Seattle City Council Select Budget Committee - Public Hearing 10/18/23

Well, good afternoon, thank you very much to all of our community members who are present and present with us virtually and to our committee council members who have joined us tonight for the select budget committee public hearing.

This is 1 of 2 public hearings that we will have.

We will have another full night dedicated to just hearing from members of the public about priorities that you would like to see in the 2024 calendar year budget.

appreciate you being here, colleagues, and that is the only item on our agenda.

Hearing no objection, today's agenda is adopted, which includes just public hearing.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Thank you very much for being here again.

I am Teresa Mosqueda, Chair of the Select Budget Committee.

Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll?

Council Member Herbold.

Here.

Council President Juarez.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Councilmember Morales.

Here.

Councilmember Nelson.

Councilmember Peterson.

Councilmember Sawant.

Present.

Councilmember Strauss.

Present.

And Chair Mosqueda.

Present.

Six present.

Thank you again, colleagues, for being here with us, both remote and in person.

And thank you again to members of the community for joining us here tonight so we can hear directly from you about what you've seen in the proposed budget that the mayor transmitted in late September.

Again, the council is midway through its deliberations of the 2024 budget, and this is really a supplemental year, if you will.

We are trying to treat 2023 and 2024 as if it were a biennial budget.

So, this is the second part of our biennial budget, and many of the priorities that you helped to inform for 2024 were included in our endorsed 2024 budget last year.

As per usual, the city budget office, along with the mayor's office, works with the department and with the community members that they're engaged with to identify priorities that they believe are necessary changes for the endorsed budget in 2024. In late September, the mayor transmitted the 2024 proposed budget, and at this point, the council is midway through its deliberations to hear about what tweaks are needed, enhancements, reductions, direction, so that we can finalize the 2024 budget prior to the completion of November.

With your feedback, we will incorporate as much as we possibly can in a chair's proposed package that will be released later this week.

And then there will be another opportunity for amendments to that proposed balancing package as well.

From both council members and from members of the community, we encourage folks to continue to provide feedback as many of the maybe larger scale proposals that we are all very interested in seeing will need additional conversation and ideally additional push to get it to the finish line at the end of November.

So thank you for flagging some initial ideas for us already.

For me as budget chair, this is my fourth year now serving as budget chair.

But in the first year in 2020, we had many budgets that we had to pass, especially as we responded to the ongoing COVID crisis, the ongoing economic crisis for working families, and the need to ensure the dollars were out the door with the American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

I just want to say as we enter into this public comment period, thank you.

You have provided direction and you have provided direct input onto those past budgets.

Thank you for offering feedback for 2024 as we finalize the process at the end of this year.

A final note as well is that we have an opportunity to again do additional round of amendments and we will hopefully finalize our proposed budget by the last week of November.

Colleagues, I wanna acknowledge that we have over 100 people signed up for public comment, but we don't wanna go down to just one minute.

So what we were planning to do at this juncture was a minute and a half to try to get through everyone.

Can I see a sign of support?

I saw some nods, is that okay?

A minute and a half, can people adapt?

Okay, thank you so much for folks in the room for the thumbs up and the nods.

And for everybody that's listed online, I hope that a minute and a half is a helpful heads up.

We know that that's not sufficient.

I was just talking yesterday with many of the members from the Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition who came to City Hall for a tour.

And they talked about how intimidating it is to testify and how hard it is to get their message over in just a minute or even two minutes.

And especially for folks who this is their first time or English as our second language, I know it's not sufficient.

So please continue to reach out to us.

You can reach us all at council at seattle.gov.

And you can also reach all of us at our individual emails as well.

This is just one aspect of public comment, but we really encourage you to make sure to send those emails or give us calls so that we can continue to incorporate that feedback.

We are going to start with 10 people online, and then we'll go to 10 people in the room.

10 people online, 10 people in the room, and we'll get through everyone who signed up for public comment.

Thank you very much for adopting your testimony.

And I would also encourage for folks who are here in person, many of us want to support or may be frustrated with what you're hearing.

If you don't like something, please do not boo.

If you like something and you want to cheer for it, please do this.

For me in person, for folks who are watching online, I'm doing the waving hands thing so I can see your level of support, but it doesn't add to the extra time.

I anticipate that we'll be here for at least three hours, so I want to say thank you for helping to comply with that so that we can keep going through all of the people who are here to sign up for public comment.

And lastly, I want to thank our clerks, my team in my office who've helped to set this up, and the volunteers.

We've asked our folks who are volunteers to help us staff today's meeting, so thank you for stepping up and doing that and doing so quickly.

Okay, again, if you get cut off or if you don't have all of the comments that you'd like to share, please send those to council at Seattle.gov.

And with that, Madam Clerk, I think we can not do the video today.

If I can just remind folks, if you're dialing in virtually, you need to use the same number that you registered online.

That's how we find you in the queue and we get you teed up to testify.

You'll hear an indication that says, you are now unmuted.

That's your indication you need to hit star six.

Also, double-check your own phone to make sure that your own phone is not on mute.

You'll hear you've been unmuted, push star six, and then go ahead and introduce yourself.

For folks in the room, we will go ahead and call at least two people at a time.

You're welcome to alternate between the microphones for additional social distancing.

And thank you for sticking to your time as well.

We'll keep the timer on the screen.

And with that, I hope that we saved a little bit of additional time for more public testimony tonight, and we will make sure to get through everyone.

Again, thanks to everybody who's dialed in online.

We're going to do 10 people remote and then 10 people in the room.

And thank you, Madam Clerk, for helping to call through those, and I will jump in when necessary.

Thank you.

Do you want me to kick us off?

I'm sorry, I apologize.

I'm having technical difficulty with the timer.

Oh, no problem.

As you're working on the timer there, we heard Latanya chime in there.

Latanya will be followed by Camille Gicks and then Alice Lockhart.

So one second, let us get the timer up and going, and then we'll give you a chance to make your comments.

Thanks, Latanya, for getting us kicked off tonight.

Okay, you may begin, Latanya.

This is LaTanya in D2.

Council must amend the mayor's budget.

A mayor who, according to a Como poll, is less popular than Pickleball.

We desperately need new progressive revenue past this budget.

Not adopting new progressive revenue now is choosing an austerity budget in 2025 that will disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and communities of color, further exacerbating existing inequalities.

Increase the jumpstart tax, pass a capital gains tax, a high CEO pay ratio tax, and a luxury tax now.

We can't afford to wait.

I support the creation of a publicly funded guaranteed basic income program in Seattle.

This program should provide unconditional cash payments with no strings attached, prioritizing communities impacted by over-policing and criminalization, such as black and brown communities of diverse genders, as well as cisgendered communities of color, folks who have been swept, folks in the family punishment system of foster care, and many other groups.

GBI changes people's lives.

It makes our communities safer by empowering people, helping them regain their personal agency, and allowing them to make meaningful decisions in their own lives.

As a firefighter, the overwhelming majority of the calls I go on are due to poverty.

I know that a GBI program would improve people's access to healthcare and ultimately improve their overall health.

Studies suggest GBI.

Our next speaker is Camille Gix.

And Camille, just before you start, I forgot to remind folks that you will hear a 10-second chime when that's your indication to wrap it up, both for folks in the room and for people online.

Thank you again.

And Latanya, if you could send in those last few sentences, that'd be great.

Sorry, Camille.

Please go ahead.

Hi there, good evening.

My name is Camille Gix.

I am here on behalf of Real Change and Real Change vendors who were unable to sit through such a long hearing this evening and supporting the solidarity budget.

And I'm here passing on several of the vendor stories that they've generously shared with me over the past week about their budget concerns.

One of the main priorities that we have as an organization and that vendors have is increasing progressive revenue sources, such as the ones that were found by the Progressive Revenue Task Force.

This is because from some of the stories that I collected this week, one vendor named Cleo stated that sales taxes are far too high and especially compared to the minimum wage.

Cleo said that he believes that we need to increase our progressive revenue options in order to take the burden off of minimum wage workers like himself and place it on corporations making such an expensive city.

Another vendor who wished to remain anonymous spoke to me at length about his experience of being profiled at not one, not two, but three different grocery stores because he sells the paper and the private security guards have been too eager to call police on him.

He's one of our top selling vendors and despite working hard to maintain relationships with the teams at these different grocery stores he has sold at, the over-criminalization of those who appear homeless have kept him from being able to return to some of his favorite selling posts.

So I am calling in today to urge the council to increase progressive revenue options now and not wait convenient time so that we can start providing real services to our unhoused and renter neighbors.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alice Lockhart.

Good evening, council members.

I'm Alice Lockhart in District 5, absolutely honored to speak after LaTanya and Emil, everything they said.

And also, as you consider amending the budget, I ask each one of you to help those who need it most and shy away from expensive solutions that primarily benefit the most privileged and lean towards solutions that work and away from ones that don't.

Suites don't work, homes do.

ShotSpotter is proven not to work.

Safe consumption sites are proven to work.

Jumpstart for housing was cut in the mayor's budget.

I hope you will fix that.

The parks department budget, which didn't, get a presentation showed an increase for golf, which, you know, I'm doing okay, but I can't afford to play golf at our public courses.

I didn't see any ongoing funding for climate resilience hubs in parks or anywhere.

Please fix that.

Downtown activation may work, but primarily it benefits wealthy owners of the city's largest buildings.

I hope you'll move some of these investments to directly benefit women and minority owned businesses in disinvested neighborhoods in your district.

some really good things funded with jumpstart economic revitalization dollars in 2023 aren't in the proposed budget.

We'd like to see childcare worker retention bonuses at their 2023 levels, not the lower one in the mayor's budget and the generational wealth investment and community investment trust back in the 2024 budget.

Our next speaker is Jacob Scheer.

Hi.

My name's Jacob Shear.

I'm a Seattle Public Library worker and a member of Ask Me Local 2083. I'm speaking in a personal capacity to voice my support for the 2024 Solidarity Budget as well as Council Member Sawant's forthcoming amendment to increase the Jumpstart Tax to fund social services and a strong union contract for city employees.

I work at a downtown library and every day I witness the tragic impact of our housing and mental health crises.

So many people come into the library in crisis and don't have anywhere to go for housing or mental health care.

And while we can try our best to connect folks with resources, there simply aren't enough to meet the overwhelming need.

And often the only thing we can do for people is to provide a warm place to stay from 10 to 6 p.m.

and maybe some snacks if we have them.

And so I want to ask, why is the library quite literally the only place for so many members of our community who are suffering so much?

We need massive investments through progressive revenue and permanently affordable social housing, enhanced shelters, and universal access to mental health care, not shot spotter and ghost cop positions.

And so I'm proud to support the 2024 solidarity budget and calling all council members to do the same.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is BJ Last.

Hello my name is BJ Last a Ballard resident and I support the solidarity budget.

I was born in a home with domestic violence and like over half of the homes where there is domestic violence Calling the police was absolutely not an option for a myriad of reasons.

It's one of the many things where we turn to police because they're who gets all of our budget, so they're the only resource on hand, and they cannot fix or address the underlying problem, prepare the harm, or keep people safe.

I urge council to add funding for the recommendations from the Seattle Community Responses to Domestic Violence Work Group to this year's budget.

I'm disappointed that instead of funding this, the mayor's proposed budget continues to give SPD funding for ghost cops, positions it hasn't filled, and for failed surveillance technology that SPD cannot legally purchase.

It's hard to imagine that anyone on council's top priority for $1.8 million of general fund right now is to put that on the shelf in case SPD can ever legally purchase this failed surveillance technology instead of using that funding to restore cuts to ADA compliance.

cuts, restore cuts to Vision Zero, restore cuts to making it safer for kids to walk and bike to school, implement the community responses to domestic violence work group piece I had mentioned, undo some of the cuts to Jump Start and increase funding for housing or anything that actually keeps people safe.

The city is also facing a $251 million general fund deficit this year.

The city needs to pass progressive...

Our next speaker is Mimi Samples.

Mimi, I see that you are ready to go.

Oh, there we go.

Yes.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Hello.

So my name is Mimi Santos.

I am the Youth Services Co-Director at El Centro de la Raza.

I'm calling to ask that you all consider funding the Roberto Maestas Afterschool Program.

It is vital for our community.

We serve scholars from Mercer Middle School and Washington Middle School.

Our afterschool program provides a safe community where scholars are inspired to learn through curiosity, truth, and vulnerability.

Grounded in cultural experience, we aim to create critical thinkers who are not afraid to question the world around them.

We work with the scholars year-round during the summer.

We don't stop.

We provide a six-week summer program to prevent summer learning loss.

Our after-school program works not only with the scholars, but with the families.

Once a scholar is enrolled, we are able to connect families with other supports they might need, such as system navigations, affordable housing, eviction prevention, and many other programs.

I would like to thank Councilmembers Mosqueda, Morales, and Herbold for supporting the addition of this into the budget, and I would also like to say that we fully support the full restoration of Jump Start funding into the budget.

Thank you all so much for your time.

Our next speaker is Jodi Nathan.

Hi, I'm Jody Nathan.

I live in District 2 and I'm here in support of the Solidarity Budget Demands and our 9 Guarantees.

I ask that you stop funneling money into SPD's already bloated budget and start investing in the real things that improve communities and people's lives.

I'm also here once again to ask you to reject funding shot and fodder.

You did the right thing last year.

and in 2018, and in 2012, in rejecting this racist technology that now two studies have shown that it's ineffective in impacting gun-related homicides, arrest outcomes, and getting victims to safety faster.

There are at least five cities we know of that tried shots fathered that are now revoking their contracts.

And the main reason is that it's really high false alert rate is a massive drain on police departments.

And even ShotSpotter knows its claims of preventing or helping to solve crimes aren't true.

Just read their service agreement.

Frankly, it's shocking this is back on the table.

Repackaging an expensive, really bad idea does not make it into a good one.

It's time to invest in gun violence prevention and violence interruption programs at work.

Rather than waste money on ShotSpotter, instead, support the Solidarity Budget's nine guarantees that they have an actual direct impact on the safety of our communities.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alice Marabi.

Alice, I see that you're ready to go.

Maybe you're muted.

Yes.

Hi.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Hi, my name is Alice Marabi.

I'm in D2.

I support all of the solidarity budget priorities.

I'm especially excited to support Solidarity Budget's demand for an income guarantee.

I would like to urge council to follow King County's lead in starting a guaranteed basic income program for Seattle.

