Seattle City Council Meeting 7/23/2024

Good afternoon, everyone.

The July 23rd, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 201. I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Moore.

Council Member Rivera.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Councilmember Kettle?

Here.

Council President Nelson?

Present.

Aye.

Councilmembers are present.

Hold on a second.

We've got two other folks joining us here.

Could you call the roll again, please?

And I do believe while we're waiting for them to take their seats that I believe that Council Member Moore did ask to be excused today.

She's attending a KCRHA event, I believe.

Okay, let's take that from the top.

Council Member Rivera?

Present.

Council Member Saka?

Here.

Council Member Strauss?

Still present.

Council Member Wu?

Present.

Mayor Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Kettle.

Present.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Seven council members present.

All right.

Okay, we've got a fairly short agenda today.

We've only got two items.

There is not a presentation today.

So colleagues, at this time, we'll open the hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many people do we have signed up?

13 in person and about 12 remote.

All right, we'll start with the speakers in council chambers first, and folks will have one minute to speak.

Could you please read the directions?

Public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

The public comment period is up to 20 minutes.

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

We'll begin with in-person speakers and then move to remote speakers.

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

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

Public comment period is now open.

We will begin with the first speaker on the list.

The first speaker is Brandon Derblater.

Yeah.

Good.

Bus Route 8 on Denny Way is encumbered by freeway on-ramp traffic, often extending several blocks, causing delays from 10 to 30 minutes several times each day.

Seattle.gov says there is potential for up to an eight times improvement in people moved over the current situation by using a dedicated bus lane.

moving up to 8,000 people per hour instead of mixing cars and buses, which moves as little as 1,000 people per hour.

Current initiatives to improve this, like the Denny Way traffic analysis, are taking too long and promising too little.

I propose that the Seattle Department of Transportation take immediate action to prioritize buses along Denny Way by implementing an eastbound bus only lane between Queen Anne Avenue and Fairview Avenue.

One lane will still be available for cars.

less deliberation should be necessary to decide if an outside commuter's right to use a car is eight times as important as a Seattle resident's right to use a bus.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Joe Cox, followed by Yvette Dinesh.

I spoke at a city council meeting two months ago about excessive noise levels being generated outside T-Mobile Park by individuals using amplified sound systems.

Seattle police showed up a week later and convinced the people using the megaphones that they were not allowed at that location and they left.

Since that time, they have migrated back to the ballpark with amplification levels higher than any I had previously recorded, as high as 108 decibels.

These noise levels were recorded at a distance of 15 to 20 feet.

Fans of all ages, including families with young children, were half that distance from the sound source and exposed to even higher sound levels.

The Center for Disease Control states that the exposure to sound levels above 100 decibels for longer than 15 minutes can cause permanent hearing loss.

This is a problem that will not go away without consistent enforcement activity.

Thank you.

These mics in the middle are also operable, I believe.

Good afternoon, council members.

One quick thing.

I pledge allegiance to the flag and the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, so my organization, the Color Girls Garden Club, distributes free food to our community with the help of the Northwest Harvest Pantry and Emergency Feeding Program.

So I'm here to advocate for those two organizations for funding.

The city always has money.

And also to advocate for another organization that does wonderful work in the community.

Give some hope.

we don't have time to describe how much they do in the community.

So that's why I was here to advocate for that and to say, Ms. Wu and Ms. Hollingworth both can testify that what I do in the community, I've been doing it, going on for five years now.

So thank you for your support.

I'd like to say more, but I don't have her permission.

And just advocate for funding for our community organizations.

Thank you kindly.

We now have Marshall Bender and then Jason Ugelink.

Hello, council members.

My name is Marshall.

I live in District five and I'm here today to voice my opposition and also my disappointment at your plan to delay the increase in Seattle's small business minimum wage.

This was supposed to go into effect next year, and it's been in effect going to go into effect for ten years.

But now I believe You guys don't want to do that anymore.

I have friends.

I've worked in a service job, and people in this city deserve more.

You know, $19.97 per hour is already not enough to pay rent, pay for a bus pass, pay for a car if you have one of those.

And the people who live here need more.

We need fair compensation.

We need a higher minimum wage for service workers.

