Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s first budget proposal is drawing attention as much for what it omits as for what it includes: It contains no new taxes.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s first budget proposal is drawing attention as much for what it omits as for what it includes: It contains no new taxes.
Wilson on Tuesday afternoon unveiled a $9.1 billion spending plan that relies on about $50 million a year in spending cuts to help close the city’s budget gap.
The proposal would cut 128 city jobs while adding more police, and it avoids major new revenue — a notable shift for a mayor closely associated with the JumpStart payroll tax.
“I have made the difficult decision to transmit a budget without major new revenue,” Wilson said in her Tuesday afternoon budget speech. “Right now, we don't have good options to raise more progressive revenue that don't also come with great risks. Our economy and especially our downtown are fragile. In that context, raising additional revenue through JumpStart is not the right move.”
A political and PR consultant with Sound View Strategies, Sandeep Kaushik, said the approach reflects an effort to improve relations with employers and downtown leaders.
“What we're seeing here is the mayor trying to build bridges with this budget. She wants a reset with the business community and with the downtown establishment-they've gotten off to a bit of a rocky start,” said Kaushik, who also co-hosts 'Seattle Nice' a Seattle politics podcast.
Kaushik also warned the strategy could create tension with Wilson’s political base.
NEWS CONFERENCE : Seattle mayor shares details of proposed 2027 budget
“I think this is the problem for her mayor is that her base really does expect her to treat, you know, in some sense, treat the business community as in an adversarial way,” Kaushik said.
Restaurateur Ian Courtnage ,CEO of One House Hospitality told KOMO News at Victor Tavern one of the groups 22 restaurants that the mayor's proposal was better than some business owners expected, but he questioned whether it goes far enough to support small and independent restaurants.
“It seems like relative to what some of us expected could have been in there so far, it's a do-no-harm and invest in public safety and I think that's progress now,” Courtnage said.
“I would love to see actual plans for economic development to reinvigorate what we see” Courtnage said.
Earlier this month the Mayor announced the Resilient Seattle Economy Task Force with an executive order to help local businesses 'start, stay, and grow' in Seattle. The task force has a year to report back to the mayor.
Courtnage said he worries the city’s policies could make it harder for smaller operators to survive, and they need action not in a year, but help now.
“I think what we're going to end up with is a city of Chipotle, right?” Courtnage said.
He cited Seattle’s no tip credit policy and high minimum wage as major challenges for restaurants.
“So I don't know if this is all progress or just not making the situation worse,” Courtnage said. “It's just a very different dynamic. And so I think sometimes we lose in the conversation around wage or pay structure.”
Beyond public safety, Wilson’s budget calls for investments in homelessness, gun violence prevention, affordable housing, food access, immigration and city services.
Progressive taxes are not included in this budget, but the mayor has said she remains committed to pursuing other progressive revenue options in the future, including a capital gains tax.
Kaushik said a key unresolved question is whether the City Council will add spending or reverse funding reallocations under pressure from groups that benefit from city programs.