County Council Member Zahilay says the county's GBI pilot had, quote, a more profound individual level impact, end quote, than anything else he's worked on for the council.

GBI allows people to meet their basic needs in the best way for them, and that's what creates true public safety, not continuing to fund systems of punishment.

GBI is also very cost effective.

For the cost of one month in a deadly King County jail Seattle could instead give a person one whole year of guaranteed basic income payments.

For the same cost as one prosecutor's annual salary Seattle could give seven people GBI for one year.

However we cannot have GBI or even maintain crucial existing programs without passing new progressive revenue options this budget season.

So I strongly urge council to act quickly to pass the progressive revenue measures we desperately need to fill the $250 million looming budget deficit and avoid an austerity budget in 2025. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Maria Leon.

Hello council members.

My name is Maria and I'm a junior library worker organized in AFSCME 2083 speaking in a personal capacity.

I live in District 1. I've been a library worker for over nine years and have never seen us so understaffed and overworked like I do now.

Many library and city workers cannot afford to live in the communities we serve and are commuting from Everett Renton and beyond the City of Seattle.

Record inflation has cut into our wages while rent and housing costs skyrocket.

We like my colleague mentioned earlier mentioned at the forefront of the mental health and financial crisis.

We love our patrons.

We're here to serve them.

But we need to increase the Amazon tax to fully fund social services, affordable housing, and the city union contracts that will allow us to continue this important work that we do.

The MLK Labor Council endorsed Tammy Morales, Dan Strauss, Andrew Lewis, and Teresa Mosquero in their upcoming elections.

And we ask you, will you side with union workers and increase the Amazon tax to fund our contracts?

Or will you sign with big businesses and protect the profits?

The City Council needs to increase this Amazon tax to fully fund social services affordable housing and city union contract.

We keep Seattle running and we thank you.

Thank you.

Our last speaker in this round will be Jennifer Ives and then we'll go into in-person public comment.

Jennifer, please press star six.

There we go.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Jennifer Ives, and I am a D3 resident.

I am here this evening because I oppose the adoption of a ShotSpotter pilot program here in Seattle.

ShotSpotter has been proven in multiple scientifically rigorous studies to have a 90% false positive response rate.

If our goal is to improve response to gun violence, it is my opinion that we would likely see a far higher accuracy rate by hiring neighborhood grandmothers to report suspicious sounds than we would by using ShotSpotter.

If our goal is to reduce overall rates of gun violence or to increase conviction rates, ShotSpotter has again been proven to have no statistically significant effect, this time in a study conducted here in the United States and covering 68 cities over a 20-year period.

Furthermore, the use of video surveillance in conjunction with ShotSpotter has not been proven effective in improving its accuracy and has not been properly studied.

Seattle would effectively be paying for the privilege of serving as a guinea pig for a private company's unproven product that is based on a product with a proven track record of ineffectiveness.

Shots Potter will not improve public safety and will directly divert taxes paid by hardworking small business owners, residents, homeowners, and families from badly needed public services into the pockets of a for-profit private company.

I yield the rest of my time.

Thank you.

We will now go into in-person public comment.

Our first speaker is Mario Barretes, and that's speaker number 1A.

Good afternoon.

On behalf of Consejo Counseling, I would like to thank the Seattle City Council for taking the time to hear our comments and our requests.

Consejo Counseling is an organization that has been providing services to domestic violence survivors for the last 45 years.

Our funding is raised to continue serving domestic violence survivors and we are asking for your support.

for the continuation of funding to Latinx domestic violence survivors.

Consejo is an organization that helps to save lives.

We work along with public safety and for advocates to address the needs of immigrants.

in individuals who don't speak the language.

So we have done an amazing work over the last 45 years serving this community and we have been partnered with the City of Seattle.

We hope that you consider our request to continue funding these valuable services which provides community advocacy, legal advocacy, immigration advocacy, medical advocacy, safe homes, and relocation assistance to domestic violence survivors.

These survivors without the support of our advocates will be in a greater risk of fatality.

So we urge for your support and we appreciate everything that you have done in partnering with our communities to address the needs of domestic violence survivors.

Our next speaker is Miles Partman.

You can just drop it in the box, please.

Thank you.

Okay, we may have a heavy heart to say this, but if you help me win, then I'll help you get a job in the city of Seattle if I win.

Rouse Harrell said at the Seattle mayoral election campaign event, do not pass that budget.

Bruce Harrell has been engaging conspiracy bribery since 2013 with saying a bribe in front of me and Manisha Harrell at a campaign event.

Manisha Harrell.

was the senior deputy mayor in 2022. If you help me win, then I'll help you get a job in the city of Seattle if I win.

Bruce Heldstein, Maneesha, Harold, and I at a campaign event in 2013, which is a bribery under state law and bribery under federal law in 2022. Passing the budget without impeachment of the mayor hearing would be a criminal act and could lead to a federal investigation as he received federal funding via a possible violation of theft and bribery containing that programs have received federal funds per the U.S.

Code.

The allegation of bribery relating to moral turpitude is in your email labeled bribery by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

Under one state jury instructions, I can prove Bruce Harrell that engaged in bribery beyond reasonable doubt and can I give him the President of the Mayor's Impeachment Hearing if needed, as usual, and purchase a city charter.

Please consider evident to your President for the impeachment hearing.

Ruling of the Mayor.

The Mayor may be removed from office after a hearing for any willful violation of duty or the commission of offense involving moral turpitude.

upon writing notice from City Council at least five days before the hearing.

Here shall he or she present to the aid of Council to offer evidence to be heard in her behalf.

Upon affirmative vote to the authority of the City Council against court impeachment, the hours shall be completed.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Norma Guzman.

Hi, Norma Guzman from Consejo Counseling.

Dear Council Members, during this Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I will come to you really thanking you for the support that you have provided for us for a number of years.

This is a critical time for us, however, reaching out to you concerning the elimination of our budget.

We have advanced so much, and regressing the financial aid that we provide can make a significant impact on our communities.

On the services that we provide, we not only help lives of domestic violence survivors, but we help them thrive.

An example are the many families that can testify that it wasn't for Consejo when they can feel trusted due to our cultural competence.

that would have not reached for our assistance.

These cuts literally can mean life or death for a domestic violence victim.

Not only will stop them from reaching out for help, but in the most dangerous time of their lives when living a relationship.

Consejo assists with hotel vouchers, groceries, transportation, the mental health treatment, SUD treatment, not being able to help them deters their hope for taking a leap of faith towards a better life and simply will push them to comfort to a life that no person deserves.

I repeat myself in the severity of cutting our funds, we will not be able to provide the services that we desperately need.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Patrick Burns, excuse me, Tom Barnard and then Patrick Burns.

Council members, my name is Tom Barnard.

I'm speaking on behalf of the Seattle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which endorses the Seattle Solidarity Budget demands.

There's two issues I'd like to raise.

The first is a really quite minor amendment that would support the request for an office of Seattle Rental Housing Standards.

Housing advocates have long realized that landlords elude and violate existing tenant protections.

Part of the solution is an office that would track violations and levy penalties.

The current system where the Department of Construction and Inspection simply doesn't work.

We need another office.

The second issue is revenue and the rating of Jumpstart funds for general revenue programs and staff.

This year, it looks like around 74 million.

Who knows how much next?

Jumpstart is not a slush fund.

If you need one of those, the current funding proposal for Ghost Cops will probably suffice.

The Seattle Revenue Task Force had several recommendations for additional funding.

We have a proposal on the floor to increase the Jumpstart tax.

We have other, other, plenty of other funding mechanisms that we can use.

What we don't need is an austerity budget that Mayor Harrell is currently putting forward, and we don't need magical thinking from the business community about how all we need to do is to promote cuts in current funding to meet needs.

We have massive unmet needs for housing and other issues.

We need to meet those by coming up with funding proposals that would increase our revenue.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Patrick Burns, followed by Kelly Dunn.

Good evening.

My name is Patrick Burns.

I reside in Seattle.

I'm a member of the Freedom Socialist Party.

Mr. Mayor and honorable members of Seattle City Council, you have a problem.

Too many city departments have unacceptable understaffing rates.

Qualified candidates won't even apply for open positions.

You pile on too much work on the city's remaining public servants.

This creates toxic work environments that they leave to protect their sanity and health.

The Freedom Socialist Party and our sister organization, Radical Women, demand that Mayor Harrell cease and desist with his union-busting tactics.

We demand the mayor and the city council stop stalling negotiations.

We demand the city bargain in good faith.

We demand the city pay salaries that make living in Seattle proper possible for city workers.

In other words, prioritize your budget deliberations on the city's need for a fully staffed, fully functioning, well-paid public servants.

And where is the money to do this?

Tax the rich.

The rest of us are damn tired of these freeloaders carrying them on our backs.

Our next speaker is Kelly Dunn.

Then after Kelly Dunn, it'll be Duane Lind.

Good evening.

My name is Kelly, and I'm here with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways to honor and remember the 22 people who have been killed by traffic violence in Seattle this year.

I'm going to read the names of all 22 of those people now.

And we ask that you do not cut Vision Zero funding so that we don't have to add more names to this list.

Those names are Chakra, Janavi, Bari, Jessica, Mbaya, Riley, Kalia, Andres, Duane, Oliver, Kimberly, Michael, Antoinette, Todd, Elliot, Rodrigo, Anthony, Abdi Kader, a child, name unavailable, Sean, Lydia, and Jane Doe.

With the council's permission, we'd like to ask for a minute of silence.

We'll allow it, absolutely.

Madam Clerk, could you time up a minute for us?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Dwayne Lind is our next speaker and then Marie Rose.

Hello, I'm Duane Lindy, an International District 2 renter.

I'm also a Buddhist.

So first of all, I would like to dedicate the merit of my actions today to the people that the previous speakers have mentioned and to all sentient beings.

Second of all, I am a renter.

I'm also a very short person.

I am here to speak on the need for more robust renters' rights and the need to expand those rights.

Please support funding for an Office of Rental Housing Standards Tenant Work Group.

This is a concrete way to expand renters' rights by providing a place where renters can go for help.

Current resources are inadequate for renters.

Seattle has a proud history of vigorously supporting workers' rights.

We have a unique opportunity to expand that support to renters.

Remember, we Elected you.

Support funding for an Office of Rental Housing Standards Tenant Work Group.

Thank you for your time.

And remember, housing is a human right, not a commodity.

I yield the rest of my time.

Marie Rose, followed by Reverend Walden.

And Marie Rose, number 4B.

Hello.

My name is Marie Rose Mbage.

I'm a community navigator at King County Public Health.

I'm here to advocate for my community members who have just come here in U.S.A., and they are sleeping outside at Taquilla, and I need you to remind about them for the budget and looking something or something to do like the shelter, emergency shelter or housing because of this climate change.

And those climate change can lead to more sickness like tuberculosis.

asthma and pneumonia for those ladies are pregnant and they have little kids there and I'm here if you can think about them.

Thank you.

We will now move on to Reverend Walden and then followed by Reverend Walden we'll move to Amanda Benson who will be our last in-person speaker for this set.

Good afternoon and thank you.

My name is Reverend Walden.

I'm speaking in the capacity of mothers for police accountability.

I'm speaking to support the mayor's budget as it relates to public safety.

It was a shooting on 23rd in Jackson on Tuesday, Monday at a daycare.

It's amazing that nobody says that black lives matter anymore because the police didn't kill 40 black people in this town.

And so there's black people who want to support the spot shot and all the people who are talking and accent, they don't live in a black community.

And they talk about people of color when I'm a black woman.

And I've sat with many mothers who's crying because their children have been killed.

It's no arrest.

People shoot people in the daytime because they know they're not going to go to jail.

And it seems to me that Seattle is OK as long as black people are getting killed in the streets and the police didn't kill them.

And I think you need to think about that.

How do you feel about that?

Have you been to a funeral?

Have you sent flowers to a parent?

Have you talked to someone whose child hears gunshots all the time?

And they're going to tell us that we can't, the technology don't work?

Why can't we pilot it here for ourself to find out if it works or not?

It's outrageous that all the people can talk about what don't work and talk about around black people, but not about black people.

I'm here standing as a black woman.

I've been doing this work for 33 years.

And please talk to somebody who lives in the black community.

Thank you.

Our last in-person speaker is Amanda Benson.

Hello.

Thanks for this opportunity to speak with you today.

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

Every day I hear from neighbors, schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, and other community groups who want to support tiny house villages through volunteer work and donations.

I bring folks into the villages to do painting projects, landscaping, furniture assembly, hand out donations, or serve food to our clients.

We have hundreds of volunteers who want to get to work right away, building more tiny houses and to get people inside.

People volunteer because they know it is our best chance at solving homelessness and the safest, most dignified way to shelter our unhoused neighbors.

Tiny houses save lives.

Since Lehigh began the program in 2015, over 3,000 people have found shelter.

Over 50% secure permanent housing after they move out of the tiny house.

This is the answer to sweeps.

Please support more tiny houses.

Going back to remote public comment speakers, our first one in the set is Suzette Crizzo.

And Elaine Spencer you're still listed as not present.

Sorry Madam Clerk.

Did you want me to list the folks who are not present.

Elaine Spencer you're listed as not present.

And Erin Frye.

Sorry about that.

Suzette.

Star 6 then mute.

There you go.

Hello my name is Suzette Quiroz and I am an 8th grader at Mercer Middle School.

and I have been part of the Roberto Maestas After School Program at El Centro in the rest of the three years today because I would like to ask you all to please fund the after school program at El Centro.

The program has benefited me in a number of ways.

For example, I get to have a safe and fun place to be after school.

We go on cool field trips, I make new friends and also learn new things.

They also have supported me with homework to make sure I stay on track.

During the summer, I learned more about different cultures and refreshed STEM ideas, and also used math to make pancakes.

Some were good and some were not so good.

Mine were bustin' because we did the math right and worked as a team.

My favorite field trip was Ballgates because it was an amusement park.

I really liked the Timberhawk roller coaster.

and please consider funding El Centro de la Raza.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Nadia Gutierrez.

Hi my name is Nadia Gutierrez.

I'm the after school program coordinator at El Centro de la Raza.

I started working with our middle schoolers this summer and I'm excited to stay for their after school program this year.

I'm talking with you all today in hopes of asking you to consider funding our after-school program.

The program is really important for our middle school kids.

It's a place where they can learn about their culture, identity, STEM, and computer literacy.

