Seattle City Council finalizing 2026 budget with a few challenges for Mayor-elect Wilson

(Image: City of Seattle)

The Seattle City Council will spend Thursday and Friday finalizing the city’s 2026 budget including dozens or additions and tweaks made by the council members including District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth.

While the economic forecasts have somewhat improved, the political landscape has also shifted since Mayor Bruce Harrell submitted his budget proposal in September. There will be a new mayor a new mix on the council in 2026. The current council has made a few changes on its way to the door that will impact Mayor-elect Katie Wilson and the new, more progressive council roster in the years ahead.

FINAL BUDGET MEETINGS

• Nov. 20 at 9:30 AM – Select Budget Committee Meeting with committee vote on budget as amended; written public comment accepted.

• Nov. 21 at 1 PM – Special City Council Meeting to vote on Budget Legislation; oral and written public comment accepted.

Friday afternoon, the council will convene for its final vote on the entire 2026 budget package.

But first, Thursday morning, the council will review a roster of dozens of budget amendments debated and agreed upon across the past weeks of budget committee meetings.

CHS reported here on the line items and spending initiatives D3 rep Hollingsworth brought to the table including $1.25 million for Central District preservation, a boost for a new Black Advisory Council, $50,000 for rehabilitating Seven Hills Park, and, yes, even money for a revival of the Hilloween kids carnival.

Here is the full roster of 2026 items she sponsored or co-sponsored, according to her office:

1. Public & Community Safety

• SPD-110S-A-2: Request that SPD report on implementation of a customer service line
• HSD-048-B-1: $250,000 to support services and programs for LGBTQ+ communities

2. Food Access 

• HSD-054-A-2: $250,000 for senior meals
• HSD-080-A-1: $375,000 for food and homelessness support programs

3. Youth Support & Wellness

• HSD-081-A-1: $225,000 for programs serving families, youth, and seniors
• SPR-003-A-2: $250,000 for BIPOC youth sports programs
• SCL-001-A: $100,000 for Seattle City Light for outreach for apprenticeships

4. Arts, Community & History 

• ARTS-010-A-1: $50,000 for procurement and archival of Black artifacts
• ARTS-001-A-2: $25,000 for creative spaces and low-income artist support in Capitol Hill
• DON-004S-A-2: Request that Department of Neighborhoods (DON) inventory Black and African American Historic Buildings and Cultural Places
• DON-003-A-2: $5,000 in the Neighborhood Matching Fund to support annual Halloween events for children

5. Parks, Places and Spaces

• SPR-014S-B-1: Request that Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) report on turf conversions at Judkins Park, Riverview Park, Bar-S Playground, and Maple Leaf Reservoir Park
• SPR-002-B-1: $50,000 Park and Recreation Fund for improvements at Seven Hills Park and impose a proviso
• SPR-005-A-2: $150,000 for completion of Garfield Super Block Project
• SDOT-014-B-1: $15,000 for Hidden Beach at E. Harrison St End Park
• SPR-013-B-1: $500,000 for planning/design of a turf conversion at Rogers Playground

6. Economic Development & Commerce 

• ARTS-011-A-1: $100,000 for arts installations at storefronts in the vicinity of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
• OED-008-A-2: $50,000 for Business Improvement Area Support in Capitol Hill
• OED-013-A: $200,000 in the Office of Economic Development (OED) for focused outreach and assistance to small businesses in Eastlake

7. Transportation Safety and Improvements 

• SDOT-035S-A-1: Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) report on the timeline, resources, costs, and recommendations for necessary safety improvements including pedestrian safety, driver visibility, and traffic calming for two areas: Belmont Avenue E & E Roy Street and Harvard Avenue E between E Olive Way and E Roy Street
• SDOT-021-A-1: $20,000 Transportation Fund for pedestrian safety in Madison Park

8.  Accountable Government

• HSD-049S-A-2: Request that Human Services Department (HSD) in collaboration with the Innovation and Performance team and the Office of Housing (OH) provide an inventory of human services and affordable housing in the city
• DON-002S-A-2: Request that DON study and report on establishing a Black Advisory Council
• FG-007-A-1: $1.35 million to support future Council directed community investments
• OH-007-A-1: $5 million Payroll Expense Tax in OH until Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Planning & Community Development (OPCD) studies are complete
• OPCD-005-A-2: $200,000 JumpStart Fund in OPCD to expand the scope of a reparations program

Co-Sponsored

• HSD-066-A-1: $43,000 for youth football programming – Thank you to Council President Nelson for supporting the CD Panthers and their afterschool football programs.
• HSD-052-A-1: $1.25 million to expand the ORCA POD program – Thank you to Councilmember Rivera for including Capitol Hill in the amendment to expand this drug recovery program.
• OED-004-A-1: $300,000 for cleaning in downtown Ballard and the Capitol Hill Pike/Pine Corridor – Thank you Budget Chair Strauss for including Capitol Hill for power wash cleaning.

With the coming exit of president Sara Nelson after her defeat by challenger Dionne Foster, the current council has also been working to shore up a few spending items.

Publicola reports that West Seattle rep Rob Saka has sponsored a proviso that will restrict $30 million earmarked for the city’s Unified Care Team homelessness response effort to only go toward the team’s encampment clearance efforts, a barrier the incoming Wilson administration may have a challenging time untangling. Publicola notes a handful of other “parting shots” including locking up $5 million in transit spending for Seattle to spend on adding its policing to buses and and light rail trains and Nelson making a final stand against a small funding item to support a harm reduction program that distributes “safer smoking supplies to drug users.”

Publicola also notes that Hollingsworth abstained on most of the “parting shots” committee votes.

The council budget committee process also backed the Harrell administration plan to jack up fees to protect the city’s Department of Construction and Inspections from cuts.

With Nelson and Harrell’s defeat at the polls, weaknesses of the full 2026 budget package will now become a political challenge for the new administration. CHS reported as the process began in September that Harrell’s proposal was his most “uncertain Seattle budget plan yet” with its dependence on short-term revenue sources, new taxes, and redirecting the JumpStart tax to stave off cuts.

Overall, the plan includes stable transportation spending stable at 5% of the general fund, administration spending down two points to 19%, arts and culture spending down a point to 7%, education up a point to 15%, spending to combat displacement and affordability up to 4%, and and public safety climbing once again — up a point to 50% in the 2026 proposal.

Seattle is now spending around $490 million a year on its police department with plans to spend more than a billion total on all its public safety departments in 2026. Meanwhile, Seattle is planned to spend $225 million on “homelessness response” next year.

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