And with things increasing like rent, food, you know, I just went to the grocery store.

I paid $75 for like a week of food.

That's a lot of money.

People can't afford this.

And so in 2025, you guys should increase the minimum wage, you know, keep the current policy in place.

Don't let the employers take tips from people at work.

And don't allow people to become homeless and on the streets of Seattle because they can't afford to live here.

You guys can do something.

You can represent them or you can represent the small businesses, not the workers.

Thank you.

Some people who speak on pay up during public comment think it's okay to lie about the effects the current law is having on restaurants and careers.

You disrespect everybody's time and are hurting people's livelihoods, the businesses and individuals.

All those statements need to be fact checked.

They claim most restaurants tell them order volume is the same as it was this time last year.

The truth is many restaurants in Seattle have gone out of business since January.

According to Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 97% of small restaurants would like the law repealed because of lost revenue.

Some people claim their downtime between deliveries is between two and five minutes.

The truth is since January, it's extremely common to wait more than one hour.

Common sense will tell you for restaurants, order volumes have been cut in half.

A courier's wait time between deliveries will not decrease.

I have receipts to show my wait time between deliveries.

I'm able to show the documents to council members and their staff any time.

The law needs to be revised.

We now have Hao Shen followed by Alex Zerman.

Good afternoon.

On Thursday, July 18, my bike was stolen at that McDonald's at 3rd and Pike.

Knowing that the chance of recovery is slim, I didn't bother to file a theft report.

The next morning at 1055, I spotted my bike was being ridden in the same area by a male.

He's spending his 20s wearing a black hoodie and a backpack, pandering to pass it by.

possibly dealing drugs, not the type of person I would approach by myself.

So I called 911 and reported the ongoing crime.

After three minutes with the dispatcher, he said the SPD wouldn't come because I didn't file a theft report.

Like a third scene in Tarantino movies, I was hiding myself in an alleyway across the street, keeping an eye on the suspect, worrying about other potential threats, and simultaneously filing up a red tape theft report on my phone.

Then I called 911 again for help.

Then again, then maybe another, again, 30 minutes has passed, not a single officer inside.

Finally, I got a call after four hours of first report.

And I called, I tell dispatcher to dismiss this call because I already got my bike back.

And how did I get my bike back?

What do you care about?

Alex Zimmerman.

Yeah.

He hired my dirty damn Nazi fascist group.

Don't.

You've been warned.

Please.

No.

That is considered abusive language.

Are you Nazi?

Why you don't?

You read this.

I give you this before.

You read this.

You read this.

Continue the timer.

You read this.

This nine-circle decision.

You look to me like you mentally sick because you refuse nine-circle decision.

Huh?

You understand?

You read this.

I give to everybody.

You freaking old idiot.

A sick people, a Nazi pig is exactly who you are.

This right now I give to Seattle so they can read this.

Why this Nazi pig control us for so many years?

For this, I have preposition.

You know what it means?

Open better room in City Hall.

One day per week from 9 to 9. So people will be coming, talking.

Because people who come here, it's a human garbage.

Look what they're talking about.

They don't understand what has happened.

They're very stupid.

You know what it means?

Idiot.

750,000 people.

I spoke for 10 years about better room.

No one support.

No one.

How is this possible?

Who are these people?

A freaking cretina.

Thank you very much.

We now have Briana Martinez.

Following Briana would be Quinton McCoy.

Hi, good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Briana and I'm here to advocate on behalf of restaurant and bar workers as a bartender who's been in the industry for 10 years.

I'm asking that you honor the compromise that was made a decade ago to pay us the same minimum wage as the rest of King County.

A permanent sub minimum wage is unacceptable.

And I also, you know, I'm not trying to advocate for the restaurants closing down or anything.

Obviously, I want a job, but I just don't think that that deficit should be made up from our paychecks.

That is completely unfair.

Just to paint a picture of why we're upset.

According to Consumer Affairs, the appropriate hourly rate needed for someone to make rent in Seattle is $41.90.

an hour.

And now if I were making my full amount, I would be making upwards of $48 an hour, maybe.

And that's not including the fact that I have to actually split those tips with maybe four or five people.

So please stop asking us to work for free.

