The budget fight over affordable housing continues as questions surface about 2026
Seattle Budget News:
This week was filled with budget departmental presentations, including by SPD, HSD, and CARE. Having watched these presentations every year since 2020, I will say I found this year’s batch to be a bit less informative than they have been in previous years.
In a nutshell, SPD and CARE both have increasing budgets, although CARE’s increase is actually quite small in absolute dollars. While the total dollars going to HSD is greater than last year, many programs within HSD are being cut. Many of these programs are quite small and don’t cost much, but their removal will undoubtedly impact those who rely on them for services such as food and meal programs, tax preparation, public benefits legal assistance, home health programs, legal counsel for youth and children, youth and young adults for success, technical assistance for community organizations, and aging and disabilities case management.
One of the main controversies in the proposed budget is the use of JumpStart tax dollars, also known as the payroll expense tax (PET), to fill the General Fund deficit as well as add extra money to SPD’s budget and for increasing sweeps to seven days a week.
PubliCola points out that the estimate used to determine how much Jumpstart money will remain in its original funding priorities (affordable housing, equitable development initiative, small business supports, and Green New Deal) is a deliberately low 2020 estimate that doesn’t take into account the pace of inflation since then. Nor does it take into account that since its beginnings, JumpStart has brought in more money than originally estimated before it was passed.
Meanwhile Ron Davis, former councilmember candidate, calculates that the proposed budget amounts to a $100 million cut to affordable housing. He further says, “We need to be building about 3500 affordable units per year for the next year to catch up. The housing levy was going to support only about 450 of these per year, before Harrell took a hatchet to it.”
Kevin Scofield, formerly of SCC Insight, has also performed some analysis on the budget proposal, and he writes that the 2026 numbers include “some worrisome sleight-of-hand that should make us question whether the budget deficit is truly and permanently fixed.” Yikes!
The next Seattle budget meeting isn’t until Wednesday, October 16, which is also the date of the first public hearing on the budget, which starts at 5pm.
In the meantime, the King County Council will be holding the first of two public safety budget panels for their budget on Wednesday, October 9 at 9:30am.
Other Seattle News:
In other news, SE Network SafetyNet Executive Director Marty Jackson was indicted along with thirteen other people on Wednesday for being involved in a fentanyl drug trafficking organization. It appears she was indicted for allegedly conspiring to commit money laundering.
SE Network SafetyNet is part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, and Seattle contracts with them to provide violence interruption and prevention services. As the Stranger reported, “SE Network SafetyNet recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to provide violence interrupters at Rainier Beach High School, and the City of Seattle had agreed to provide funding for additional case managers at the high school as well through the organization.”
Jackson pleaded not guilty. The Boys & Girls Club of King County fired her following the indictment.
In other news, SPD apparently lost 23 firearms. The weapons have been missing since 2017. The Office of the Washington State Auditor is now looking into the matter.
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