We also help them with their homework, go on fun field trips, and most importantly, provide a safe space for all the kids to be at after school.

A lot of families face tough challenges, and this program gives their kids a place to be themselves, make friends, and feel like they belong.

Our next speaker is Hannah Wong.

Hi, my name is Hannah Wong in District 7. I'm a member of the Washington GBI Coalition and a board member of Solid Ground.

I'm testifying in support of two measures for the budget to help meet the basic needs of our community.

First, I support a publicly funded guaranteed basic income program in Seattle.

Denver recently released their early findings from its basic income pilot that focused on people experiencing homelessness.

Among those who received $1,000 a month, 0% were sleeping on the street after only six months.

Locally, Tacoma's basic income pilot has shown to be so successful that it's received funding from the state to operate for an additional two years.

Over 120 pilots across this country have proven that basic income effectively reduces homelessness, increases full-time employment, the creation of small businesses, and stimulates the local economy.

It is an extremely cost-efficient investment.

Seattle needs a basic income to address the ongoing issues of homelessness and poverty.

Secondly, I stand in support of wage equity for nonprofit human service workers.

They are significantly underpaid compared to what they could earn in the private sector.

They perform difficult, essential work, and a 2% increase is a start, but it's far below what is needed to keep up with inflation.

We need to stabilize and strengthen social services for our residents.

Please adequately compensate our human service workers closer to the 7% recommended by the UW Pay Equity Analysis Report.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Erica Sessle.

Good evening.

I'm Erica Sessle, District 3 resident and CEO of Lifelong Health for All.

Lifelong is a 40-year-old nonprofit based in Seattle, and we have multiple programs serving some of the most marginalized and vulnerable people in the city.

We currently provide case management services to two tiny house villages in Lake Union and Whittier Heights.

I'm here today because I'm advocating for more resources to be put toward tiny houses as an effective way of addressing the homelessness problem facing our city.

In particular, I'm testifying to urge the council to add funding for four more tiny houses so that we can better address the growing homelessness crisis.

There's a lot of evidence to support tiny houses as an important part of the solution to homelessness.

In Seattle, tiny houses are successful because they effectively and efficiently integrate people experiencing homelessness into a broader framework, a framework that includes supportive services and pathways to permanent housing.

Making investments, additional investments, in four more tiny houses will greatly improve our ability to mitigate this growing crisis.

Thank you, council members, for your leadership here and in helping to address this important public health issue.

Our next speaker is Brian Tainter.

My name is Brian Tainter.

I'm a D3 resident and a program manager with the Meals Partnership Coalition.

I'm here to speak today in favor of the Meals Partnership Coalition's request for a one-time investment of $300,000 into 2024 to fund operational expenses for meal providers throughout Seattle.

In the last two years, more than $4 million have been cut from the meal system.

Safe, reliable sources of free nutritious breakfast, weekend meals, and meals in permanent supportive housing and shelters are increasingly scarce.

There has been absolutely no decrease in the community's need for safe and reliable access to meals.

Meal providers in Seattle are one leaking freezer compressor or broken van window away from having to pause their services.

For example, due to reductions in COVID-era funding, Emanuel Community Services in South Lake Union and D7 now relies on one staff member to run their food bank and their meal program, which serves over 30,000 meals every year in South Lake Union.

With the support of community volunteers, they serve breakfast and lunch every day.

And for most of the people they speak with at their meal program and hygiene center, ICS provides the only meals they eat Monday through Friday.

The meal system has been stretched to the absolute limit for the last two years as critical funding continues to disappear.

Disinvestment will alleviate some of the pressure on this strained system by keeping freezers cold, vehicles running, and meals flowing to communities experiencing food insecurity in every district in Seattle through 2024. I urge the full council to support this one-time investment of $300,000 in additional costs for meal providers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Matt Offenbach.

Bacher, excuse me.

Oh, hi.

Hi, Council.

My name's Matt Offenbacher.

I'm a resident of Capitol Hill and a small business owner in Soto.

I'm here today to express my support for the Solidarity Budget's nine guarantees.

The nine guarantees are a plan for our city that would make me proud to call Seattle home, a plan that first considers those who are most vulnerable and struggling in our communities, and by putting the needs of those community members first, we will be putting all of our needs first.

City Council has unfortunately spent way too much time this past year debating and passing bills that seem to be more about providing political cover for council members than actually helping Seattleites.

But this budget process is substance and you can make a big difference here.

Please pass new progressive revenue sources for city income and make cuts to the corrupt Seattle Police budget.

Get rid of those 213 ghost cops give it a shot splatter and put a stake in it so it doesn't come back to life again.

And to want to guarantee basic income, which has been proven again and again, as one of the most simple, cost-effective, and dignified methods for increasing people's health, housing, food security, community safety, and educational opportunity.

These are just a few of the ideas that you can find in the solidarity budget.

It's full of great things that I would love to see you incorporate in this year's budget.

I think my time is almost up, so please, council members, make good choices and have a good meeting.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Adam Deva.

Adam Deva, please press star six.

Hello.

Hello, please begin.

Hello.

Hi, my name is Adam Diva.

I am at WACAL, Washington.

This is the African Coalition Leaders.

I am here testifying against what's happening with my fellow immigrant population at the Tukwila Center.

I'm here in support of what WACAL is trying to do throughout those people.

It's cold out there sleeping, and we have pregnant people, young ones, and new elders just living on diet needs.

And I don't think that Seattle should look at that.

And we need to support them and put them in a place where it's safe for them, because they didn't know that this is what they were going to face once they arrived here.

And also to try just to support us and be human and begin to add the pet hat and support this thing that's happening out there in Capoeira.

Thank you very much for taking my call.

Our next speaker is Heather Brandt.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Heather Brandt, and I work with Lutheran Community Services Northwest.

And I'm here to support the passing of funding to go to Riverton Park United Methodist Church to assist with some 300 asylum seekers currently residing there in tents.

Visiting Community Services Northwest has been involved with the asylum seeking population for many years.

And over the last year, we have had anywhere from eight to 15 clients at any given time residing at Riverton.

I have watched as more and more families have shown up and the encampment has grown.

There are children running around with no place to go, pregnant mothers sleeping on the ground, and I worry about the safety of these communities.

There are people who have fled their home country, often due to war and conflict, and now they are finding themselves living on our streets.

Now it's time to take action.

I appreciate your urgent attention to this matter.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Napsiaya Sally, Estimated Number Speaker Number 23.

My name is Nipsia Salih and I wear many hats.

I'm a proud parent to children in SPS a South Seattle resident in District 2 and a professional school counselor in South Seattle High School in a South Seattle high school.

School counselors and social workers are important parts to a school system that ensures students have excellent educational experiences.

The request is to.

Request funding from taxes on big businesses to fund school counselors and social workers in every Seattle Public School.

I have been part of the Seattle Public Schools for almost 10 years and care deeply for my community and feel strongly about our strategic plan of Seattle excellence and continuing to work on academic and life outcomes for students of color and adhering to Seattle Policy 0030 ensuring educational and racial equity for all students.

Look outside today in front of Seattle City Hall.

There are students counselors and social workers in person in hopes Seattle officials will do the right thing and use the budget to fund school counselors and social workers in every building.

Elected community members please join the support of school counselors and school social workers to give our students excellent educational experiences with college career and mental Thank you for listening and your time today.

Our last remote speaker is Crystal Brown.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Crystal Brown.

I am the executive director of Cultivate South Park, a not-for-profit member of the Meals Partnership Coalition.

I'm speaking today in favor of a one-time investment request of $300,000 in 2024 to fund operational expenses for meal providers throughout Seattle.

I want to thank Council Member Lewis for his support of meal service providers, and I encourage the full Council to support this investment.

In 2020, 2021, and 2022, Cultivate provided community dinners as prepared-to-go hot meals to the neighborhood of South Park between three and five days each week.

We have experienced a reduction in funding in 2023, which unfortunately removes between 10,500 and 17,500 meals from the mouths of neighborhood residents, mostly families, with multiple youth, unhoused individuals, and seniors.

Meal distributions are now limited to summer months and special programs or events.

Meal providers across the city, just like us, are attempting to reach as many food insecure households as possible while stretching available funds to the max and hoping staff and volunteers don't take a sick day.

Cultivate South Park's priority is not only to provide food to those in need, but to make sure that the food distributed is culturally relevant and healthy, and that helps to combat diseases faced by the main demographics of our area.

400 plus families, around 1,800 individuals rely on services from Cultivate South Park for 50% or more of their household food needs.

This investment would help us continue to support our community in District 1 and lighten the load of meal providers across the city.

Thank you.

We will now go back to in-person public comment.

And we are at number 6A.

And that's Christina Lopez followed by Aretha Freeman.

Thanks so much, Madam Clerk.

And just as the folks are coming up to speak, I want to remind people who've dialed in.

We mentioned Elaine Spencer and Erin Freed listed as not present.

We also have Martha Quiroz, Margaret Steele, Marit Bloom, and Zora Elderstein.

If you are listening, please dial in and we'll come back to you.

Good morning, good evening.

My name is Christina.

As a city employee and Teamster 763 member, I urge you not to solve the budget problems by taking it out on city workers.

We have contract offers that do not keep up with Seattle's high inflation.

As it is, the city is having a hard time retaining its workforce, resulting in a high vacancy rate primarily due to subpar wages.

The budget shortfall was not created by city workers, nor was it created by most people in this room.

Blame, however, can be put on the lost revenue due to the mistakes made by the executive branch of this city and how it administrated the car tab revenue, camera tickets, and parking tickets due to parking enforcement officer certification.

These are just examples.

We should not be burdened with more regressive taxes either.

The City of Seattle has an unfair tax structure which leans heavily on the lowest wage earners who bear the brunt of the tax load through sales tax, property tax, utility fees, traffic fines, and special tax levies.

Right now, you, as elected leaders, have the power to fix this imbalance.

Now is the time to end this inequality and shift the tax burden towards the rich.

A sustainable solution to Seattle budget crisis is found in levying taxes on wealth, implementing a corporate head tax, go after excessive capital compensation, and a capital gains tax.

Pass a budget that improves the lives of people and not making the rich richer.

Aretha Freeman followed by Melina McCombs.

Good afternoon.

I'm Aretha Freeman with WEAL and Women in Black.

Women in Black stand vigil again next Wednesday for another 32 people, 31 of whom died just in September.

At least 259 have died in King County already this year.

That's a homeless death every day.

And more than double the number of women are dying outside, as in the same period last year.

Without shelter, people die.

We need a priority of shelter in the budget And please support Wheel's request to the mayor to open the red doors of City Hall for emergency women's nighttime shelter.

And please stop the encampment sweeps.

Now, without shelter, people are forced to camp outside, vulnerable to weather and predators.

That's bad.

But sweeps don't help.

They only hurt.

Especially in winter and extreme weather, support a winter encampment sweep ban.

Services and shelter, not sweeps.

Our next speaker is Melanie McCombs, followed by Kirk Duncan.

Hello, my name is Melanie McCombs.

I am a Seattleite, born and raised.

I grew up on Capitol Hill and Broadway, played pool in the Broadway play pool hall that is now a restaurant.

I'm a member of the Elder Renters Council and the Seattle Renters Organizing Council.

I am one of the 400,000 renters in Seattle, though I sadly have to say I am preparing to move out of the state this spring due to the high cost of rents.

I'm already in low income, but as a senior, I can afford it, but I can't afford anything else.

I'm going to miss Seattle.

Renters need an Office of Rental Housing Standards.

SDCI has tried to keep up with the needs of renters, but renters' issues are not their only responsibility.

Please budget and support the creation of an Office of Rental Housing Standards that will focus solely on renters' issues with respect and support.

Thank you.

Following Kirk Duncan will be Dee Powers.

My name is Kirk Duncan.

I live in West Seattle.

I was born in Seattle.

I'm a Seattleite.

It's my city.

I'm speaking for Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity, OWLS.

We're a rank-and-file labor activist group supporting workers everywhere across union boundaries.

We are concerned about Seattle's stalled contract negotiation with city workers, your workers, our workers, my workers.

They perform important tasks to maintain and improve our city.

They are necessary.

Contract negotiations are stalled, and one point is wages.

The city has offered a 1% double to 2% what they call Cost of living increase, this is ridiculous.

It is disingenuous and insulting.

Cost of living has gone up more than 5%.

In the last three years, it has gone up more than the previous nine years.

This is putting them behind.

They're seeing more than 3% reduction in their actual earnings.

Three or four years of this robbing our employees is not going to make the city a better place.

Paying them what they deserve will make us actually a better place to live.

They are important, they are valuable, they are necessary.

Support them.

Next speaker is Dee Powers, followed by first name starting with an I, last name...

Acuverb, if I'm not mistaken.

It's number 8B.

Dee?

Good evening, Councilmembers.

My name is Dee Powers.

I am a formerly homeless renter working for the housing justice non-profit BCATL.

I now live in District 3 after seven years of living in my vehicle in District 2. And I'm here to speak on the need for more robust enforcement and expansion of renters' rights.

Renters now make up more than half of the population of Seattle.

I'm proud to count myself among the many workers who rent in this city.

According to the website for the Office of Labor Standards, the City of Seattle is a leader on workforce practices that create a fair and healthy economy for all of Seattle's residents and businesses.

It is time for the city to stand with their constituents and extend that same level of protection to the approximate 400,000 renters within city limits.

An Office of Rental Housing Standards can protect renters' rights to safe housing and justice through timely investigations and robust enforcement mechanisms.

Please support the funding for an Office of Rental Housing Standards Tenant Workgroup.

Thank you.

My apologies for the mispronunciation.

Is number 8B Ockever, I believe is the last name?

We'll move on to the next speaker and then if number 8B comes back, we can, oh.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council.

I'm Barb Oliver, Director of Operations for Sound Foundations Northwest.

We build a majority of the tiny homes for the tiny home villages.

You've heard testimony on why tiny home villages work, and we all know that.

Now I'm going to show you how.

Let me add my charts, right?

Okay.

So, you will all get a copy of all the particulars of this, but I'm just going to go over the highlight reel.

Currently, we have 21 villages, about 725 homes.

We got about 2,000 people off the streets.

Next year, 26 villages and...

sorry, I'll look at the numbers.

4,950 people off the streets.

What we need in 2025 from you in King County is four more villages.

Only four more villages gets us to 30 villages, 8,325 people off the streets.