Wage theft has to stop.

Thank you.

Hello, council members.

My name is Quinton McCoy.

I'm a barista and union organizer, and I'm here in support of workers receiving full minimum wage rights as scheduled in January 2025. I've been in the coffee industry for almost seven years.

I'm almost 21, so a third of my life so far has been given to this industry.

I moved to Seattle from Marysville after graduating high school and being illegally fired for organizing a union at Starbucks.

I came to the city looking for a better life because wages were higher.

I found a job at Storyville Coffee Company in Pike Place Market, a company with less than 500 employees where we were paid below minimum wage.

It was busy in Pike Place Market, though, and the employees were unionizing, so I thought I would be fine.

I was incredibly wrong, though.

Their pay system was oppressive and abusive.

We had to take school-like tests graded by management to receive pay increases, and after two long years of fighting, they brought in the National Right to Work Foundation and dispersed our union before reaching our first contract.

We lost our ability to improve our own...

this wage increase was our fighting chance to be able to make ends meet.

Many of the tips workers are young people and students like myself who are being set up for failure when wages are kept low.

A permanent.

Arianna Rowey.

Please audience, I'm gonna have to say this again.

I've said it many times already, but please do not clap or make other audible noises in between speakers because it does slow down our proceedings.

Go ahead.

Good afternoon.

My name is Arianna Riley.

I think this needs to be said that taking a public stand on any political issue will always lead to anger on one side or another.

The restaurants that chose to come out repeatedly in the media against the pay up law have willingly taken that risk.

They chose to come out in favor of cutting wages and protections for delivery drivers, which is an extremely unpopular position.

I'm not surprised that some of these restaurants in particular have continued to do less delivery.

One of these businesses is a place that I used to frequent at least once a week since they opened their first location in my neighborhood a few years back.

Since they have come out against me making minimum wage and having protections that simply align with federal labor law, I haven't found room in my budget to eat there anymore.

Maybe other people are making that same choice.

Words have consequences and people can vote with their wallets, including drivers.

Please keep pay up in place as is.

We have Mateo Vallejo and then followed by Bennett Heselton and then Rosemary June.

Hello, I'm Matea.

I'm here on behalf of restaurant workers.

I've been a restaurant worker for seven years.

I've been everything from a dishwasher to a sous chef.

In that time, I've worked with incredible people.

All around us are people in our community that work hard to maintain the luxuries and services that you enjoy and still have to toil with the inability to support our basic needs.

Offer a few hands to pull from our pockets the means to which that prosperous life can be achieved.

Wage theft, dip theft.

The subminimum wage is unacceptable in our ever-growing, ever-changing economic landscape, and we need a full minimum wage across every industry to allow the hardworking people in our city, our neighbors, to keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living.

And the subminimum wage is absolutely inadequate.

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

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

We want to be able to live, and the maintenance of this subminimum standard will kill us.

We deserve to live.

Bennett, and then Rosemary June will be our last in-person speaker for this.

Good afternoon.

I wanted to address some of the recent comments regarding the defund the police movement back in 2020. Council Member Saka had talked about at one point how the defund the police narrative is dead, but I'm not picking on him in particular.

This is a common point of confusion.

I just want people to remember defund the police originally meant partially defund.

And the protest chants in Seattle were explicit about that.

It was defund SPD, how much?

50% at least.

And the idea is that it's more cost effective to use that money for preventive measures.

The chants said the money should be spent to double the privileged communities to reduce the need for police.

It's more cost-effective to do that than have the police deal with the problems after they get out of control.

When you put it that way, I think it's not only reasonable, it's actually hard to come up with an argument against that type of position.

And it was only later that defund the police came to mean defund the police 100 percent, i.e. abolish.

And there were far fewer people who agreed with that.

But originally, it meant partially defund.

Thank you.

Go for the tallest one.

My name is Rose.

I'm the head of security at Hula Hula in District 3. I've been doing security within the service industry in Seattle for nine years.

I go to school for unions trades work at Wood Tech Center in District 3. I live in Beacon Hill in District 2. By all accounts, I am a Seattle worker.

As workers, the exploiters of our labor simply ask to keep the system as is.

