich in the right way and take care of the market.

workers from affordable housing and work for housing that is beautiful and sexy enough.

But unfortunately, we cannot do anything about that.

That's why we cannot do anything about geopolitical madness of the world.

So that's one challenge.

Your time is up.

Thank you.

Ali.

My business is financial and my personal financial to show you that if we are not looking at the number...

Thank you.

Hey, sit down.

I can shut down the stores.

That's all.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You're welcome to send the rest of your comments.

I'm sorry to interrupt.

Our next speaker...

our next speaker is Monia and then it'll be Lily Hayward and then Amy oh sorry Amy's already been called and then followed by Gary so again we're gonna go with Monia Smith okay no one's the last name Smith okay Lily And then followed by Mona would be Lily.

Oh, there we go.

My name is Mona Smith and I am a small business owner and a member of the GSBA.

It's a lie that businesses want to freeze and roll back wages.

And it's a lie that removing The sunset provision will freeze or roll back wages.

The reality is that wages will continue to increase because of the minimum wage orders and as a result of the job market.

Most restaurant workers make more than the minimum wage.

Total compensation will help keep employers providing health insurance for their employees and keep other benefits in place for both small and part-time workers.

These small businesses are able to keep their doors open and not increase prices.

And if you've eaten out lately, you know...

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President Nelson and Seattle City Council members.

My name is Lily Hayward speaking today on behalf of the 2,500 members of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 80% of whom are small businesses.

I ask that you support Council Bill 120828 and vote to introduce it for committee consideration.

If the total compensation provision is allowed to expire, costs for small businesses will skyrocket.

A small business with 15 employees, tipped employees, could pay an extra $84,000 a year.

That could mean the difference between keeping the lights on, taking something home to their families, or closing the doors for good.

Small businesses make up the culture and community that we rely upon in this city.

In meetings the Chamber has hosted with many of you, you've heard from small business owners and operators, folks who want to open a second location but can't, others who sleep in their stores to deter break-ins, and some who still haven't taken a salary home to their families because of the high cost of doing business.

If we want to retain businesses and attract more, we need to make our city a place where small businesses can afford not just to operate but to grow and thrive.

Thank you very much.

And Gary is our last speaker.

Oh, there he is.

He's coming.

Ready?

Okay.

Greetings, everybody.

I got a little bit of a conundrum.

I just wasn't gonna speak, but it's a bit of a conundrum.

Joy Hollingsworth wants to not have a minimum wage on the second tier.

Is that correct?

Yet with pay up, it's ridiculously high.

Yeah, we're 44 cents a minute and not getting paid in between orders.

It seems like you're not squaring things here.

So I've been here since February 6th.

The receipts are in.

That's a quote from Joy Hollingsworth.

The receipts are in.

Restaurants are down 40 to 50%.

I work at a restaurant.

Thank you very much.

And I work a block away, a block away from the spheres.

Essentially all the restaurants are saying the same thing.

They're down 50%.

They're laying off workers.

They're cutting hours.

The receipts are in.

We have now reached the end of our public comment list, so I will close the...

Hey!

Security, please have him escorted out.

What?

No more disruptions.

We've reached the end of the list of registered speakers.

The public comment period is now closed.

Thank you very much for your comments today.

Moving on, if there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Seeing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

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

Seeing none, the agenda is adopted.

And then finally, we'll consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar include minutes of July 23rd, 2024, Council Bill 120816, payment of the bills, one appointment from the library's education and neighborhood committee.

Are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Yes.

Councilmember Wu?

Yes.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

Will the clerk please read items one and two into the record.

Can you please direct us to affix your signature?

Oh, okay, I have to say this line.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes in legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

Will the clerk please read item one and two into the record?

Can we please get those back doors closed?

Thank you.

Agenda items one and two, clerk file 314489 and council bill 120818, full lot subdivision of 13th Avenue townhomes, subdivide one parcel into 12 unit lots at 118 and 122 13th Avenue and an ordinance approving and confirming the plat to 13th Avenue townhomes.

Items one and two were read into the record together.

Councilmember Morales will address both items as the chair of the Land Use Committee and then we'll vote on each item separately.

Councilmember Morales, you're recognized to address items one and two.

Thank you, Council President.

These are administrative pieces of legislation that will grant final approval of the 13th Avenue townhome subdivision at the addresses that Amelia referenced between East Spring and East Union.

This is in the Squire Park neighborhood of the Central District.

The subdivision would facilitate the division of two lots into 12 unit lots.