That's every single homeless man, woman, and child with a roof over their head, a lock on their door, food in their stomach, and wraparound services to get them to the next part of their life.

The budget is a moral document.

Okay?

If you look at the annual cost, next year, $18.9 million.

The year after that, $23 million.

The year after that, $26 million.

Sweeps is $38 million.

So you can choose whether to sweep or to house.

It's your choice.

Next speaker is Sue Hildreth, followed by John Balderjack.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

Sorry, something did happen.

There we go.

Try again.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

Hold on, ma'am.

Sorry, I think maybe a button got pushed.

Can we double check the button?

It's on.

I'll use the other one.

I didn't want to have to squat.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

I am a District 4 homeowner.

I want to live in a city that cares about ordinary people and burdens the wealthy and big business with that care.

I am here to ask the Council to adopt the measures proposed in the Solidarity Budget.

The jump start tax should be increased and should fill its assigned functions before propping up the general fund.

New progressive revenue should be enacted during this budget season, including a capital gains tax and a vacancy tax.

That will allow a lag time before you run out of funds.

They can afford to pay.

We cannot afford to wait.

I oppose the sweeps of encampments, and I oppose the funding of ghost cops.

Please remove these funds from the SPD budget and use them for social housing, for treatment and services for drug-addicted people, and for safe consumption sites.

The city has criminalized public drug use with an embarrassing option for discretion on the part of the police.

These are the ones that are under federal court order, I believe.

The jails are full and incarceration increases drug overdoses.

Let's fund the currently non-existent diversion option.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jan Bollerjack, followed by Jesse Simpson.

Hi, I'm Reverend Jan Bowler-Jack.

I serve the United Methodist Church in Tukwila.

You may wonder why Tukwila is here before you, but let me tell you the story.

Last December, we took our last people out of tents.

We've always had a ministry with the homeless, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the homeless.

And we took them and we put them in tiny homes.

Go tiny homes.

And so we had no tents.

And we celebrated until Seattle PD started calling us.

and saying that they were finding asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of Seattle.

And these were families with young children by King Street Station, by the library.

They had checked out all of their sources and there was no place to send these families.

So they started bringing them to Tukwila.

And Tukwila then went from zero to 100 by about March.

And I started calling and saying, who can help?

Who can help?

Look at what's happening.

And by July, we were at 200. And now we're close to 300. 90 of those are children.

11 of those are pregnant moms.

We've already had two newborns.

Fortunately, we got them into tiny houses on the property before the babies were born.

We have, but we have 11 more babies to be born and not enough homes to put them in.

You know the housing crisis.

You know what's going on.

Did I just lose my mic?

Oh.

You know the housing crisis, you know what's going on, you know about the difficulties of asylum seekers.

Oh, I ran out of time?

If you could wrap up, ma'am.

You can just wrap it up.

I'm sorry.

Just wrap it up.

No, you know the situation, and you know what needs to happen.

We need housing for these people, we need support for these people, we need resources, and I'll let the rest of them tell more.

Our next speaker is Jesse Simpson, followed by our last in-person speaker for the set is Joey Lopez.

Great.

And is, yep, this is working.

Good evening, Council Members.

I'm Jesse Simpson, Government Relations and Policy Manager for the Housing Development Consortium, representing the non-profit affordable housing development sector and operations.

Affordable housing sector is at a crossroads.

Permission has never been more essential, and yet it's been never more difficult to own, operate, develop, and maintain affordable housing.

Operating expenses have increased dramatically.

Insurance premiums have spiked 30% just this year.

And inflation has made it more costly to maintain and operate our buildings at a high standard.

It's threatening the very sustainability of our operations, and it's low-income residents who bear the brunt of this critical underfunding.

They rely on affordable housing as a lifeline for stability, security, and a pathway to upward mobility.

Without proper operations funding, services and maintenance needed for supportive, livable, and safe affordable housing are put at risk.

And this exacerbates all of the challenges faced by low-income residents.

To maintain the network of mission-oriented, non-profit affordable housing providers that we've spent decades building up, the city needs a strategy to adequately fund operations and stabilize the affordable housing sector.

And I ask you to find space on the tight budget to meet these needs.

Thanks for the opportunity to testify today.

Thank you.

Our last in-person speaker for the set is Joey Lopez.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Joey Lopez.

I'm the co-executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and I live in District 3. I stand in the recent Church Council's legacies of Michael Ramos, a dedicated advocate for migrants and housing.

And I'm here today to urge you to add $2 million to the budget to support emergency indoor shelter for newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers, to support rapid rehousing for direct rent subsidies for unsheltered asylum seekers, and most importantly, to support culturally and linguistically appropriate case management to assist with wraparound services to meet the specific need of asylum seekers.

There are hundreds of asylum seekers arriving in Seattle.

They are sleeping in our streets.

They are sleeping in cars, in parking garages, and other dangerous places.

For many years, the Church Council has stood here, and for the past three, I've spoke with many of you about how faith communities can leverage their land-based assets to support those unhoused in our communities.

And we're doing that work again.

We're interweaving our immigration work and our land use work to try to activate vacant faith-owned land to support the communities.

Please dedicate $2 million for emergency shelter and housing with culturally competent wraparound services to get asylum seekers indoors and out of cold, wet tents.

Remote speakers.

Our next remote speaker is Anila Afazal.

Hello, Council.

This is Anila Afdali, District 1 resident and Executive Director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, MAPS.

MAPS is the largest Islamic center in the Pacific Northwest, headquartered in Redmond, with a branch in Seattle.

I'm also with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network and Faith Action Network.

At a time when I am heartbroken and horrified at what is happening in Gaza and Israel, and working frantically with Jews, Muslims, and Christians to take action, I have to take a moment to call in support of those locally who are also in need of urgent help.

Specifically, hundreds of asylum seekers who escaped the violence and trauma are in our area, sleeping on the streets, including families and the 90 children and 11 pregnant women, as you heard.

This is a humanitarian, public health, and environmental emergency, and we need a regional response by all levels of government, including the City of Seattle.

Please dedicate funding in the budget for emergency shelter to get these families and children off the streets and out of cold, wet tents.

I also agree with prior speakers on the need for increasing progressive revenue sources in our city, including the Jumpstart Tax, and making sure the wealthy pay their fair share.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Katie Kent-Gendry.

Katie, you might, there we go.

Hi, I'm Katie in B6.

I appreciate your grace and listening to me as my mouth is still numb from the dentist.

Decades of data prove that incarcerating people who use opioids results in higher fatal overdoses when released from jail.

This council's choice to give the police more discussion in criminalizing poor people who use drugs is the least effective, least compassionate, and most inhumane and negatively impactful way to address people's needs.

and the root causes of harm in their lives in this society, which values profit and property over human life.

Truly valuing all human lives in our city could look like reprioritizing the city budget and taking a non-punitive approach to caring for one another, putting money towards the real life needs of Seattle residents.

I fully support all nine solidarity budget guarantees.

Do you have any deep relationships with unsheltered people who actively use hard drugs?

Have you asked them what they need?

I have, and I continue to.

And I can say that in general, people want a safe, warm place to lay their head.

They want autonomy and privacy and a locked door.

They want to stay with their families and their pets.

They want to continue to be a part of their communities and stay within their networks of support and access services without barriers.

Approved crime reduction programs, unsheltered people are tired of being relentlessly swept and forcibly displaced again and again.

by the city and overpaid police disbanded from their community and all their belongings trashed.

People are not trashed.

What really solves homelessness is a home.

Stop funding over 30 million on inhumane encampments and fund real solutions like housing.

Our next speaker is Donna Moody.

Donna you might be on mute on your own phone.

Can you hear us.

Hi.

Thank you.

This is Donna Moody.

I am the Executive Director of the Capitol Hill Eco-District recently relocated to the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

I first want to thank you for considering to include street activation dollars in the upcoming budget particularly focusing on Capitol Hill where there has been a lot of groundwork laid and Capitol Hill is poised to be proof of the concept for other neighborhoods.

I also just want to take a minute to point out that through years of organizing and coalition building for public life, we have studied and laid a foundation for activation projects in our neighborhood, highlighting streets and public spaces, making them more safe, more vibrant and inviting to the community.

This is also an incredible alternative to use public life activation over security and surveillance, building the neighborhood concept of feeling safe in the neighborhoods where they live, work and play.

And once again, thank you for the time.

I appreciate that the council is considering this.

The next three speakers are not present.

That's Margaret Still, Merit Bloom, and Zora Edelstein.

Estimated numbers 28, 29, and 30. The next speaker is Jason Walsh.

Good evening.

My name is Jason.

I'm a resident of D2, and I'm here to call on the council to reject the mayor's current budget and develop concrete ways to incorporate the guarantees of a solidarity budget.

While I was a master's student in public health and urban planning at the University of Washington, I was part of a study with Mary's Place to learn why families at its shelter were returning.

For our work, we learned that families were returning in no small part to financial precarity stemming from a host of issues.

Families shared that they were burdened by healthcare costs, often using emergency rooms as primary care.

Job security was impacted by unreliable and inconvenient transportation options.

They were impacted by the absence of childcare, leaning on family and friends to watch children while they were trying to secure or maintain a job.

And not least of all, there was a lack of affordable, long-term, stable housing.

These are our friends, our family, and our neighbors, and it's their needs that we have a responsibility to meet.

Incorporating the solidarity budget guarantees into the city budget would begin to meet the city's moral obligation to care for its people.

That means guarantees of a basic income, housing, health care, fast and frequent and reliable transportation, climate action and resilience to a fully funded Green New Deal oversight board priorities, communication in the form of digital equity, care for children and older adults and those living with disabilities, universal access to nutritious and regenerative food, and a living wage.

You can do this by rejecting the mayor's current budget, calling for the elimination of money for ghost cops, the dangerous and racist shot spotter technology, and simply refusing to increase SPD's budget.

You can and should do better.

Adopt the Seattle Solidarity's budget guarantees.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mark Rivera.

Hi there, my name is Mark Cervera, and I'm an organizer with Working Washington and the PIP campaign.

I'm here to talk about the importance of supporting the enforcement of the labor standards that workers keep fighting for and winning.

As an organizer, I've seen how much we workers can accomplish together, especially with the recent gig worker protections we passed through the city council.

But these wins are only on paper and lose their power if we are not able to hold network companies accountable when they break these laws.

Today, I'm asking the council to support the fee to fund OLX.

This $0.10 fee leveraged on network companies would pay for enforcement of gig workers protections that these apps have proven they will violate every time they can get away with it.

Our city is unique with our infrastructure for enforcement and our first in the nation labor standards, yet unfortunately without a dedicated funding stream, enforcement is at risk of being under-resourced despite its demonstrated benefits to workers, businesses that follow the law, and the Seattle economy.

We have an opportunity to change that for these new gig worker laws.

but funding needs to keep up with the high rates of violations of these new standards.

Over the last three years, OLS has recovered nearly $14 million from the gig industry alone, from app companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub for violating workers' rights.

As Seattle gig workers continue to show workers nationwide what's possible when we organize, the Seattle City Council has an exciting opportunity to write a budget that'll make our hard-fought wins real, but not just passing robust labor standards, but ensuring the funding to enforce them.

Seattle will continue to be a national leader for cities across the country.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Tracy Roberts.

Tracy, there we go.

Hi there, my name is Tracy Roberts.

I'm a Belt Ham resident and I am an assault survivor.

I am against the gunshot locators.

They're ineffective.

They're a waste of money.

I've been proven numerous times in at least the US and the UK to not work, and they've been removed.

I'm a huge advocate for cameras.

It was the cameras that caught the person on film that assaulted me and a woman on the bus.

I think we should have cameras not just on one or two streets.

We need to get it in the regional area.

If you're going to do a pilot, choose Belltown.

It's just getting much worse there.

On the streets, the alleyways, bus stops, and in high spot areas.

I would also push for civilian camera operators who would have immediate contact with SPD and SSD if anything is seen.

I am for license plate readers.

For people, it can be used when you've got amber alerts, stolen cars, people missing, including those with mental health crisis.

My big one is for childs.

There was passed in 2016 and since then thousands of people have died from accidental overdoses.

In New York, at one site where they've now got Charles, they have had seen a dramatic drop in the 9-1-1 overdose calls from around the site.

They have, as of a month ago, had reversed over 1,000 overdoses, and have only had to call for three ambulances.

There have been no deaths there.

This thing is missing from the new laws.

We need to address those.

The FUD are still in crisis, and we're still using

Our next speaker is Joe Foss.

Joe Foss, we see you're unmuted.

You might be muted on your end.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Joe Foss.

I live in District 5 and I'm a teacher in the South End High School teacher.

I'm here to advocate for increased funds for mental health support for youth and specifically in support of the Seattle Student Union's proposal to this effect.

I've been in the district for six years as a teacher and over those six years I've seen our high schoolers mental health challenges only increase.

We were under-resourced before and now we're just simply drowning in the amount of students needs when it comes to mental health.

A lot of the anxiety that students are experiencing in addition to other mental health issues is severely impacting not only their well-being, but their ability to thrive in school.

In 2021, the CDC Youth Threats Behavior Survey found that 10% of high school students attempted suicide, which is a very extreme measure when it comes to mental health.

Most suicides are preventable, and this is absolutely unacceptable.

We owe our youth more.

We also know that mental health rates tend to be higher for youth who experience discrimination like racism, homophobia, and transphobia.

As a health teacher, I teach my students that when their stress response is activated because they feel unsafe, they feel anxiety, it actually shuts down the parts of their brain that allow for things like critical thinking and connectivity, emotional regulation, and more.

I literally cannot do my job if students feel unsafe.

And frankly, even if I could, their achievement means very little if they are unsafe and unwell.

these increased resources for student mental health support.

Next speaker is Laurel Gray.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Laurel Gray, D5 resident and executive assistant at Operation Sac Lunch, recognized more broadly as OSL.

I'm here today to speak in favor of the Meals Partnership Coalition's request for a one-time investment of $300,000 in 2024 toward operational expenses for meal providers in Seattle.

Over the last two years, Human Services has seen cuts in excess of $4 million.

In 2023 alone, OSL has been forced to drop 992,000 nutritionally dense, culturally relevant meals from the emergency meal system due to loss of funding.

These were meals served in permanent supportive housing buildings, shelters, and tiny home villages.

The need for these safe and reliable meals has gone nowhere and continues to increase.