Business owners also own multiple properties and homes in the system as is.

Business owners have more than enough money for brand-new Tesla toys and boats for their families in the system as is.

Business owners have enough money for remodeling and refurbishing the workspace in the system as is.

But it ain't that way for everybody.

Workers, on average, don't make a living, a livable wage.

Personally...

Thank you.

and I take care of my chronically ill father in the system as is.

Your time has expired.

Please take your seat.

Year after year after year in the system as is.

The tipping system subjects workers to a racist, ridiculous, and classist system.

That's the system as is.

If you ask us, the workers,

You are now engaging in disruptive behavior.

Please take a seat.

How much longer do you have to speak?

Because I'm not going to call a recess just for this.

Megan, please begin the remote speakers.

Our first remote speaker is Ethan Corey, followed by Kaitlyn Coleman.

Please remember to press star 6 when you hear the prompt, you have been unmuted.

Ethan, go ahead.

ETHAN COREY .

Hi, my name is Ethan.

My name is Ethan.

I'm the general manager at a nightclub in Capitol Hill.

I've worked various different positions for small restaurants my entire life, and I strongly advocate against Seattle delaying the minimum wage increase for service industry workers past 2025. As someone who currently manages a staff of 30-plus employees, I know this industry holds some of the most interesting, hardworking, and creative individuals who already use limited resources to help them.

Every industry worker deserves the security of a full minimum wage, independent of their tips.

Tips are meant to be a gratuity for exceptional service and should remain as such, not a substitute for fair compensation.

This practice not only undermines the basic rights of workers, but also perpetuates income instability in an already challenging industry.

Many of my peers and coworkers cannot afford to live in the area where they work without three-plus jobs.

Minimum wage, not sub-minimum wage, is the least they deserve.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Caitlin Coleman.

Caitlin will be followed by Rachel Snell.

Go ahead, Caitlin.

Hello.

My name is Caitlin Coleman, and I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington.

I'm calling in support of fair minimum wage for service industry workers.

I worked in the service industry for over 11 years as a barista, a busser, a host, a server, and a bartender.

As a service industry employee, I was never able to survive solely on one job and was rarely able to obtain a full 40 hours a week.

This was just one reason why a fair wage and tips were both necessary.

A shift that consisted of eight full hours typically meant at least one hour to prep and one to close.

These hours were post or pre-service, meaning no opportunity to earn tips.

While one shift may be incredibly lucrative, the next day I could be called off entirely due to low reservations.

Working in the service industry meant that I paid for both health insurance out of pocket and I had minimal benefits while being exposed to the general public more than ever.

I know we know better than to put the pressure of business sustainability on the backs of our essential workers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Rachel Snell.

Rachel will be followed by Magdalena.

Go ahead, Rachel.

Greetings, City Council.

My name is Rachel Snell.

Since public transportation is important to so many living in Seattle, the topic of safety and security simply cannot be ignored.

Taking public transportation has become more dangerous as we speak.

People no longer feel safe taking the bus or train.

The loss of life has increased and devastated this great city on both transit and on the streets.

Today, it's more common for riders to experience fear, harassment, violence, and exposure to drug use on public transit here in Seattle.

It devastates my soul to see an innocent toddler in a stroller having to be close contact with a potential violent drug user acting uncontrollably and violently on the bus.

The University of Washington conducted a study earlier this year on both train and buses.

They found a shocking amount of fentanyl and a shocking amount of methamphetamines in the air and surface samples.

King County Transit is a major part of what makes this a great city to live in.

The King County Transit is great.

Safety and security is without a doubt a must.

We as citizens of Seattle must demand our leaders do a better job in enforcing safety and security on the metro as well as on the streets.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Magda Magdaleno, followed by Eva Egwunden.

Go ahead, Magda.

Hello.

My name is Magda Magdaleno, and I live and work on occupied Duwamish land, currently known as Seattle, Washington.

I've been working in the service industry for over 20 years, often at multiple small restaurants to put myself through school.

I consider myself well-educated and accomplished.

It has come to my attention that the City Council is considering indefinitely delaying the minimum wage for service workers.

Fair compensation for all workers must become the basic standard in this city, particularly because the cost of living continues to supersede what a majority of its citizens cannot financially oblige.