The project includes two five-story structures, each containing six townhouse units.

Under Washington state law, City Council is required to act within 30 days of filing the final subdivision.

And due to time constraints, subdivision legislation usually goes straight to full council for approval.

And just for my colleagues' information, I am working on legislation that would remove this procedural step and allow the department to approve the final subdivision, which would reduce the time for permit applications to receive the final approval of this.

goal being to reduce unnecessary red tape.

I anticipate bringing this to council next year, but for now, I'm moving approval of these two pieces of legislation.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you very much for that explanation.

Are there any comments on items one and two?

All right, I'm seeing none, so we'll now move and vote on each item separately, starting with item one, clerk file, which is clerk file 314489. I move the clerk file 314489 be filed.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

I'm not seeing any final comments.

Will the clerk please call the roll on filing the clerk file?

Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and clerk file is placed on file.

Item two was read into the record.

I move to pass Council Bill 120818. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

Are there any final comments?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries, the bill passes, and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

All right, item three.

Will the clerk please read item three into the record?

The report of the Public Safety Committee, agenda item three, appointment 2918, appointment of Amy Smith as chief of the Community Assistance and Engagement Department for a term to August 1st, 2028. The committee recommends the appointment to be confirmed.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Kettle, as chair of the committee, you're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you very much, Council President, and thank you everyone here today, and particularly Chief Smith.

I'm going to make the recommendation for the reappointment of Chief Smith, and I'm using her own words.

And when she says, in terms of her vision, that her vision for care is that it will inform the development of diversified response options to 911 calls that represent the most appropriate professional discipline and the most financially prudent strategy to support and promote public safety.

I like that for the key word of the development of.

As I've told Chief Smith, this alternative response model that we do need is not set in stone.

There's no doubt in my mind over years, one, three, five, we're gonna have need for some major adjustments.

And I like the thought that she understands that this is a developing alternative response model.

We're not just passing care and we're done.

I think everyone understands that we're gonna have some major adjustments As we move further and she also noted that care should be a data center and center of innovation that promotes and advances positive change and criminal justice reform.

Community driven design and investment and rapid response to all public health and safety vulnerabilities and emergencies, including houselessness.

And she's committed to an open sourcing of that operational designs and that kind of goes to a follow on question in terms of working with the Council.

And I believe that she would.

And she's asking questions.

She's looking for candid feedback.

And I will tell her from the Public Safety Committee, she will get it.

And these are the things that we need from a leader in a new developing area that's not been tried before, really.

I mean, somewhat in Albuquerque, somewhat in some of these other locations.

But we are pioneers.

in terms of alternative response.

And I really appreciate the approach that she brings, the academics approach that she brings, but with action.

And that's the key point.

As anybody who knows Amy Smith, she is full of action.

And so, as I said at an event, we cannot succeed in public safety if we do not also succeed in public health.

And I would make the assertion that we cannot succeed in public health without care.

And we need the outreach of care on our streets to help those in need.

And we need the example they set because there's a lot of people out there.

There's a lot of organizations.

But we need the example that Chief Smith sets and show our communities and our neighborhoods that we do.

And we're going to move forward in terms of improving our public safety posture for our city.

So with that said, I...

I ask and urge your support of this appointment of Chief Smith.

Thank you.

Thank you for that introduction and explanation.

Are there any colleagues who would wish to speak?

Councilmember Wu.

Thank you.

So I'm very excited about this.

I constantly see Chief Smith out in community.

I'm excited that, you know, and thankful for your leadership in this last year in the pilot team department, as well as your leadership and data and pairing it up with stories of what you are seeing out there and what your team is doing.

And the compassion, the empathy is very clear in how we are helping people and excited that you are also leading the charge on the expansion.

And thank you so much for your work and Congratulations.

Is there anybody else?

Sorry, look at the screen.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you, Council President.

I am excited that we are moving forward with this approach.

Last year, when Council started this program, I think we all agreed that it was a powerful use of our resources to create the care department by restructuring how we fund public safety.

So I am fully in support of this appointment and do believe that we need to make sure we are fully funding it.

I will say I was in Austin, Texas recently touring colleges with my son, and I witnessed a woman in the middle of an intersection who clearly seemed to be having a mental crisis.

So when I called 911, I was surprised, pleasantly surprised to hear the dispatcher ask, do you want police, fire, emergency medical treatment, or mental health services.

I was so happy to hear that that is actually an option in some communities.

And when I said mental health services and indicated what was happening, she said, yes, we've already received that call and help is on the way.

