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Mayor Harrell Announces 2025-2026 Budget Proposal

by on September 24, 2024

Mayor proposes budget to close $250 million deficit focused on comprehensive public safety approach, record affordable housing investment, and maintaining effective public services 

Seattle – Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced his 2025-2026 budget proposal with investments that reflect his continued commitment to build a safe, equitable, and thriving One Seattle. With the City facing a $250 million deficit, the proposal presents a balanced budget following a thorough review of current spending and investing in urgent priorities including improving public safety, addressing housing affordability and homelessness, building thriving, healthy communities and continuing a strong economic recovery that uplifts small businesses. 

“It is my obligation as mayor to ensure the City is spending every dollar we have toward the needs of Seattle communities in a responsible, efficient, and effective way,” said Mayor Harrell. “This year presented both a challenge and an opportunity to meticulously review and reconstruct our budget, optimizing our spending to match the greatest priorities for our city such as delivering effective public safety for every neighborhood, advancing health-forward approaches to save lives and combat the opioid crisis, and building more affordable housing to get to the root of the affordability challenges. This proposal will drive further progress without sacrificing the essential City services that residents rely on like libraries and community centers; youth programming and parks; and critical infrastructure. With a strong foundation rooted in our One Seattle values, this budget proposal represents an important step putting our city on a better fiscal trajectory.” 

READ: Mayor Harrell’s Budget Speech As Prepared 

WATCH: Mayor Harrell Delivers Budget Speech 

EXPLORE: Budget Summary and Full Proposed Budget 

Proposed Budget Investments 

The proposed budget includes approximately $8.3 billion in appropriations overall, including $1.9 billion in General Fund. Within the General Fund, the budget proposal includes $916 million for public safety services; $264 million for education and human services; $145 million in arts, culture and recreation; $91 million in utilities, transportation, and the environment; and $57 million in livable and inclusive communities. 

Mayor Harrell’s proposal also includes a $342 million investment to support affordable housing in 2025 and an additional $343 million in 2026 – the largest single investments in affordable housing in Seattle’s history, building on significant housing investments throughout his tenure as mayor. 

Learn more about select proposed investments organized by category: Public Safety | Public Health | Housing and Homelessness | Thriving Communities 

Additional investment highlights in the 2025-2026 budget proposal include: 

  • $3.2 million to keep 300 shelter beds open that were previously funded by one-time federal investments and otherwise would have closed. 
  • $1.9 million to add 23 new positions in the Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department, expanding services citywide, seven days a week. 
  • $19.25 million for youth mental health and safety outcomes for Seattle students, advancing the investment strategy announced at the start of the 2024-2025 school year and building on the $12.5 million in ongoing youth investments through the Human Services Department. 
  • $7.4 million in small business supports, including activating vacant storefronts and supporting access to capital. 
  • $28 million for Equitable Development Initiative to prevent displacement and support property ownership and capacity building at community-based organizations. 
  • $1.2 million to more than double Automated School Zone Cameras at 19 school zones to address dangerous speeding and support student safety. 
  • $3.1 million to establish a Real Time Crime Center to leverage technology to triage and coordinate emergency responses and hire civilian staff to support sworn officers. 
  • $2.7 million to add firefighter recruits and paramedic students to the Seattle Fire Department. 
  • $2.5 million to bring new art activations downtown, building on the success of the Downtown Mural Project. 
  • $2.3 million to expand service hours for the Unified Care Team focused on responding to areas most frequently repopulated with encampments to keep public spaces accessible and welcoming.  
  • $2 million to increase supportive services for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation on Aurora Avenue and citywide. 
  • $500K to abate and demolish dangerous vacant buildings, supporting legislation proposed by Mayor Harrell this year to reduce fires and other hazards. 
  • $350K for a supplemental environmental impact statement to support the One Seattle Plan and identify new housing opportunities in places that already have increased density like Regional Centers. 

Closing the Deficit 

The mayor’s proposed budget closes the $250 million General Fund deficit while maintaining strong public-facing services and investing in forward-looking priorities through several strategies. In addition to early actions like a hiring freeze and spending reductions that include efficiencies and some layoffs, the proposed budget uses Payroll Expense Tax revenues to support the General Fund, as the City has done every year since its introduction. 

Payroll Expense Tax revenues have doubled since it was introduced, allowing the proposed budget to both support General Fund services and invest in Payroll Expense Tax spending categories near their originally forecasted rate. The proposed budget invests Payroll Expense Tax revenues to the tune of $287 million to support the General Fund, $233 million to Payroll Expense Tax categories, and $43 million to create a new Payroll Expense Tax reserve to add fiscal stability to the revenue source. 

Next Steps 

City Council deliberations on the Proposed Budget begin tomorrow, September 25, at 9:30 a.m. with an overview of the technical details of the Mayor’s budget by Interim City Budget Director Dan Eder to the Select Budget Committee. A series of presentations from City and Council staff follow over the next two months and public hearings on the budget occur Wednesday, October 16 and Tuesday, November 12. The Council currently plans on holding a final vote on the 2025 budget on November 21. 

Filed Under: Office of the Mayor