I personally could have benefited from this when I was involved in a car accident that left me unable to walk or work for months.

Those few extra dollars for every hour I previously worked would have been helpful towards my now depleted hard-worked-for savings, whereas businesses have had a decade to prepare for this more-than-fair transition.

Withholding any amount from our workers is unacceptable.

We deserve and are worthy of a full minimum wage and to keep our tips.

I urge all of you not to delay the implementation of this any longer.

Thank you, City Council, for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker, Eva, looks like has dropped off.

So we will go to Cleo Gallagher, followed by Alberto Alvarez.

Go ahead, Cleo.

Hi, I'm Cleo.

Most recently, I've been a barback in Capitol Hill.

The meager tips I received vary wildly from week to week, season to season.

Allowing restaurant workers in Seattle to weasel out of the agreed-upon minimum wage would be an insult to the people who depend on these wages to survive and to the customers who are tired of subsidizing their workers' wages.

While restaurant workers were failing to prepare to pay their workers' minimum wage, I couldn't afford to fly to my grandma's funeral.

While restaurant owners were failing to prepare to pay their workers' minimum wage, I was donating plasma twice a week while working two jobs because making rent is never a guarantee.

While restaurant owners were opening up their fourth, fifth, and sixth locations, I witnessed coworkers face harassment, stress about ER bills because they don't have health insurance, and pay exponentially more for food and rent year by year.

Some minimum wage workers bring these businesses to life every single day, turning customers into beloved regulars.

I've never met the owners of the last bar I worked at.

I'm told they lived out of state.

We are watching.

We are angry.

and we are organized.

Please do not undermine fair compensation for service workers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alberto Alvarez, and then we will go to Eva Fegwenden.

Go ahead, Alberto.

Seattle workers deserve a living wage, dignity, and safety.

Drop CB 120-775.

Vote no on any reduction or repeal.

DoorDash and Uber inflict pain on local restaurants with $5 junk fees.

They use that money to pay lobby groups and a fake driver's union like Drive Forward.

A price gouging take 30% of earnings from small restaurants.

Tell these billion-dollar companies Seattle does not negotiate with hostage takers.

Make these apps compete with each other, not strangle our local economy.

Do the right thing.

Hold the line.

No reduction.

No repeal.

Seattle has the right to tell DoorDash and Uber to pay up.

Thank you and have a good day.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Eva Begwenden, followed by Sarah Sheena.

Go ahead, Eva.

At my most recent barista job in Seattle, I was at a small company with less than 100 workers.

I had to organize with my coworkers to try and recover our unpaid tips and unpaid wages after I was fired.

We're organizing in February.

I'm currently in an L&I investigation where they actually just told me this month I'm owed $20,000 in unpaid wages, which is enough to cover over 10 months of my rent.

And at least four others are owed between $5,000 and $20,000 each.

But because there is such a huge backlog of unpaid labor complaints to L&I, it will take over 10 months just for them to issue this citation to my former boss.

The cost of living rises, and most people are one emergency or unpaid paycheck away from homelessness, which is out of control in Seattle.

Seattle needs to stick with their already bare minimum commitments to raising minimum wage for tipped workers.

Slashing workers' wages doesn't help businesses.

It just harms workers.

The industry is seeing a decrease in tips as everyone feels the budget crunch caused by cost of rent and necessities rising while our wages are not keeping pace.

Provide relief to businesses.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarah Sheena, followed by Alex Kim.

Go ahead, Sarah.

Hello.

My name is Sarah, for the record.

I'm also here in support of Seattle restaurant workers receiving our full minimum wage rights, as we're scheduled to in January of 2025. I've worked in restaurants and cafes in the area for over four years now.

And in that time I've seen so many of my coworkers and friends have to switch jobs or get more than one job in order to make rent.

Um, it is incredibly stressful to rely on tips, um, that change season to season in order to budget for rent and other living expenses.

Um, especially because you cannot accurately budget for each pay period.

Um, Additionally, hospitality is a skill and a career that I think should be more valued and that should be reflected in pay.

Please raise the minimum wage as promised in January.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Kim.

Alex Kim will be followed by Ben Reynolds.