So I have great hope that this will become that kind of service for our community members.

I know we have to work with the state and county partners to address our public health crises, our safety crises, and I know that Chief Smith has shown her willingness to work across the table and seek additional resources for the CARE program to make sure it's fully funded.

I also know that communities across the country have recognized that this approach is best practice and that it offers solutions that can address the overlapping crises that many cities in this country are experiencing right now that intersect with our criminal justice system.

So I look forward to the continued development of this program.

I think stopping crime starts with protecting our communities, and care is about protecting our neighbors and about crime prevention.

So I'm eager for us to realize fully the intention behind creating this department and look forward to supporting this appointment.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Council Member Moore?

Thank you, Council President.

So I, too, just wanted to join in and thank you for your willingness to serve our community in this capacity.

Thank you for your willingness to continue to view this as an iterative process and a collaboration with the city council, with city departments, and all of the providers out there.

I appreciate the fact that you've been very unafraid to speak the truth to whoever is willing to listen and I think we need more of that and so thank you for that.

And also really for just being willing to view this as an important piece to making sure that everyone in our community receives the care and dignity that they deserve.

Excuse me.

Excuse me.

And also for your willingness to recognize the importance of data to all of the work that we do.

Anyway, I do appreciate that your analytical approach, your real-time connections to similar agencies around the country, and that your overall vision are a perfect fit for this position.

And I will look forward to voting in favor and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors going forward.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

When asked if we have anything more to say, we could be here for hours.

We've already been here for hours.

But really, there are hours of things to say about the work that you've already accomplished as an interim chief.

I'm looking forward to everything that you do as a permanent chief.

And in the words of our Public Safety Committee Chair, Bob Kettle, you are developing this program.

You have developed the program so far.

There is so much more work to do.

We're very excited for your work here in Seattle.

Thank you, Chief.

I would just like to add that I was in the standing room only room when you were with the big reveal.

I think it was in October of last year.

And it was really...

impressive how many people came from other cities to endorse the approach that CARE was about to take, and how many people came and endorsed you personally, Chief Smith, having known you in other capacities in other parts of your professional history.

And I just have to say that since that time, Councilmember Wu is correct.

You are everywhere all the time, it seems like, out in the community getting to know our city and perfecting the approach and the department under your supervision.

And so I just have to say it is my pleasure also to probably cast with a unanimous vote, not going to assume anything, but cast my support for this permanent appointment.

So thank you very much for your service so far.

Councilmember Kettle, would you like to have the last word or should we proceed to a vote?

Council President, please proceed to a vote.

All right.

Would you please call the roll call?

On the vote.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Yes.

Councilmember Wu?

Yes.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, unopposed.

I was right.

The appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Chief Smith.

You're now recognized in order to address the council and members of the public, should you so desire.

See, I'm starting to know what to do up here.

Hello.

A lot of weeks in a row, yeah.

Good afternoon, Council President Nelson and council members.

Thank you very much.

That was really pleasant and meant a lot to me.

I appreciate your trust, but I especially appreciate your trustworthiness.

We live in a time of a lot of disenfranchisement, cynicism, of isolation.

We heard some of that earlier.

I learned quickly in 911 that sometimes people call just because that's the only person who will answer.

So the epidemic of loneliness is a real thing.

And yet also, every day, I witness unprecedented resolve and kindness and hope in our community.

I spoke at a recent press conference about some of the sad emails I get, but I also get emails with expressions like, there are many cities one can choose to live in, and I choose Seattle every time.

Your upcoming confirmation is not only proof of concept, but proof of the goodness of humanity.

To live in a city that formally states caring for those less fortunate, for those in need, is a top human priority.

Now that is a privilege.

These past months have been the most fascinating of my life, getting to dwell in spaces and in modalities that were not previously known to me.

When it comes to bureaucracy, I definitely had a lot to learn.

And many of my best teachers have been folks who fall outside the spotlight, but really deserve the spotlight.

Ben Delghetti from the mayor's office last year became so popular, spent so much time with my department that his presence was demanded at our holiday party.

He was largely responsible to set up the website to support the development of a new brand, social media platforms.

He was kind to suggest some talking points to me at my first press conference and then realized that is a futile exercise and he never did it again.

Also from the mayor's office, I really want to thank and acknowledge Sarah Smith, I think she was the only person in city government who saw me cry out of exhaustion last year.

She suggested we should get breakfast, and we did, and I never cried again, so that solved it.

