Seattle Mayor’s Budget Includes Cuts to Reduce Deficit

The Seattle City Council will discuss Mayor Bruce Harrell’s $8.3 billion budget on Wednesday.

The plan aims to close a $250 million deficit. Harrell announced his 2025-2026 budget proposal on Tuesday.

“This proposal will make further progress without sacrificing essential services like libraries, community centers, youth programs and critical infrastructure,” Harrell said in a statement.

The budget includes $1.9 billion in the General Fund, with significant allocations for public safety ($916 million), education and human services ($264 million), arts and recreation ($145 million), utilities and environment ($91 million), and livable communities ($57 million). The budget proposes $685 million over two years for affordable housing.

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According to The Stranger, the mayor cut 159 citywide jobs and $80 million in programming. He took away $330 million in JumpStart tax revenue, money that had been earmarked for affordable housing and Green New Deal initiatives, and small business economic development. Harrell said the JumpStart money has far exceeded expectations and should allow the city to make such a move.

Harrell stressed the need for responsible spending to address Seattle’s most pressing issues, including public safety, the opioid crisis and affordable housing.

Major expenses include:

$3.2 million to maintain 300 shelter beds.
$1.9 million to expand the Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) department.
$19.25 million for youth mental health and safety.
$7.4 million to support small businesses.
$5.7 million to establish the Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) center.
$28 million for the Equitable Development Initiative.
$1.2 million to double the number of automated school zone cameras.
$3.1 million for a Real Time Crime Center.
$2.9 million for detox and inpatient treatment beds.
$2.7 million for firefighter and paramedic recruitment.
$2.5 million for arts activities in the city center.
$2.3 million to expand the Unified Care Team.
$2 million to help victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
$500,000 for the demolition of dangerous, vacant buildings.
$350,000 for a supplemental environmental impact assessment.

To close the deficit, the budget includes a hiring freeze, spending cuts and the use of revenues from the Payroll Expense Tax, which has doubled since its inception. The budget allocates $287 million of those revenues to support the General Fund and $233 million to specific categories, with $43 million set aside for fiscal stability.

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Public hearings are scheduled for Oct. 16 and Nov. 12, with a final vote expected Nov. 21.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here . Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and send him an email here.