Go ahead, Alex.

Hi, my name is Alex Kim.

I'm a gig worker and District 2 resident here in support of the pay up ordinance.

While delivery volume keeps increasing and most drivers are doing better than ever, I want to address a misconception that food delivery in Seattle has become extremely expensive after pay up.

Price comparison was done between DoorDash orders in Seattle and Bellevue with the same items, same distance, and using DoorDash's recommended tip.

At the $20 level, Seattle is $4 more expensive.

At $60, the prices were the same.

And at $100, Bellevue is $13 more expensive, and from there, Bellevue prices continue to increase.

The reason PayUp has made Seattle cheaper for larger orders is that customers no longer need to tip to guarantee delivery and good service, since we now earn a living wage for every delivery that we do.

So I urge everyone to stop saying PayUp has significantly increased prices in Seattle, Crediting that narrative only plays into the app company's anti-pay-up agenda while also hurting restaurants and delivery workers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker is Ben Reynolds.

Go ahead, Ben.

Hey, I'm Ben Reynolds.

I live in Wallingford.

I'm an organizer and former restaurant worker myself.

I'm just here to express my serious concern about reports that the council is considering postponing the end of the subminimum wage.

Service workers in this city can already barely afford to make it in most instances.

I know that you've definitely talked to some restaurant owners behind the scenes in recent months.

Let me just remind you that there are more than 100,000 restaurant workers in this city, and what you're seeing today is really only the beginning of the response that people are going to have if you do decide to go ahead with this.

And part of our job is to make sure that everyone in the city who works in the service industry remembers where you stood when reelection comes around on this issue.

Thank you for your time and I hope that you don't do this.

That's our last registered remote, sorry, last registered public commenter.

Thank you very much.

Thank you everybody for coming and speaking today.

If there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Seeing none, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

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

Seeing none, the agenda is adopted.

Now let's move on to the consent calendar.

The items on the consent calendar are the minutes of July 16th, 2024, Council Bill 120816, payment of bills, one appointment from the Finance Native Communities and Tribal Governments Committee, and seven appointments from the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee.

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

All right.

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

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

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

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

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

Thank you very much.

All right, will the clerk please read item one into the record?

The report of the Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee, agenda item one, appointment 2897, appointment of Jamie Carnell as finance director of the Office of City Finance for term to June 1st, 2028. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, we had interim, at that time, interim director Jamie Carnell with us for two meetings.

She also answered many questions through her packet, or her appointment packet.

And I get to sit with Director Carnell on many different boards outside of my city, my in-chamber city council duties, because as finance chair, I sit on the Debt Management Committee, I sit on the Seattle City Employment Retirement Services, board of administrators, and then there are two committees within there.

I luckily only have to attend one.

All of that said, I get to work with Director Carnell in many different spaces, all related to finance, and I get to see her as often as I see many of you.

And what I have to say is she's the best person for the job.

Let me read from my script, because that's probably smarter.

While our city budget office decides how our city should spend our dollars, it's our office of city finance who administers it.

The city finance director is essentially our comptroller and she is incredibly important for all of our fiduciary responsibilities.

This person must have fastidious attention to detail, long experience in city operations, and act as a true leader in public sector financial management through continuous innovation and data-driven decision-making.

I believe we have that person in Director Carnell.

Director Carnell has been a civil servant here at the City of Seattle for over 30 years and has worked in almost every single job within the Office of Finance.

Director Carnell, oh, I already said that part.

She has proven her expertise in management skills in countless ways in this office.

One of the things that I really appreciated about her when we were having the back and forth questions about what can be done better is, as some know, maybe not all, the city's budget is on the internet.

It's on our webpage.

It's accessible by everyone and anyone.

And it is very hard to read.

And so one of the...

biennial reports that the Office of Finance produces, Director Carnell flagged, it is not easy to understand with how much text is there.

And so I really appreciate your forward thinking, Director Carnell, about how do we make complex information digestible.

Another example is that Seattle maintains the highest possible bond rating thanks to her and her team's responsible fiscal management and adherence to our debt and fiscal policies that maintain a strong financial foundation for our city.

When confirmed, she will be the first woman in Seattle's history to permanently hold this position.