When an individual is unable to source a meal from their regular place, they go elsewhere, usually to an open meal site, which is also a program of OSL.

992,000 additional unfunded meals puts an enormous pressure on open meal sites who are consistently being asked to do more and more with less and less.

What might seem like a small investment, perhaps $10,000 to a smaller program could actually fund a once weekly single meal period for an entire year relieving the pressure from the open meal sites who are already beyond capacity.

Nutritional excellence is a right we are born to, not a privilege that we earn.

Cuts to human service funding impacts everyone who calls Seattle home and food insecurity is a public safety issue.

I want to thank Council Member Lewis for their continued support for human services and meal providers and encourage the full council to support this request.

I thank you for your time.

Our next speaker is Eddie Dominguez.

Good evening, Chair Mosquera and members of the committee.

My name is Eri Domínguez, a former nanny and now a domestic workers organizer working in Washington at Fair Work Center.

I'm speaking in favor of the $0.10 fee on network companies to establish a dedicated progressive revenue source for the Seattle office and labor standards and community outreach and education funds.

The Community Outreach and Education Fund has been a vital part of successful work in organizing and outreach and education.

Because we have had resources through COEF, we have been able to support workers' initiatives like Know Your Rights trainings, contract negotiation trainings, advocacy for landmark domestic workers' rights.

Through Know Your Rights trainings with language diversity and accessible materials, workers have been able to reach out hundreds of domestic workers to tell one another about their rights at work.

We have had dozens of trainings in English and Spanish led by nannies to equip one another with the knowledge of established prayer works for everybody.

Funding from COEF, has also made it possible for domestic workers across the region to connect with each other about sharing experience, advocate for sharing priorities with legislators to hold their employees accountable for when they need to.

Domestic workers have made so many possible families.

Our next speaker is Susan Battelli.

Hello, Council.

My name is Suzanne Botelli.

I'm a longtime Seattle resident and I work at Casa Latina, an organization dedicated to furthering the power and well-being of Latinx immigrants in greater Seattle through education, employment, and community action.

I'm commenting tonight as part of a broad coalition of our community partners regarding the ongoing need for immediate relief of worsening conditions for unsheltered migrants throughout the greater Seattle area.

Many of the people we see daily at Casa Latina who are attending our classes and workshops or who are ringing our doorbell in search of resources and navigation assistance are directly experiencing the dire realities of being unheld.

So we are in a unique position to offer testimony regarding what we have been hearing about and witnessing over the past several months.

Individuals and families arrive at our doorstep every day, sometimes with all their belongings, taking food, clothing, shelter, and a way to earn some money to support themselves and their loved ones.

Families with infants and young children are sleeping in cars, garages, under tarps, out in the cold, night after night with inadequate clothing and dangerous conditions, especially from a public health standpoint.

They're cold and wet, there's worsening winter weather coming on, and they need to be humanely sheltered and supported while they await the progress of their asylum cases.

The city has a vital role to play in dedicating resources, not only for immediate action to address the humanitarian needs of these unsheltered asylum seekers.

Okay, I think we're at the end of that block.

Is that right?

Okay, I wanted to take a quick second and thank my colleagues as well.

We did have the council members join us just about 20 minutes into the presentation.

So, Council Members Nelson and Council Member Peterson have been here with us.

I want to acknowledge that they have been also listening in.

Thank you very much, Councilmembers.

And speaking of Councilmembers, we do have Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who is listed to testify online.

So let's go to Councilmember Bagshaw, and then we'll go to the next 10 people in the room, please.

Councilmember Bagshaw, if you could tee up and push star six to unmute, that'd be great.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Hello.

Hey, Council Chair Mesquite, so good to hear your voice and Council Members, thank you for spending all these hours tonight.

I'm here to support tiny homes and villages.

And I just want to thank Council Member Lewis for the work Council Member that he is doing, especially to obtain some operating funds.

Many of you know and have heard from Barbara Oliver earlier and Pastor Jan down in Tukwila.

We have over 200 homes that are completed ready-to-go insulated locking doors that could be put on sites and fortunately Lehigh has four sites immediately that are available and you know we all support permanent supportive housing and if we had enough of that that's where we would want to put our money but in the meantime we need to get people inside and just I ask for your support particularly to get operating funds for these four villages because we could get 200 people off the street immediately And if you talk with some of our case managers, that'll probably be speaking later.

And our first responders, there is such suffering going on in the streets right now.

And this is one way we can solve it.

So I wanna thank you for letting me speak and appreciate all of your time and work.

Thank you, Council Member.

Okay, let's go back to the folks in the room, please.

Back to in-person speakers.

Our next in-person speaker is number 11A, Maggie Haynes.

followed by Zuki Pedro, I apologize for I mispronounced your name.

Hello, I'm Maggie Haynes from Friends of the Market, slightly different subtopic.

I would like to urge you to remove the culture connector from the proposed capital improvements and remove any money furthering that study.

And this would be option B under number three.

The Friends of the Market has interviewed a lot of businesses along First Avenue, and they're very fearful of losing business or going out of business because of the foot traffic that would be gone when the culture connector possibly could go in.

They're concerned for themselves.

And then we found out that a lot of them have low-income housing in the rest of the building above them.

And they're concerned about the low-income citizens there who will not have the ability to get on their access buses or their rides if the streetcar is there.

So they're concerned not just about themselves.

The access buses go where the people want to go.

The streetcar goes to where it ends, but the people need the ability to get where they want to go.

And on Broadway, that's a good place to look for the impact of a streetcar in our city because there's a dearth of activity because the streetcar is taking people away.

Okay, thank you very much.

I believe it's Nzolke Pedro.

It's number 11B.

And then followed by Clara Cantor.

Good evening.

I am Nzola Pedro.

I am the Angolan community leader.

And on the same time, I work with Pastor Jen in Riverton Park Village as a guest manager.

Most of the people who are there, I can say 50%, are people who come from my original country.

I work hardly with Pastor Jen every day to register people, to register kids for school.

My question is to know, the kid we are registered for school, where they're gonna do their homework?

Sharing the tent as a house.

Unbelievable.

Those people face many thing, atrocity from their country is why they came here in United States.

They cannot believe that in United States people cannot sleep in the tent or on the street.

We need to help them because before the worst coming, they are sleeping in the tent.

The breathing can cause the pneumonia and other disease.

Thank you.

Clara Cantor is followed by Tom Graf.

Hi, can you hear me?

My name is Clara Cantor.

I'm a community organizer with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and I'm also a member of the Whose Streets Are Streets and the Solidarity Budget Coalition.

I stood with the demonstration earlier honoring the individuals who have been killed this year by traffic violence on our streets in asking you to not cut Safe Streets funding for safe routes to school, for Vision Zero, or for ADA accessibility, all of which are already woefully underfunded compared to the need.

I'm also standing here in support of the solidarity budget demands that so many of the other speakers before me have mentioned.

Instead of pitting needs against each other, we need to shift funding away from police and from criminalization and especially from ineffective surveillance technology like ShotSpotter.

And we need to invest those funds in communities, which means in transportation and housing and climate justice, public health care services, fair wages for our workers and in general basic income.

I'd also like to ask council to prioritize passing new progressive revenue now so that we have access in time before the fiscal cliff approaches in 2025. Thank you so much.

Following Tom Graf will be Ryan Driscoll.

Good evening.

I'm Tom Graf, the chair of Belltown United.

It is a pleasure to see city council actually present here.

This is taxing for you, I'm sure.

And I appreciate the four of you being here in person.

It takes a lot for me to sit in the audience this long.

and I can imagine what you're going through, and it makes a difference to actually see you here.

A face on a screen behind a mask is not the same as being present, and I appreciate what you're doing here.

I am speaking in support of the mayor's proposed increase in funding of about $1.8 million for CCTVs and license plate readers.

We have a serious problem.

I think all of you are aware of it.

I have dragged Sarah Nelson and Andrew Lewis and the police chief and everyone at the mayor's office down 3rd Avenue and down Bell Street and we have drug addiction, drug dealing, murder taking place on our public streets.

And it's not getting better.

It's getting worse.

The fentanyl death overdose rate in this county is unacceptable.

And the poor people in our low-income buildings in Belltown are being preyed on by drug dealers.

I beg you to look at alternatives and follow the mayor's request.

Next speaker is Ryan Driscoll followed by I believe is Ty Bernard.

Too short for this.

Good evening council members.

My name is Ryan Driscoll.

I'm a resident of D3 and I'm in here in support of the solidarity budget demands and their nine guarantees.

You know, it's a cliché when we say that the budget is an expression of our values.

And I want us to think about, as you all are making these tough decisions about where this money goes, what different values would lead to different decisions.

For example, when we're thinking that we value financial responsibility, you all are the stewards of the city budget.

For me, that means that we look at when we have expected revenue shortfalls coming and we invest in or we start our progressive revenue earlier rather than later.

We want to make sure that that money is coming in now so that we're not forced into an austerity budget.

Or when we say that we're valuing safety, which I hear all the time when I go and knock on doors and talk to potential voters about what matters to them.

When we're thinking about safety, are we thinking about those root causes of what actually makes all of our residents feel safe?

Are we thinking about where our money is going into the immediate needs that people have right now?

Things like substance use treatment, behavioral health treatment, all of the excellent arguments that we've heard about affordable housing and tiny home villages and the different shelter forms that we need.

When we're also thinking about safety, we want to think about our people who don't have homes.

What actually leads to safety for them?

Is it sweeping them from place to place, or is it investing in the alternative forms that they actually ask for and that they need?

Thank you.

T. Bernard, followed by Aaron Estiden.

Hello.

I work at a local mechanical engineering firm as a sustainable building engineer.

Every day I help clients design efficient buildings and satisfy clean building standard requirements.

We need increased funding for the Seattle Green New Deal and other city sustainability programs, specifically the creation of a robust green revolving fund to address the split incentive of long-term capital investment.

To quote from the Green New Deal Advisory Board, when the city prioritizes climate justice, it is also prioritizing racial and social justice.

Frontline communities are currently experiencing cumulative impacts from multiple climate stressors.

These are going to get exponentially worse for all of us.

As an expert who does this work every day, we are not on pace to meet our Seattle's stated emissions reduction goals.

But let's focus on what we can do instead.

We can be an inspiration, provide optimized investments to these green initiatives, meet our stated emission goals, and give Seattle a legacy for future generations.

We desperately need housing now, as we can all agree, but this is future housing, which will outlive all of us.

It needs to be and can be sustainable.

The engineering is there.

The design work is there.

It's more of a funding thing.

It's an opportunity we don't have the time or funds to squander.

Everyone faces budget constraints, whether it's private or public entities, and sustainability is always the first thing to get value engineered out and removed.

Seattle's a rich city in a temperate climate with political support and aggressive energy code.

If we can't be net zero emissions, who can be?

Thank you.

The next speaker is Aaron Epstein, followed by Pastor Lawrence Willis.

Hi, I'm a volunteer with Central Seattle Greenways on the Fixed Route 8 Transit Project.

I represent the over 800 transit riders who have sent letters to the City Council.

I come here to highlight the decreasing reliability of routes like the 49, the 8, the 43, and the 7. These are the highest ridership routes in the city that go through some of our densest neighborhoods, but they're less than 60% on time at all times of the day.

This is morning, midday, rush hour, and night.

And for some routes like the 8, they're less than 40% on time at rush hour.

For a bus that comes every 15 minutes, that means the schedule is basically meaningless.

In South Lake Union, Route 8 goes three miles per hour.

That's the median walking speed for an individual.

Most people can walk faster than the route.

And these reliability problems affect the entire system, not just the one route.

It means people can't transfer to these routes because they can't rely on the schedule.

It means that they can't rely on them when they want to get to where they need to go.

And I come here to urge you not to divert transit levy money away from transit projects.

We have so many routes that need help in this city, and we don't need to divert that money to roads and bridges.

The levy was approved by over 80% of Seattleites.

This is the most popular vote ever approved in this city because people want fast, frequent, and reliable transit to meet our climate goals.

increase livability in the city, and reduce congestion, we need to invest in these routes.

I urge you, please keep transit levy money in our transit projects, and please prioritize our transit network in this budget.

Thank you.

Pastor Lawrence Willis, followed by Peter Condit.

Good evening, Council.

Pastor Lawrence Willis, also representing the United Black Christian Clergy of Washington State, over 25 churches that are represented.

Also, I run a program called Love to Lending Our Voluntary Efforts to Others, which builds the tiny houses.

Also, our church sponsors three tiny house villages, which have 120 tiny houses on them.

Through my experience with working with those that are coming off the streets, going into housing, the support that they need is case management, which Lehigh and other organizations help with that case management.

They help them with long term.

housing.

And so with support of four more villages, Barb showed the graph on how many people that we can bring out of the cold into tiny houses, into warm housing in tiny houses.

So I'm asking that you please support four more villages and see how the difference that we can make in this community, in this city, because this is the Emerald City.

We have beautiful tiny house villages fenced off.

If you will go by there to see them, they're kept up very well.

And I also work with students that build them.

So please give uh for four more villages and watch how we can really be a blessing to this community and the Seattle.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Peter Condit followed by our last in-person speaker for the set will be Melinda Nichols.

Good evening council my name is Peter Condit and I support the Seattle solidarity budget priorities.

I'll start by addressing my District 6 representative, Councilmember Strauss.

When I see defund the police was a mistake, I see you wishing the 2020 protests in support of defunding SBD and resourcing community had never happened because now it's harder for you to get elected.

Ultimately, what I'm sure we both want is for the police to have never killed Charlene Liles, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many others.

But police are violent.

Their job is defined by the ability to force another person into handcuffs, cages, or the pavement.

It's all violence, and people die from it.

Councils should not allow SPD to hoard power by keeping money for positions they don't intend to fill.

Last year, you took partial action to correct it.

Last year's budget abrogated 80 ghost cop positions, but let SPD keep funding for another 120 positions worth $17 million.

When Councilmember Herbold was voting in favor of the partial abrogation, she mentioned that an additional 40 ghost cops had been identified, but those were left untouched.

My ask is that you defund SPD by last year's $17 million, defund SPD by the value of the ghost cops still left, and restrict SPD from purchasing ShotSpotter, rebranded as SoundThinking.

Instead, be leaders in proactive, nonviolent solutions.

Here are some ideas.

Guaranteed basic income, safe injection sites, road diets, sidewalks, progressive revenue, and of course, housing.

Thank you for listening.

