Council Haggles over City Hall Budget

By
Jean Godden
-
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:



https://www.postalley.org/2024/11/02/city-council-haggles-over-city-hall-budget/