I'm really grateful to Andrew Meyerberg and Dan Nolte for being great thought partners for Crystal, Annie, Cindy, people who make all the things happen all the time.

I want to call out Ann Gorman's generosity last summer, helping me to understand how the legislative and the executive should partner.

The list could go on and on.

But the bottom line is that I am supported all the time.

I get to work shoulder to shoulder with people that I respect and admire and learn from and that I enjoy.

I love my care teammates.

I am astonished by their skill, their unheralded service, especially in 911. I have said frequently there is no place I would rather be, and I really mean that.

And I stress my gratitude for all these collaborators, because the only way we're going to heal our community is if we do it together.

We cannot be divided.

We cannot have silos.

I believe in this movement, and it is a movement.

This morning, I was visited by Dr. Rebecca Neustadter, who's the executive director of University of Chicago Health Lab, and her colleagues, and also Laura Uland, who was 40 years at Valleycom, is really quite a legend in the field.

And they were meeting with me and my colleagues and it was a humbling moment.

Rebecca said, Amy, it's significant what you're doing in Seattle, but it is significant nationally.

We are all watching you and we know this is what's needed.

And so I extend my gratitude to you for that because you, the willingness of council and of past leaders to advocate for this is the reason that I'm here and I get to inherit that hard work.

I do believe that we can reimagine how we respond to and how we prevent human suffering, and I believe that we can redesign our systems to better support positive change and healing in individual lives.

I believe that every level of government faith organizations, nonprofits, businesses, neighbors, I believe that we can all come together to ensure that in a city that is this smart and this well-resourced and talented and innovative, people do not die on our streets.

We cannot let that be normal.

And I see no barrier to progress other than self-interest.

So if I was ever going to be the chief or the champion of anything, I would want it to be of care.

And I thank you very much for the opportunity.

I will have to say for the viewing public, this is the main act.

There was a prequel in the Public Safety Committee where we all spoke our hearts about our support of you as well.

So thank you very much.

And again, thank you for stepping up.

Nice work.

Congratulations.

Okay, moving on.

Yes, would you please read item four into the record?

The report of the Parks Public Utilities and Technology Committee agenda item four, council bill 120810 relating to Seattle Public Utilities authorizing general manager and chief executive officer of Seattle Public Utilities to submit for approval to the U.S.

District Court for the Western District of Washington a first material modification to the 2013, excuse me, 2013 consent decree.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you very much.

Council Member Hollingsworth is chair of the committee.

You're welcome to give the committee report.

Thank you, Council President Nelson.

So Council Bill 120810 is an ordinance for Seattle Public Utilities to modify a consent decree that was in 2013 for environmental protections.

This passed out of our committee pretty straightforward.

Five in favor, none opposed.

And I look forward to my colleagues hopefully supporting this bill.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Are there any questions?

Seeing no questions, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauch?

Yes.

Councilmember Wu?

Yes.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Moore?

Aye.

Councilmember Morales?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Great, the bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please fix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Finally, will the clerk please read the short title of item five into the record.

Agenda item five, resolution 32140 relating to Seattle Parks and Recreation authorized superintendent of Parks and Recreation to act as the authorized representative slash agent on behalf of the city of Seattle and to legally bind the city of Seattle with respect to certain projects for which the city seeks grant funding assistance managed through the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Committee recommends the resolution be adopted.

Thank you.

Council Member Hollingsworth, this is also from your committee, so you may give the report.

Thank you, Council President Nelson.

This is, colleagues, this is a simple resolution from our Seattle Parks Department to be able to, they have identified projects within the city that they will be applying for grants from our Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office at the state that will help with capital projects throughout our city.

They'll also be looking at other projects that our council members have brought up to them.

So we're not restricted with just these projects.

These projects are specifically so they can apply for state funding.

It passed five in favor and none opposed.

I'm looking forward to people's support for this resolution.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

Not seeing anybody that has any questions.

So will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Saka.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Sign in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

All right, there were no items removed from the consent calendar and there is not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

Are there any other items of business to come before council today?

Council President, I have one more quick thing.

Yes.

If that's okay, thank you, Council President.

We will be confirming on August 14th that he will be up for appointment for the Chief Technology Officer confirmation on August 14th with Rob Lloyd.

I believe he has made...

They have, his office has reached out.

If you have any questions regarding him or want a meeting with him, please take it in advance as on August 14th, we will be considering his appointment.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for letting us know.

All right.

Seeing no other items from any other council members, it is 3.53 and today is July 30th and this meeting is adjourned.

Thank you very much, everybody.