We will now go back to remote speakers.

And we only have eight remote speakers present for this next block.

And the next speaker is going to be Andra Kranzler.

Oh, my apologies.

Hi, Melinda.

My apologies.

We do have one speaker is Melinda Nichols.

My apology.

And then we can go to Andrew Kranzler.

Thank you so much.

My name is Melinda Nichols.

I'm the chairman of the board for the Low Income Housing Institute where I have volunteered for 26 years.

And I worked for the City of Seattle for 28 years, so I am connected with both.

And I wanted to ask you for supporting the four tiny house villages.

Those are the imperative thing to do.

They're not the most expensive thing, and in fact, what they provide makes it cheaper than almost any other thing that we can do.

And people can say, the houses are too small.

So what?

They are 100 square feet, but they have their own door with a lock.

They have heat.

They have beds.

They have a roof over their heads.

They have protection.

They have a fence around the entire place.

It is absolutely crucial.

But I also wanted to say thank you for your generosity, your history, your stepping up to do the right things.

You're one of the most credible, cities in the United States.

We get calls from all other kinds of cities around the United States.

How do you build tiny houses?

How do you do this?

I want to be connected.

I want the Low Income Housing Institute to be connected with you so that if you get questions about this from other places, that we can provide you all the support you need because we have specific information about the whole thing.

So I really want us to build partnerships And thank you so much for how wonderful you are.

You are a wonderful, wonderful organization, and we want to support you any way we can.

Lehigh, thank you.

Thank you.

Now we will go back to remote public comment.

And Andra Kranzler.

Hi.

Good evening, council members.

It's a pleasure to be before you this evening, and I just want to say, Thank you so much for the just diligent work that you've been doing to adopt really strong eviction laws or housing laws that help renters raise eviction defenses to stay housed.

As the Director of the Tenant Law Center, I have the honor and privilege of representing Seattle renters in learning about their rights, asserting their rights, and getting legal services that start at a transactional space and lead all the way to trial advocacy.

Our average case lasts six months.

And we can say that if we are representing a renter, they get to stay housed.

They're not going to have a bout of homelessness.

We also get to work with rapid rehousing programs like HEN and supportive services for veterans and families and the variety of family rapid rehousing programs.

And in those spaces, help people come out of shelter and get into new housing by resolving past eviction debt.

Permanent housing is the only solution to the public health crisis.

Eviction defense is your number one tool to achieving that goal.

I just want to implore you to be just bold and to continue to think about how

Our next speaker is Jeremiah Miller.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

My name is Jeremiah Miller and I'm the legal director at Working Washington and Fair Work Center.

I'm here today to urge the community to ensure that Seattle's best in the nation labor standards have meaningful public enforcement.

Seattle's model for labor standards is built on the understanding that public enforcement of those standards is essential.

And public enforcement means something much broader than individual enforcement actions by a city agency.

Public enforcement is only meaningful when it includes agency enforcement, outreach, and education, and critically, community support in the form of community-based outreach, education, and enforcement.

When it was formed in 2015, the Office of Labor Standards was responsible for two existing labor standards, as well as two new labor standards, the minimum wage and wage set ordinance In its enabling legislation, the Community Outreach and Education Fund is also formed.

Today, OLS is tasked with enforcing more than three times as many laws, including recently passed app-based worker protections that expand basic minimum workplace standards for the growing number of gig workers in Seattle.

While OLS's budget has grown modestly over the intervening eight years, it has not kept pace with the expansion in its mandate.

And, strikingly, the Community Outreach and Education Fund has not grown at all.

Underfunding public enforcement of Seattle's labor standards is real consequence.

As an intercommunity partner with OLS, we see many people that the agency cannot reach.

OLS cannot serve these workers, not for lack of will, but for lack of funding.

And community nonprofits like ours have had to limit.

Our next speaker is Evelyn Anthony, and we are at estimated number, speaker number 40. Evelyn?

Hello?

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Hello?

Good evening.

Hi.

You can hear me now?

Yes, we can.

OK, thank you.

OK, peace, love and light to everyone here tonight.

My name is Evelyn Anthony.

I'm speaking on the need for stronger enforcement of renter's rights and the need to expand those rights by supporting an office of rental housing standards.

I'm a precinct committee officer for the 32nd Legislative District.

a 2022 independent candidate for Washington State Senate, and I live in District 2. I'm an eight-year resident of Chesa Apartments, owned by FPI Management out of California, who operates 20 buildings in the Seattle-King County area.

They are the third largest affordable housing company in the country.

They are currently facing class-action lawsuits, such as United States v. FPI Management.

They made over $4 billion last year off of taxpayers and low-income people.

They should not be allowed to do business in our city, a city that has a commitment to excellence because our county is named after Dr. Martin Luther King.

Chesa Apartments is one of the worst tax credit buildings in the city, with over 1,000 complaints filed with SDCI.

They have severe systemic plumbing problems that have existed for the entire eight years that I've lived here, and that has resulted in toxic black mold, pest infestations, and severely compromised and questionable structural integrity.

ceilings are caving in, floors are being pulled up and the building is not safe.

What is the point of building affordable housing if the buildings are not properly maintained or required to use high quality construction and plumbing materials for sustainability?

You have working families, one maintenance crisis away from healthlessness and that is unacceptable in Martin Luther King Jr.

County.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Inaki Longa.

Enaki Longa.

Hi, my name is Enaki Longa and I'm a resident of District 3. I live on MLK Jr.

Way between Union and Cherry Streets.

I would like to request that the Council allocate budget resources to improve MLK Jr.

Way and D3.

Our street faces several issues including excessive traffic speed, high noise levels from vehicles, and safety concerns for pedestrians, cyclists, and residents.

Although the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour, many vehicles drive much faster, leading to constant noise disturbances that affect our sleep and health.

I urge the Council to take immediate action to address these issues by implementing measures to slow down traffic, such as the installation of speed bumps.

Additionally, I believe that the introduction of protected bike lanes on the Moque Jr.

Way, similar to the project recently initiated south of Dept.

King Street, would greatly benefit our community.

I request that the Council begin planning the extension of these bike lanes north of Jadkinson Street, ideally reaching all the way to Union Street.

These bike lanes not only promote safety for cyclists and pedestrians, but also help reduce traffic noise and speed.

In conclusion, I urge the Council to prioritize efforts to reduce car speed and noise pollution on the multi-junior lane D3 for the well-being and safety of our community.

Thank you for your attention to these important matters.

Our next speaker is Susan Dosical.

Hello, my name is Susan Dosickel.

I am a member of Teamsters 763 and also of Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity.

After listening to all the speakers tonight, waiting my turn to speak, I think it's clear that we have a lot of worthy causes all asking for your attention.

To me, the similar theme is that as one of the richest cities in the nation, We really need to tax the rich to pay for all these vitally needed services.

I specifically wanted to speak to the negotiations with city workers.

Many of the departments have 14% vacancy rates because the city can't keep or attract workers.

And Seattle residents will continue to see the quality of services deteriorate because of these long-standing vacancies.

So city residents and workers have a common cause.

City of Seattle workers need to earn enough money to live in Seattle.

Many employees, especially the lowest paid, like administrative assistants and cashiers, which are overwhelmingly Women and people of color commute long distances because they cannot afford Seattle rents.

And also, outdoor workers need clear guidelines and more protections during heat waves and wildfire smoke.

I hope you...

Our next speaker is Flory Bert Mbalama.

Yes, my name is Flory Bert Mbalama.

I'm the CEO and founder of the Congolese Integration Network.

I have an office in Seattle, and I'm speaking in support of the two millions that the coalition is requesting for emergency indoor shelter for the asylum seekers living in Tukwila.

for rapid housing and culturally and linguistically appropriate guest management.

My history with the city of Seattle asylum seekers situation started in April when I received a call from one of the pastors in Seattle asking me to help a family from Congo that needed a place to sleep.

I understood that these families have been coming in Seattle, sleeping on the streets, in the churches, and this situation has reached Takwila because one of the churches accepted to provide a welcoming place for this asylum seeker.

Our community is urging the city council to consider this as a humanitarian crisis.

and allocate funding for it.

Thank you so much.

Our next speaker is Aaron Carr.

Hi everyone.

My name is Aaron Carr.

I am a justice and equity consultant for organizations and a strategist and also just a community organizer, healer, do a lot of things in Seattle.

But I just generally wanted to call in and just share kind of my support of the solidarity budget, you know, basic income and their demands.

And what I've learned about justice work, it's really important to name that.

Like sometimes you think justice is something that's far away, that only works with certain conditions in place, but justice is about oppressed, harmed, or marginalized people getting their needs met.

That can happen in big and small ways, and this basic income is such an important way.

for us to meet the basic needs of our community members and actualize justice in this moment.

The last thing I would say is that it's important to remember that, you know, we say that we need to center folks furthest from justice or folks, you know, who are most marginalized in this work because they feel it before we do.

Like knowing that our community is unsafe and unwell, we might not feel that right now, but we are seeing it in our community.

And so it's so important to take action now, if you care about your family and your neighbors and the people you care about most, You'll support the folks that you don't know as well because they feel it.

They know what's going on.

And this is really an important step in ensuring safety and protection for the greater Seattle area.

So I'll yield the rest of my time but thank you all so much for hearing me.

Our next speaker is Laura Lowe.

Hello council.

My name is Laura Lowe.

I'm a volunteer with Share the Cities Organizing Collective.

We strongly support the solidarity budget a path to guaranteed basic income in our communities and are very passionate about the concerns that so many wonderful community members have brought up this evening especially about renter protections.

While our main advocacy focus has been around the comprehensive plan and public broadband I'm calling today to express our deepest concerns with shot squatters.

It really exemplifies the deep hold profiteering lobbyists have on our city.

Community members tonight have skipped dinner with their families and many of us including me are not paid to be here.

Our voices are very important.

Our budget shouldn't be controlled by national lobby firms who want to waste our precious funds.

ShotSpotter is one of the clearest examples of wasting resources that I've seen in the 11 years that I've been testifying at budget hearings.

By law this technology would not be able to be purchased until it goes through a SIR that includes the Race and Social Justice Initiative review.

But unfortunately Deputy Mayor Burgess wants to skip that with an omnibus SIR.

Don't let that happen.

Don't let us waste these resources.

We have a history of redlining.

We know that Schott's Potter will double down on that racist history.

Don't waste these resources.

This is an embarrassment that this in our budget.

Please watch the panel about guaranteed direct income that the Solidarity Budget folks streamed live and have a great evening.

Our last registered present speaker is Jade Wise.

Thank you.

Hello, council.

My name is Jade and I am a displaced Seattle D5 renter and once again on the verge of homelessness.

I'm a former public servant and currently a housing justice advocate and organizer.

I'm also a member of the Washington State Lived Experience Coalition.

I urge you all to fully adopt the solidarity budget.

As others have stated, this budget is a moral imperative.

Not only is it a moral document, but it is a sustainable, logical strategy to address the myriad of public health issues the city faces, such as the housing and homelessness crisis and the drug crisis.

The solidary budget is a common sense and evidence-based.

It's not full of mere band-aids and symptom exasperations like in the mayor.

Speaking of exacerbating systems, please stop wasting millions of dollars on the inhumane, illegal sweeps that are currently happening weekly.

Our siblings and community members living outside deserve to transition into housing with dignity.

All evidence shows that sweeps are a tragic barrier that moves folks further away from accessing treatment and other vital services.

Sweeps also force people to move away from the community they are most connected with.

People are dying and severe cold weather hasn't even arrived yet.

There are children living outside.

Have any of you ever had to navigate living outside in the freezing rain?

Do any of you know what it's like to survive an entire winter in a building that has zero utilities.

I have listened to the people with lived experience and stopped to sleep.

We have one more registered public commenter who's now present and that's Parrish Chapman.

Hello my name is Parrish Chapman.

I currently live in District 7 and I work in District 3. Um, I agree with a lot of what has been said already, so I'm going to try not to repeat too much.

Um, I'm asking you to invest in preventative solutions, um, not policing, not responsive solutions, but things that will prevent violence in the future.

So the values that are included in that Seattle solidarity budget, um, that's what we're going for progressive taxing.

Revenue and guaranteed basic income programming.

Um, I'm a black, queer, third generation Seattleite, a survivor of domestic and sexual violence.

Um, and healthlessness and I've worked in housing, employment and education and generate violence for the past 12 years in this city.

Um, and over my career, I've watched some of my colleagues face the same experiences or become the populations that we are intending to serve, um, and not be able to respond to those violences, both systemic and interpersonal in a timely manner, because they don't have the cash on hand to do so.

Um, and I'm asking you to invest in a way.

that people can have the resources that they need to respond quickly to those solutions or to those situations.

Um, and to not invest in more criminalization efforts, not investing more policing, not investing things that will continue the history of redlining in our city.

Um, as my city or as my family has been pushed out of the city, um, I know what it feels like to be having to struggle for housing here.

Um, and yes, please just invest in prevention.

Please invest and guarantee basic income.

I yield my time.

Thank you so much.

And I would just want to note for the folks who are still wanting to provide testimony online, a number of people are listed as not present.

So, again, I'll read those names.

Awa Drameh, Arita Thathel, Arianne Seiber, Zora Eldenstein, Marit Bloom, Margaret Sill, Martha Quiroz, and Erin Fried, along with Elaine Spencer.

Okay, thank you very much.

And Madam Clerk, I think we can go back to the folks in the room.

Again, if you heard your name called or if you believe that you were signed up for public testimony, we've actually reached the end of the remote public testifiers.

So please do dial back in and we'll look for you after the next 10 people in the room.

Next up is Andy Spalletta.

Heather Peele, Peele.

Dorothy Thomas.

Good evening.

Hi, I'm Heather Peel.

I reside in Uptown, and I want to thank the council members for voting against the allotment of $1.1 million to fund further study of the Center City Connector that's now called the Culture Connector.

And I'm urging the Council, since I noticed there is money proposed in the Mayor's budget for 2025 and 2026 in the Capital Improvement Project budget, I'm urging the Council to end this project now.

The reason why I'm asking you to do that is because First Avenue is not wide enough to accommodate this use.

There has not been careful study by the City of Seattle of how it impacts Pike Place Market or the small businesses along First Avenue's alignment.

This is a special ecosystem that has grown up around that road.

The deletion of loading and unloading spots along First Avenue, along with the elimination of most left turns, greatly limits the ability for small businesses to load and unload at the curb and also, as Maggie Haynes stated earlier, for mobility impaired residents to be picked up.

