For the past month, Seattle councilmembers have been deliberating, reviewing and revising (when necessary) the city’s 2025-2026 budget. Those nine councilmembers are deciding how to spend taxpayers’ money, the most important work they do all year.
As in most years, the job is no easy task. Seattle is not flush with revenue; in fact there is a $150 million gap between expected city revenue and expenditures. The mayor, as usual, had first crack at crafting a budget – one that is balanced because, unlike federal budgets, the city budget can’t use deficit financing.
Mayor Harrell’s budget proposal solved the shortfall problem by taking $287 million from an expected windfall of Jump Start payroll tax receipts. A previous council passed the payroll tax in 2020, restricting use of the revenue to affordable housing and helping small businesses. However, that law included a provision that allows Jump Start receipts to be diverted in the event of a budget shortfall, something that so far has been an annual occurrence.
The mayor’s $8.3 billion budget allocates $400 million more than the city’s 2024 budget. His version breaks down this way:
Despite calls from 35 local service providers and labor leaders who urged passage of new progressive taxes, Harrell ruled out seeking new revenue. By making use of the Jump Start overage, he managed to avoid deep cuts to city services. He did propose eliminating 159 positions, but about half of those positions are empty due to an earlier hiring freeze.
Somehow, despite the tight budget, Harrell was able to find funds for a couple of his favored projects including upgrading Westlake Plaza in time for the 2026 World Cup and the addition of 11 new employees for his Unified Care Team, which clears away illegal encampments. He proposed investing 10 percent of the Jump Start overage in a $43 million reserve fund.
Harrell made one politically prudent move; he left a small pot of money unprogrammed to give councilmembers a modest opportunity to include their favored projects. As former councilman Richard McIver once observed, “A tight budget is one that can’t cover every councilmember’s pet project.”
In eliminating 159 positions – not a large reduction in a city with 10,000 employees — Harrell targeted jobs in Human Resources, info tech, finance and administration, and construction and land use inspection.
The loudest protest over Harrell’s proposed budget so far has been opposition to his appropriation of the Jump Start windfall. The city’s October 16 public hearing was dominated by testimony objecting to Jump Start funds being diverted from affordable housing and social service needs. Instead, extra Jump Start receipts seemingly would make possible increased police spending.
There also has been considerable concern over the mayor’s proposal to eviscerate the Seattle Channel, including axing the “City Inside/Out” public affairs program, laying off staff, and eliminating Nancy Guppy’s “Art Zone” and Librarian Nancy Pearl’s “Book Lust.” The short-sighted plan immediately drew criticism from open-government advocates and media groups like the Society of Professional Journalists.
The mayor blamed the cutback on dwindling franchise fees received from cable providers Comcast and Wave. However, the mayor’s decision – which would save a mere $1.6 million out of an $8.3 billion budget – hasn’t set well with Seattle Channel’s supporters including Council President Sara Nelson. In her newsletter, Nelson called the channel “a critical public service, supporting the arts, government transparency and civic life in Seattle.” She has already introduced an amendment to restore the channel’s funding.
The good news is that it’s not too late for the public to have a say in how the city budgets taxpayer money. There will be one final public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 12. That’s an opportunity to speak out – either in person or remotely. The council will then take final votes on Nov. 19, with passage of the 2025-26 budget scheduled for Nov. 21. Meanwhile, the public can contact individual councilmembers directly by phone or email. They can reach all nine councilmembers by email at council@seattle.gov.
As President Joe Biden once declared, “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.”