And I think it also is even more meaningful that you've worked every single position along the way to being director.

From our many meetings together, whether it's our one-on-one check-ins, all of the meetings that I just mentioned, I can personally attest that Director Carnell is skilled at providing clear and accurate information about the city's financial affairs and clarify the practical consequences of potential options and support informed decision-making based on fiduciary information.

So Director Carnell.

I'm looking forward to taking this vote and having you as our permanent director.

Colleagues, I urge a yes vote.

Does anyone have any questions or comments?

Does she enjoy these meetings with Councilmember Strauss as much as the other way around?

You don't have to answer that.

Don't answer that question.

I just have to say that the public interacts or witnesses the interactions between council and the budget director so much more often than our finance director.

And so the workings of your office are more obscure and mysterious, but what you're doing every single day is saving us money in the decisions that you help make long term and keeping us in a good financial position.

status so that we aren't paying unnecessarily more.

And just the bond rating in itself is key because that adds up very quickly if we slip.

So I just appreciate that you've chosen to spend your career at the City of Seattle, and it would be a terrible thing to lose you.

And of course, we would never entertain the thought of, well, I guess I'm speaking for other people, but I would never entertain the thought of not doing what we can to keep you in our working for us at the city.

So I'm really appreciative that you've stuck around so long and I'm happy to support this confirmation.

If there are no more comments, I will ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

Great.

The appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Director Carnell.

Yeah, I got to say that first.

You are now recognized in order to address the council and members of the public.

All right, well, it is hard to read from notes when I had such amazing testimonial from you, Council President and Council Member Strauss.

I do really wanna thank all of you, Council President, Council Members.

I'm honored and grateful for this opportunity to serve as the City Finance Director for the City of Seattle.

And I thank you for your votes today and your confidence in me.

I also wanna thank Mayor Harrell and the executive team for putting my name forward for confirmation and supporting me during this process.

I am excited for the opportunity to work with the executive team, council and council central staff.

I want to take a moment to thank the team at the Office of City Finance.

They partner with me daily to ensure the Office of City Finance is a leader in public service, and I'm honored to represent them here today.

I am grateful for my fellow department directors and their partnership, and I look forward to continuing our One Seattle approach as we move Seattle forward.

As it has been mentioned, I have been here 30 years, not quite in every single position, but a fair amount of them.

And I'm here today because of those opportunities that were provided to me and the mentors who saw my potential and encouraged me to continue forward in leadership roles, even when it was difficult.

The City of Seattle is a great place to work, and there are opportunities for anyone to move into a leadership role.

I'm excited to continue mentoring others who want to find their own leadership path here at the City of Seattle.

I look forward to our continued collaboration and partnership.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Congratulations again.

All right.

Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

The report of the Governance Accountability and Economic Development Committee, Agenda Item 2, Constable 120781, updating the definitions in the Seattle Municipal Code related to cannabis businesses to align with state law.

And amending section 6.500.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you very much.

This went through my committee, so I'll speak to it.

Council Bill 120781 was voted out of the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee unanimously.

It is straight-up conforming legislation, and it's necessary because last year the state legislature updated the state's definition of cannabis and cannabis products, and it also changed the definition of a social equity applicant who's eligible for cannabis licenses and so therefore the Seattle law waiving the fee for cannabis social equity applicants has to change and it's always just a good practice that when something changes in the state law that impacts the uh, Seattle, um, regulations in general that we have to change the definitions to match.

So that's what this ordinance does.

We had it, uh, up for discussion and then a vote out of committee.

And I will ask my colleagues to support this technical cleanup bill.

Are there any questions?

All right.

Seeing no questions, will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

All right, the bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

There were no items that were removed from the consent calendar, and so it looks like we're at the end of our agenda.

There also were no resolutions for introduction and adoption today.

I always have to say that part.

So is there any further business before council?

All right, seeing none.

Wow.

I have to say this.

Okay, if there is no objection, my excused absences from the July 30th City Council meetings will be rescinded.

Hearing no objection, my July 30th excused absence is rescinded.

All right, we've reached the end of our agenda.

It's 2.45, and we are adjourned.

Thank you, everybody.