This project would put the show box out of business, and I know you cared enough to put it in the historic district temporarily.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Dorothy Thomas.

Hi, my name is Dorothy Thomas, and I'm with Lehigh Low Income Housing.

Can you pull it real close to you?

You don't mind?

This one?

Who?

This one?

That one might be a little better.

Hi, my name is Dorothy Thomas, and I'm with Lehigh Low Income Housing.

I'm a shelter organizer, and I used to be a client.

I've been with them, working with them for two years.

I stayed with them for five months, which was wonderful because I was sleeping in my car, trying to go to work every day as a woman, you know, out there, scared, didn't qualify for some of the other shelters.

So when I got the opportunity to go there, it was like wonderful.

I had my own space.

You know, I could go in and I could relax and feel safe.

Not only that, they gave me an employment opportunity.

I've been working with them for two years now.

So I'm advocating for the tiny houses because I think it's a great idea and it helps people of all races, color, creed, disabilities.

They don't care if they're there to help.

You know, and you really feel safe there.

You know, you feel, I did.

I felt safe, secure, and now I've been in my place.

I even live in one of their buildings, and I've been there almost two years, and now I'm taking the next step.

So I'm advocating big time for the tiny houses.

It really does help.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we'll have Brenda Hernandez.

Okay, Palmyra Figueroa.

Hi there, Palmira Figueroa, and I'm here as a resident of Seattle and also a social justice organizer and a consultant for One America.

We are working with Pastor Jan and a coalition of about 30 organizations to support the almost 300 asylum seekers living in tents in her church.

And as an immigrant myself, and as an immigrant justice organizer, I just wanted to appeal to you, since we know that someone might say, this is not in Seattle, why are we here?

It's not only because the employees of Seattle have dropped people down there, but because this is a regional issue.

I don't want to phrase it as a problem.

Every time I'm there, I am blessed with Many, many kids, about 74 of them, that are living there and eager to be a part of this country, to be a part of this society, that are fleeing wars, are fleeing hunger, are fleeing horrible conditions.

Sorry, I'm emotional.

Last week, I took one of those kids because he was lethargic to the ER.

And I spent a night with his parent, with his dad, that just came from Venezuela in horrible conditions.

And he told me all about his journey.

And so I just want to plead with you around this is not an issue of one city in our state.

This is a regional issue, a humanitarian issue, human rights issue.

Please add money to your budget for them.

Thank you.

Next, we'll hear from Isaac Lucas.

Tara Camp.

Hi and good evening council members.

I will keep this as brief as I can.

My name is Tara Camp.

I am a constituent within District 3. I'm a strong and proud supporter of the Solidarity Budget Demands and its nine guarantees.

Simply put, my support for these guarantees come from my absolute love of this city in addition to where I live and what I bear witness to and experience almost daily.

Incomplete streets and sidewalks, smoke-covered summer skies, and a shocking lack of housing for my unhoused neighbors within Capitol Hill.

These are just a few of the things that I bear witness to.

As I stand here and utilize my power of voice as a constituent, I implore you to recognize what power you would have on making a positive, just, and equitable difference within our city by approving and implementing the solidarity budget demands when crafting next year's budget.

Thank you for your time and attention, and I yield the rest of my time.

Thank you.

Alex Fayer.

Good evening, Councilmembers.

I'm Alex Feher, and I'm here speaking also on behalf of Seattle Indivisible.

I wanted to add our voices to those urging you to allocate emergency funding to the roughly 300 asylum seekers now sleeping at the church, many outside in Tukwila.

Tukwila already declared a state of emergency, citing lack of resources.

And to those who may say it's tragic, but it's also Tukwila, The Seattle City employees have been directing people down there, and as Pastor Jan just said, SPD dropped them off.

So I urge you as public servants, but also as human beings, it's time to allocate money from Seattle's Rainy Day Fund to help alleviate the emergency we helped create.

This is not just Tukwila's problem, it's Seattle's problem.

This is our problem.

Intentional or not, Seattle played a role in this crisis and we have a moral and civic responsibility to act.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Peter Hoopy.

Good evening.

My name is Peter Hopi, and I, myself, was homeless.

Nowhere to go, just didn't know what to do, and I was given the opportunity to stay at the Tiny House Village at the Skyway Progressive House in Renton.

That's funded by Lehigh.

And through me staying there, I was given another opportunity to be working there as an employee.

Started off as a security officer, and working my way up to a case manager now.

So the program really does works for us because I'm a good example of starting from the bottom and working my way up here, and I still got a lot more work to do, but I urge you guys to support the housing that they're trying to fund here because there's a lot more families out there that needs the help, and that's what we're here for.

We're here to support them and give them all the help that we can and the resources.

I want to thank you guys for everything that you guys do to support our organization also.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Vanessa Reyes.

Good evening.

My name is Vanessa Reyes.

I'm the policy manager with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network.

And I'm also here today to ask for the Seattle City Council to support the asylum seekers, not just the 300 who are sleeping outside in tents.

and on the grounds of the Riverton Church in Tukwila, but also the many others who are also in our region.

As others have already shared, folks are coming to downtown Seattle, being directed by city staff to Tukwila, but they're also being housed in our shelters, they're staying in Seattle streets, and more folks are coming all the time.

I think Pastor Jen said each weekend 15 people are arriving.

There's multiple crises around the world, climates, emergencies, wars, conflicts, humanitarian disasters.

We know around the country that many asylum seekers are coming to the United States, and many cities are struggling to respond.

And it's time for Seattle to respond.

We know that we call ourselves a welcoming city and it's time to put action behind those words.

We need emergency shelter for folks so that they are not staying on the streets and we need culturally and linguistically relevant support that asylum seekers for legal and other reasons, folks who are chronically houseless and yeah housing and shelter are the most important needs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we'll hear from Kyla Evans.

Good evening.

My name is Kyla Evans.

I'm a social worker and a commissioner on the Seattle Women's Commission.

I'm here today to speak on behalf of the commission in favor of necessary wage increases for housing, child care, and other human service workers.

We ask that you fully fund the $49 million worker investments included in the 2024 budget proposal.

Earlier this year, after years of living on the street and in temporary shelters, a client of a colleague of mine came up on a housing wait list, and a unit had been identified for him to move into.

It was amazing news, and the team celebrated.

That is until we learned that because of staffing shortages at the housing agency, they had stopped new move-ins.

He would wait several months before he was able to move into the empty unit that he'd been selected for.

Child care programs face similar staffing challenges with vacancies caused by low wages.

A fellow commissioner shared with me her challenges in getting care for her young child because many early learning programs are short-staffed and forced to reduce class sizes or close entirely.

Like many parents in Seattle, her ability to maintain her employment and contribute to a city and community she cares about is directly tied to consistent and dependable child care.

Without human service workers, the city doesn't work, and we simply cannot solve Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next is Andrew R. Garcia, Jr.

Hi.

I'm here on Lehigh for Tiny Homes.

I've only been homeless for a year.

But I was assaulted in my sleep.

And it hasn't happened since I've been there.

Do what works.

Thank you.

Emily Gaggia.

Hi.

Thanks.

I know you've listened to a lot of testimonies tonight, but I just wanted to add mine, too.

I'm Emily Gaggia.

I'm a Seattle resident, and I work for the National Day Labor Organizing Network.

I worked for almost two decades with the immigrant community, many of those years here locally at Casa Latina.

I'm a concerned citizen for the critical situation happening now at Riverton Park United Methodist Church.

It's an emergency that the church is handling, but it's not enough.

I was there Monday helping that same child that Palmira had brought to the hospital the week before.

He was sick again.

He was in his tent shivering.

He had a fever.

There's people donating things, but there's very few people on the ground there being able to hand out the resources.

The child didn't have shoes on when I found him, nor a jacket.

Seattle's a sanctuary city, yet the term feels hollow to me right now, knowing that 20 minutes from where we are sitting right now, hundreds of people are camping in tents, wet and cold, and yet with an immense amount of hope and belief in you guys.

They truly believe that the government of Washington State is going to give them housing.

And so I want to fulfill these dreams for these people.

They have made harrowing journeys to get here.

Many of them have come from incredibly tragic situations.

And let's give these people a chance to have a fresh start and be the country that we believe we are to be.

Let's believe the city we are to be.

Welcome them and give them the right start.

Thank you.

Let's find an immediate solution.

Thank you.

Next is Anthony Martinez.

Heather Rose Warren.

Good evening.

Thank you for being here.

My name is Heather Rose Warren.

I'm a labor and delivery nurse at Virginia Mason.

Thank you for being at our picket this week.

I'm here also to speak on the human rights crisis that's happening in Tukwila.

Years ago, I worked on the Texas-Mexico border in immigrant houses welcoming people and hearing stories.

We know that these people came here because life was terrible where they were at.

They didn't want to leave.

They faced violence.

Here they're getting re-traumatized.

I can't imagine what it's like to be living in a wet tent right now with my children.

I'm really concerned for the 11 pregnant women that are not getting the kind of prenatal care.

I'm concerned for their babies that aren't growing the way they should.

We are not going to know if they have a preeclampsia crisis, if they have uncontrolled diabetes.

It's not just the health right now, it's the health for these children, the mental health resources that they need.

Thank you for listening.

We are requesting $2 million in emergency funding.

It's a lot of money but there's a lot of need and I believe in our city.

We are a city of immense wealth and resources and kind-hearted people and smarts and we can do this.

Thank you.

I just wanted to interrupt real quick and make a quick comment on this, given the urgency and the emergency that we see in Tukwila.

So thank you to the folks who've come to testify today.

This has been on my radar since Director Hamdi Mohamed from the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs flagged it for me last weekend, and my staff has also been trying to participate in at least two of the meetings that have happened.

I'm going to, and thank you to Palmyra for coordinating this, I'm going to come by on Saturday at noon in case any other council members would like to come.

My hope is that members of the mayor's office will be there.

I know Director Hamdi Mohamed will be there, whether she's wearing their director hat or the Port Commissioner hat, I know this is a priority for them.

She's been also actively looking for any additional resources possible within their budget.

I appreciate that there's an ask here for the 2024 budget and also understand the urgency of doing something now.

So to the degree that we can work with the mayor's office and the existing departments on existing underspend that is available.

ASAP, that's also a priority.

And thank you for flagging the $2 million ask for 2024. I was not aware of the dollar amount being asked before, but I will absolutely continue to work with you all before the budget's finalized to see what additional resources we can, in addition to King County, identify for this ongoing emergency.

So again, if council members are interested in attending with me Friday, excuse me, Saturday at noon, and in addition to that, Director Hamdi Mahmoud would be there as well.

I just want to underscore the importance of this conversation outside of investments for next year, the emergent and humanitarian crisis that we're seeing in our own region, especially with SPD bringing people from our own city to another local jurisdiction.

So I just wanted to interrupt to announce that.

And if anybody's interested in attending as well, we'll make sure to share information.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Let's keep going, Madam Clerk.

Next is Jeremy Berman.

Hello, thank you.

My name is Jeremy Berman.

I am a resident of Seattle, and I'm also an emergency medicine physician.

And I want to reiterate a lot of what the prior speaker, Heather, mentioned.

and I'm here to elevate the concerns of the asylum seekers, particularly in Tukwila.

And as a resident of Seattle, as a physician, as a human being, I have a lot of concerns about the health, safety, and wellness of this population that's living in Tukwila in tents.

The winter is coming quickly, and this is a very difficult time for unhoused people in tents.

There are, as was mentioned, close to 300 people, 75 of them are children, a number of infants, and 11 pregnant women.

There will be more children.

like the one Palmyra brought to the emergency room with illnesses, with COVID, with other viral symptoms that are gonna be concerning.

And so I appreciate what Council Member Muscata just mentioned around prioritizing this.

And I think it's of the most importance.

So thank you all.

Thank you.

Next is Raphael Lusk.

Miles Hagopian.

Hi, my name is Natalia McConnell.

Miles is right here.

He's going to speak in a little bit.

But I go to Franklin High School, and I'm also part of the Seattle Student Union.

And we are demanding that you fund $28 million for school therapists, counselors, and social workers by taxing Amazon.

It is necessary.

Students do not have enough mental health resources in our schools, especially in the south end of Seattle.

We have one therapist for 1,300 students at my school.

It means that almost no students can get appointments, and students can't access out-of-school resources.

We also have four counselors for 1,300 students at my school.

And that means that my counselor has to help facilitate counseling services for 400 students, close to 400 students, which is well above ACLU's recommended amount of 250 for every one student.

and we certainly have the money in the city to fund this.

Amazon has quite a lot of money.

You only have to increase the Amazon tax by a small amount, and we can provide enough services for every single student in this city.

We are joined here today by counselors who came in online and then also in person, and everyone behind me, as well as close to 600 students who signed our petition, which I'm going to give out to you at the end of the meeting.

Fund $28 million for school mental health counselors by taxing Amazon now.

Thank you.

Next is Terrell Cotton.

Andrew Constantino.

Martha Lucas.

I think they're walking around.

Oh, sorry, I thought.

OK, we'll have you go after this after Miss Lucas.

OK.

OK.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Martha Foster Lucas, and I'm a District 4 Seattle resident, a native Seattleite, a child of immigrants that fled a communist regime in a decades-long protracted civil war, and the ED of Washington State Coalition of African Community Leaders.

We serve 160 African descent leading and serving member organizations, businesses, and individual members with a social media reach of 140,000 plus.

Several of our members are currently online and have spoken already.

I'm here in support of, I don't want to repeat things that were already said about the Riverton Park United Methodist Church, other than to thank personally Pastor Jan and the coordinating committee for all of the work that they have been doing daily to ensure the asylum seekers are cared for and are getting services and places to temporarily reside, sleep.

We are here to educate you on the importance of and highlighting it is a regional issue, which I know that you guys are aware of.

But at a recent meeting, what you may not know are some of the numbers, and I want to put some numbers to what is being said today.

At a recent meeting, the DSA actually indicated that 8,000 asylum seekers at the southern border have indicated they're coming to Washington State, so it's going to continually and they are going to continually come.

Another thing that you're not seeing are the invisible migrants.

I'm sorry, I just need about 10 more seconds.

And those are from our largely undocumented immigrants that are here, that are of African descent, that are housing a lot of asylum seekers that you're not seeing.

And they are in the city of Seattle.

