More than half a billion dollars in Seattle’s current proposed budget will go towards funding public safety, but some city leaders are raising serious concerns
More than half a billion dollars in Seattle’s current proposed budget will go towards funding public safety, but some city leaders are raising serious concerns about how those tax dollars are being spent.
The current budget proposal includes cutting millions from the fire department’s overtime budget and falls short of the number of police officers needed for a city of this size, according to some city leaders.
Seattle’s proposed 2027-28 budget would increase funding for police and the city’s civilian public-safety department while reducing the Seattle Fire Department’s overtime spending as officials confront a long-term General Fund deficit.
After a violent Labor Day weekend left three people dead in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, residents and property owners packed City Hall this week, demanding action.
"We want drug dealers off our streets," one Belltown resident said during Tuesday's public safety committee meeting.
"Over the last five years, our building has been broken into 9 times, resulting in over $150,000 in theft and property damage," said Angela Fall, a Belltown property owner. "Every single break in is a direct result of open air activity and addiction right outside our doors."
Tom Graff of Belltown United echoed the frustration, saying, "We deserve better from this city. The shootings and deaths at the Bite of Seattle and over Labor Day weekend are unacceptable for this city. I implore you, when you are looking at the budget for 2027, that you increase police funding so they can continue to hire more police."
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's proposed budget raises spending on the Seattle Police Department to $557 million and includes millions more in other public safety investments.
Still, several council members say the proposal isn't enough.
As written, the budget funds 1,250 police officers — short of the city's goal of at least 1,400, and well below national police staffing standards.
"In 2050, we’re probably going to have to have 1,800 officers in our city with the population growth and everything else," Councilmember Bob Kettle, who represents District 7, said. "If you look at our peer cities, we’re supposed to have, if you go by ratios, Boston, these different cities. In terms of number of officers per 1,000 people, we’re supposed to have 1,600 officers."
"Promises were made to neighborhoods, North Seattle, North Aurora, we're going to have more bike cops," Kettle added. "It becomes an empty promise if we don't do the work on the budget side and make those hard decisions."
"At the end of the day, when someone calls 911, they want a police officer to show up and help them," District 4 Councilmember Maritza Rivera said during Friday's budget committee meeting. "We cannot provide that service today at the level we should."
Aly Pennucci, director of the City Budget Office, said the plan includes more than $100 million in public safety investments outside of traditional policing. "If there is a different choice, you need to reduce spending in other places to continue to grow beyond that number," Pennucci said.
The proposal also does not include full funding for police hiring bonuses, which the department stopped offering in August in anticipation of the budget.
"I watched this mayor during defund come here and scream 'defund the police,' 'abolish the police,' so I have a hard time believing somehow some of this on the executive branch is not political," District 5 Councilmember Deborah Juarez said. "I think that's offensive, and it's not fair and it's not right."
District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka criticized the absence of funding for CCTV cameras at Seattle Center in light of the Bite of Seattle shooting that left three people dead and several more injured in July.
"I find that omission extraordinarily difficult to understand and incredibly disappointing," Saka said. "It's past time to center the crime victims."
The union representing Seattle firefighters is also pushing back against a proposed $7.1 million cut to Seattle Fire's overtime budget.
"This budget proposal does not meet Seattle's public safety needs. In fact, it reduces our ability to respond quickly in an emergency," IAFF Local 27 President Kenny Stuart said. "If this budget takes effect, people will wait longer for help when they call 911 during an emergency."
Fire department officials have said the reduction could force planned unit outages, even as it works to maintain core services.
"Fire, police and 911 are chartered responsibilities in this city," Rivera said. "They need to be treated like that in our budget."
Public hearings on the budget will continue in the coming weeks, with the City Council expected to finalize the spending plan before the end of the year.
