Seattle City Council Budget Chair Mosqueda Releases 2024 Balancing Package – Seattle City Council Blog

Record-setting investments in affordable housing,
realignment of JumpStart for targeted investments in economy, and funding for other critical needs

Budget Chair, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide), will officially release her 2024 Balancing Package this morning at 11 AM during a meeting of the Select Budget Committee. Among other things, it includes the single biggest investment in affordable housing in the City of Seattle’s history.

Budget Chair Mosqueda’s proposal would invest $340 million in affordable housing in 2024, which is an increase of $5 million from the budget adjustments proposed in September and brings the total investments in across the biennium to nearly $600 million. This is largely possible because of JumpStart Seattle, the progressive revenue source Councilmember Mosqueda sponsored in 2020.

“We must meet historic challenges with historic investments in our most critical needs. This package meets that challenge by rejecting austerity and keeping the promises we made to our community when we passed JumpStart. As we begin to see the tangible results from our prior investments, it’s time to make good on our commitments and build on their success. This shows the power of progressive revenue to deliver real results for the people of our city,” said Councilmember Mosqueda.

Details:

• A more detailed summary of key investment and revenue realignment can be found here. All numbers are compared to the mayor’s proposed 2024 budget adjustments.
• The Central Staff’s summary presentation can be found here.
• The full 2024 Mid-Biennium Budget Adjustment – Chair’s Balancing Package document with changes compared to the Mayor’s proposed 2024 budget can be found here.

What’s Next:

Budget Chair Mosqueda has worked with city councilmembers over the past several weeks to incorporate their feedback and create a Balancing Package that is transparent, accountable, and equitable. It will serve as the foundation of the Council’s budget deliberations in the weeks ahead. Budget Chair Mosqueda will officially announce the Balancing Package and discuss it with her Council colleagues during a meeting of the Select Budget Committee this morning at 11 AM – remote participation is encouraged.

While this iteration of the budget continues the proposed surveillance pilot for CCTV and acoustic gunshot locator technology, Mosqueda remains opposed to the costly acoustic technology, as data shows it is ineffective, can negatively affect police response times, can lead to disproportionate impacts against people of color, and has raised civil liberties concerns. Council will have more discussions about whether this should be maintained prior to passage. This balancing package now includes a Proviso freezing the funding until a Racial Equity Toolkit and Surveillance Ordinance by geographic location is complete.

Councilmembers are expected to propose amendments to the Balancing Package by Tuesday, October 24. Budget deliberations begin on October 27, with votes on amendments to the Balancing Package Nov 11-13, and a final vote expected on November 21. View the full budget calendar here.