Kent, Federal Way, and as well as Auburn.

So it is a regional problem.

And it's about to explode because my leaders are saying, or our leaders are saying, that they cannot handle anymore.

And just last week, we had 30. So I just want to emphasize that because of cultural pride and some other things, You're just not seeing them all, but it is going to happen.

And lastly, I want to reiterate what Vanessa said as the three solutions, and just bring the voice to the importance of culturally appropriate housing options.

My community similarly fled in the 80s and the 90s a similar situation of war and violence.

And to rip them apart from their families or separate them is a huge problem.

So please consider the indoor shelter where up to 300 people can be.

It's not the best solution, but these families are large.

And again, to separate them when the kids are often serving as interpreters and the parents and the guardians are babysitters as well as other.

We need to have you wrap it up.

I'm sorry, I know the urgency of this.

Thank you so much for your testimony today.

And I think that we had one more person who accidentally, could you please state your number on your sheet there?

26B, thank you.

We'll get that note in.

Hi, my name is Miles.

I come to you as a black student in SPS at Franklin High School and a member of Seattle Student Union.

And I'm going to give it to you all straight.

We live in a city with Amazon.

Sorry, can we please start the time?

Start it.

Amazon, Starbucks, Boeing.

And the fact that we're out here asking for money for counselors and therapists is frankly outrageous.

There is currently $31 million in Ghost Cop positions, which are SPD positions that won't be filled.

There's plenty of money in this city.

That's why we demand $28 million by increasing the Amazon tax for counselors and therapists.

We're in solidarity with counselors and therapists that are being understaffed and overworked at our schools.

If this council cares about the well-being of black, brown, and queer youth, in this city and specifically in the South End, then they will listen to our demand and listen to all the youth that have came out.

After a pandemic that has led to more isolation and hurt a lot of youth's mental health, including myself, then you must listen to the 500 students that signed our petition to demand an increase to the Amazon tax for $28 million.

Tax Amazon.

Tax Amazon.

Fund counselors!

Fund counselors!

Tax Amazon!

Fund counselors!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can you please take the poster too?

Just don't want to have that left.

Okay, up next we have...

Can you grab the poster?

We have Amaro Castanedo.

Thanks, Farideh.

Could you please grab the poster?

Yeah.

Did you want to take the poster with you?

Okay, sir, if you'd like to thank you very much.

You can count them up.

Come on up.

Both of you.

There you go.

Go ahead, Andrew.

Which one works?

Hello, my name is Andrew Constantino.

I'm an outreach worker for homeless services in D7.

It's unbelievable to me that this budget doesn't include the creation of any new tiny house villages.

Every single day, unhoused folks in need ask me how they might get into a village, and the honest answer is that it has become nearly impossible because they're always at capacity.

The city knows we need them as they reserve all the openings in order to conduct sweeps.

This leaves folks asking for help but not staying at high profile encampments out of luck.

I myself stayed at one of the first villages a few years ago while homeless and it was the single greatest intervention to help me rebuild my life.

I remember Chair Mosqueda visiting my little house and taking a tour.

Let's stop waiting for the KCRHA to reinvent the wheel and build more tiny house villages now.

Thank you.

Okay, up next, Jim Margaard.

Good evening.

Howard Anderson.

I am here speaking on behalf of the market, friend of the market, and also a historic developer in the market with properties there and on Second Avenue.

I'm here to pose the cultural connector 300 million dollars is probably a starting number and they're hard unknown costs that are going to be passed on to the people that are down there, work down there every day in the disruptions.

We should retain First Avenue as it is today, not allowing the streetcar to create another transit corridor.

This is not a form of transportation that the city needs.

There's other ways to solve that.

I'll get to that.

Loss of First Avenue's capacity will impact and be felt by all parties on the major streets surrounding the area.

But most of all, we must recognize the historic nature of First Avenue and the businesses, residents, visitors must be protected from major taking of the right-of-way.

Bring back the First Avenue, the transit that was removed in 2017 to make room for the streetcar, and bring back those new, the buses that were removed to connect Uptown all the way down to the International District and serve everybody on that street without destroying the area.

Thank you.

Up next we have J.M.

Margaard.

evening council.

My name is Ian Halcott, and about 24 years ago, my family and I opened up a chocolate shop on First Avenue across the street from the Showbox Theater.

And so we've been there a long time, greeting all those tourists who love to come and see our town, and we like to show off for them.

The thing that I'm here speaking in opposition to the streetcar.

It's going to have a massive impact on my livelihood.

It's going to have an impact on all the businesses, small businesses, the market, the Showbox Theater.

It's going to make getting product in and out for those tourists to have bottled water.

It's difficult to have, you know, linen service for restaurants that everybody enjoys around here.

The thing that three years of what will be construction on this project will be not survivable from those businesses that have made it through COVID and have been fortunate enough to stick it out in downtown Seattle to see it, you know, light at the end of that tunnel.

But, you know, currently there's no, this project, it feels like a, a tourist shiny object.

It is not something that's actually going to serve the residents of Seattle.

It's not going to help my employees get down to work better than, you know, there's other alternatives that are less expensive that are already available for us to do to improve public transportation.

What I always like to you know, say is that, you know, the tourists don't come to Seattle to buy my chocolate, as good as it is.

They're here to meet the people.

And, you know, this transit project will take us off of First Avenue and they will no longer, we won't be here to actually be there to say hello to them.

And I'd like to continue doing that.

So thank you for hearing my comments tonight.

Thank you very much.

Next, we have Jim Margaard.

Could you repeat that?

Jim Margaard.

Okay.

Oliver Mioka.

I think that's Jackie Matthews.

Sora Elstein.

Hello.

Thank you so much for being here tonight and listening to a group that is often unheard in these spaces, the students in this city.

I appreciate it.

I'm a senior at Ingraham High School, and I'm here with Seattle Student Union with the support of Thomas Swann's office and the 500 people that we mentioned that signed this petition to get $28 million from the Amazon tax to support counselors and other support staff in Seattle public schools.

Counseling and support staff are preventative measures necessary for the safety and health of our schools.

Counseling can help intervene in drug abuse, support students experiencing homelessness, all topics that have been talked about here tonight, and prevent acts of violence like the shooting that occurred at Ingram last year.

SPS is severely lacking in the one-on-one support that countless other issues alongside all these other ones require.

It is vitally important to me and my classmates and everyone that I see at school every single day that these gaps be filled.

Investing in schools is investing in every single aspect of our communities that's been talked about tonight.

Every single student is a part of all these communities that have been talked about tonight and it's important to support them.

I'm asking you to please increase the Amazon tax and allocate $28 million of those dollars towards support for our students.

Thank you for your time.

Next we have Maggie Sill.

We have 33B here.

Let's keep reading through the names just because there might be some other folks here.

Did you say Maggie?

Yeah, Maggie.

Hello, council members.

My name is Maggie Sill, and I'm also a senior at Ingram High School.

I believe that investing in mental health care for today's teenagers is an investment in the future of Seattle.

When students are given the opportunity to heal and understand themselves through the assistance of psychiatrists and therapists, they become adults who are able to self-regulate and devote their time to positive developments within their community and the world as a whole.

To that point, as the climate crisis worsens, it is imperative that the planet has access to people that are stable enough to fight for it.

However, Seattle Public Schools does not have adequate funding at this point to provide the health care that will make that a possibility.

There are resources within the city, like the funds we can get from taxing Amazon more, that are not being used to support our community.

We, as the students of Seattle, ask for $20 million to be allocated to the improvement of the mental health of youth through the employment of counselors, therapists, and social workers in the Seattle Public School District.

I believe that this is the best way to work towards a better future for our city.

Thank you.

Up next, we have Ari Russell.

We're the only ones left, because this is such a dire situation.

My name is Ari Russell and I'm a former student and graduate of Seattle Public Schools.

My sister is a current SPS student and I'm here in support of the Seattle Student Union and Council Member Swann's office in urging you to increase the Amazon tax to generate funding for school mental health personnel.

It's more important now than ever to support student mental health services.

According to Mental Health America, Washington ranks 39th of all U.S. states in youth mental health support.

And students and counselors across Seattle feel and have felt the egregious lack of funding for these essential services for years.

When I was a student, I struggled with severe depression, as did several of my close friends.

and we were far from the only ones.

Our sole school therapist helped me immensely, and access to her support is a huge reason I am still here speaking to you.

But one therapist for 2,000 students was not enough then and never will be enough.

If you claim to care about students, about young adults, about children, you must increase the Amazon tax and prove it.

My sister and her fellow students deserve so much better.

Thank you.

Next we have John Grant.

What was the name?

John Grant.

Good evening, Councilmembers.

My name is John Grant.

I'm the Chief Strategy Officer with the Lowincome Housing Institute.

Thank you so much for your time today to listen to the needs of our community members who are homeless.

We have heard loud and clear the need for more shelter options, and we encourage you to expand tiny house villages, but we also need to keep what we have.

The Mayor's budget cut $2.5 million out of our budget.

That's the essential behavioral health funding and operational supports that we cannot run these villages without.

We have built a behavioral health team of six certified behavioral health staff members with therapeutic health services.

They sent you a letter asking you to restore these cuts.

This would dismantle that team.

I also need to talk about Riverton Park Church.

I really want to thank Chair Mosqueda for going and visiting what's happening on the grounds at Riverton Park and Tukwila.

Lehigh has 20 tiny houses there and they are full.

That is why we are a part of this conversation and also just in solidarity.

I went and the first time, I cried.

The second time, I cried.

I encourage you to go and see the conditions on the ground.

There's a plan.

We're at the 11th hour of the budget process.

We get that.

This is one of those moments where you need to change your plans.

Thank you.

Up next we have Nick Satel.

Anastasia Workman.

Marriott Bloom.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Mara Bloom, and I'm also a senior at Ingraham High School with the Seattle Student Union advocating for an increase in the Amazon tax to go towards more mental health funding for Seattle public schools.

As I'm sure you all know, as you've all received considerable education, school is very difficult.

The academics alone are extremely taxing on adolescent minds.

Add in everything that this generation faces every day, from gun violence to social issues and prejudice, mental health support is crucial.

During the height of the pandemic, my dad remarked to me how crazy it was that I and my peers were quite literally living through major history.

He questioned why I wasn't more rocked by it.

I, as can be said for the rest of my generation, aren't so much phased because we've grown up with it.

From gun violence to political conflict to hate crimes and more, we are so constantly surrounded by it that we barely bat an eye.

But that doesn't mean that we don't feel the effects of these events.

In the year 2021, 13% of females attempted suicide and 30% seriously considered it.

22% of LGBTQIA plus attempted suicide and 45% seriously considered it.

Suicide rates increased 36% between 2000 and 2021. In 2021, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people's age 10 to 14. Increased mental health care for teenagers is vital to our safety and future.

We request $28 million for counselors, therapists, and social workers.

It's not just investing in them, it's investing in us.

Thank you for your time.

We're going to go back to Isaac Lucas, 19B.

Hey, Farida, we can't hear you.

Oh, can you hear me now?

Yes.

OK, Isaac Lucas, 19B.

What's your name?

Hi.

My name is Isaac Lucas.

I am currently a program participant at Lehigh, the Inner Bay location.

I'm sorry.

Could I have you pause?

We'll start your time again.

Folks, if we could just keep it down a little bit as folks exit.

OK.

Let's restart your time, please.

My name is Isaac Lucas.

I am currently a program participant at Lehigh's Inner Bay location.

I've been a Seattle resident for the past 10 years.

I've been homeless for eight of it, probably.

Now, imagine going home tonight that you didn't have a place to stay and you needed to find a place for the next eight hours that you could spend uninterrupted to find a place to sleep and not have your things stolen or get beat up or, you know, anything like that.

spend a week on the streets and then come back and tell me that you need less spending for homeless housing.

They tell me that you've cut spending for Lehigh by, what, $2 million or something like that, and that's just crazy to me.

I've been jumped more times than I can count.

I've had everything that I've owned stolen from me numerous times.

I've been swept.

I can't even count how many times.

And to think that you would take money from these things is just crazy to me.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time tonight.

Up next, we have Brenda Tirado, followed by Alexis And the last one is Eva Owens.

I just want to make sure that if there's anybody who's here to testify and we haven't called your name yet, that we get a chance to hear from you if you'd like to.

Okay, it sounds like, um, Madam Clerk, it sounds like that's at the end of the list of people who's here to testify.

I just want to double check that there's nobody left in the room that would like to testify tonight.

Oh, that's OK.

Thank you for testifying earlier.

I appreciate it.

And we really appreciate your testimony, along with the over 100 individuals who provided public testimony tonight.

Very important issues, as you can tell, and clearly ongoing and increased needs in cities across this country.

And Seattle is not unique in the challenges that it faces and the larger population that continues to move here.

In addition to population, there's increased need amongst the residents that are here.

So thank you for sharing the priorities of the community members, and thank you for offering all of your comments tonight.

Ma'am, I just want to make sure we also heard from you earlier.

Is that correct?

Okay.

Sounds like everybody was heard from today.

Okay, great.

I appreciate all of the public comment this evening from folks who are online and in the room.

And I want to remind people that the next opportunity for public hearing will be in the evening at November 13th at 5 p.m.

That will be your chance to also hear more from council members about possible amendments that they will be considering to the balancing package.

And as a reminder, we have a public committee meeting coming up on October 27th.

That's next Friday at 10 a.m.

We will have a chance for public comment then.

And I believe we will take public comment on Friday this week as well, October 20th.

So let me just summarize that in chronological order.

October 20th at 10 a.m., we will start our meeting with a handful of public commenters at the beginning of that meeting.

We have October 27th at 10 a.m.

as well, and then November 13th at 5 p.m.

is the full public hearing solely dedicated to that conversation.

We anticipate having the balancing package published at least by Friday at least by 10 a.m.

prior to our meeting, but I know central staff is working around the clock with many of the council member offices and ours to try to finalize that as soon as possible, so we will share that with members of the public.

If you are still tuned in, I want to thank you, members of the community and the press, our colleagues who are here, the clerk, to security, to the comms team, to Seattle Channel and to Central Staff who I know have been tracking many of these priorities as well as my team, Freddy de Cuevas, Melanie Cray, and Erin House who've been here with us throughout the evening.

Thank you very much to our clerks.

And with that, it's 8.01.

The meeting is adjourned.

If you didn't get the pizza, I hope folks go ahead and get that because we got some extra that came in.