Mayor Katie Wilson presented her first budget plan on Tuesday to a packed auditorium of supporters at the downtown Seattle library. Her budget proposal is balanced, closing a $175 million deficit, and does not request new taxes. Wilson called this part of her budget “righting the ship.”
Wilson’s plan encompasses a total of $9.1 billion in spending for 2027 and 2028. She said her budget team was able to find efficiencies and cost-cutting ranging from 1% to 8% across city departments. The cuts would eliminate 128 full-time positions. All but 15 of those positions are vacant.
“A large deficit forces a choice: new revenue or reduced spending. I have made the difficult decision to transmit a budget without major new revenue,” Wilson said. “We’ve been honest that programs funded with one-time money by prior administrations cannot simply be carried forward as if that money still exists.”
No new taxes
Wilson said she will not raise taxes. She praised the impact of the existing JumpStart tax that raises funds from top-grossing companies on their highest-paid employees. The tax was created to help fund affordable housing, though its use has been diversified, and it affects a small number of very large employers in Seattle.
Wilson was instrumental in JumpStart’s creation prior to running for office. She said the city relies on JumpStart and may seek to “extend” the tax in the future, but that now is not the time.
“Our economy and especially our downtown are fragile. In that context, raising additional revenue through JumpStart is not the right move,” Wilson said.
According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the JumpStart tax brought in an estimated $385 million last year. In Wilson’s speech on Tuesday, she said that she still wants to explore progressive tax revenue ideas in the long term.
Wilson said her spending plan will also leave the budget reserve in place: “I am not touching the city's reserves. We live in Seattle. There is always rain in the forecast. That is the discipline.”
Funding priorities
Wilson identified a few items she said warrant additional spending, including the Seattle Police Department.
“A city can’t thrive if people are too scared to enjoy it. I am proposing to fully fund the current SPD hiring plan to reach and sustain 1,250 Seattle police officers,” she said to applause. “That is 66 more officers than were funded in this year's budget.”
Other priorities include human service funding, including housing and shelter creation. Wilson also said food security was a priority, at a time when more people are being cut from federal assistance programs.
The city council will review the specifics of the plan and schedule public hearings. A final vote on the budget is expected in November.
