Seattle Council budget plan raids JumpStart to reverse mayor’s cuts but backs off police hiring boost

(Image: CHS)

The Seattle City Council has released its initial package of changes to Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed 2027–2028 city budget, tapping $31 million in JumpStart payroll tax reserves and cutting $22 million in pension transfers to reverse cuts proposed by the mayor. Like the mayor’s plan, the council’s Balancing Package would also keep Seattle out of deficit through 2030 — but it would do so by digging into funding the mayor had sought to protect.

The package released Wednesday also incorporates amendments from District 3 representative Council President Joy Hollingsworth directing funds to community reinvestment, family shelter operations, tenant protections, and neighborhood cultural programming.

The proposal from Select Budget Committee Chair Dan Strauss serves as the council’s rewrite of the executive budget. Both plans leave the city’s official Emergency Subfund and Revenue Stabilization Fund untouched, but they use different methods to get to a balanced budget.

“We have built momentum addressing some of our most serious issues. We can’t stop now,” Strauss said about efforts to reverse public safety-related cuts and restore funding for firefighter overtime. “This proposal will help us maintain momentum without cuts to essential services that keep people safe and help make Seattle more affordable.”

The Council’s Balancing Package focuses on emergency response by restoring a proposed $7.1 million annual cut to the Seattle Fire Department’s overtime budget, providing $1 million in 2027 to repair the fireboat Leschi, and restoring five civilian Seattle Police Department investigator positions to assist detectives with homicide, robbery, and gun crime caseloads. In addition to funding two non-emergency 911 dispatchers in the CARE department, the package restores nine parking enforcement officers, allocates $300,000 across two years for suppressed patrol rifles, and commissions a $100,000 study on creating a regional fire protection district while reducing General Fund transfers to the Fire Pension Fund by $22 million over the biennium to help balance the overall budget.

Notably, the package being carried forward by the council sidesteps the debate over police hiring. One proposal had called for adding nearly $800,000 next year and $11.6 million in 2028 to accelerate hiring to 12 recruits per month, aiming for 135 net new officers over the next two years, unwinding the mayor’s attempts to save millions by downshifting the process. That proposed amendment did not make the council’s initial package.

In total, the council adds about $41 million in restored and new spending across the biennium. Key citywide additions include $5 million added to housing, $7.1 million over two years for vehicle residency programs and a second safe RV lot, and $1.5 million to help the City Attorney clear criminal case backlogs and hire two assistant prosecutors.

The RV homelessness program spending is at the center of another Strauss clash with Wilson after the mayor’s veto of the legislation setting up a parking permit program for RV campers.

A significant portion of the council’s package reflects priorities from Hollingsworth, who is the lead sponsor on several proposed investments:

• Community Reinvestment: Adds $3.4 million in 2027 and $3 million in 2028, plus 1.0 FTE, for the Central District and Southeast Seattle Reinvestment Program.
• Housing and Tenant Support: Adds $500,000 for tenant services under SDCI-003-A and provisos $2.4 million in the Human Services Department to establish and operate a shelter serving families with minor children.
• Arts and Culture: Adds $3 million for arts programming, $200,000 for a creative marketplace with weekly summer markets, and targeted funding for African American community events, gallery spaces, and local arts nonprofits.
• Local Services and Youth: Adds $200,000 for Byrd Barr Place’s maternal health disparity program, $200,000 for Atlantic Street Center’s Summer Academy, $100,000 for the Central Area Parents and Coaches Association (CD Panthers), $100,000 for The Silent Task Force, and $50,000 for a Central District breakfast meals program. It also provisos $50,000 to support organizations providing hot meals and aid in Cal Anderson Park.

To pay for the broader additions while leaving the city’s emergency and rainy day accounts untouched, the council pacakge relies on special funds and spending shifts:

• JumpStart Fund Balance: Transfers $31.1 million from the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax fund to the General Fund: $23 million in 2027 and $8.1 million in 2028
• Pension Transfer Reductions: Cuts the General Fund transfer to the Fire Pension Fund by $11 million in 2027 and $11 million in 2028 under FG-904-A, freeing up $22 million over the two year budget
• Capital Reductions: Reduces Real Estate Excise Tax capital spending by $4.3 million at Seattle Center and $5.7 million at Finance and Administrative Services through 2030
• New Revenues: Adopts higher October revenue forecasts and adds $7.6 million from a new sales tax

Seattle leaders including former Mayor Bruce Harrell have leaned heavily on revenue from the city’s JumpStart tax on its largest employers to patch spending holes. As originally legislated, the payroll tax’s flexibility to contribute to General Fund spending was intended to sunset in 2025 so the revenue could be fully dedicated to the program’s original affordable housing and social services funding goals.

The Select Budget Committee will discuss the package Wednesday morning.. A public hearing takes place Thursday, November 5th with remote comment at 1 PM and in-person comment at 5 PM. Council members will submit further amendments before committee voting starts on November 13th.

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