At Tuesday’s assembly, town council voted once more to reject Council Member Tammy Morales’s modification to revive the $20 million the earlier council authorized for psychological well being providers and gun violence prevention programming for Seattle Public Colleges college students.
Whereas proponents left disillusioned, Council Member Cathy Moore, in what sounded extra like a requirement for recognition than a pleasant reminder, stated that she hopes the general public acknowledges the council went on to approve an modification to revive $12.25 million of the promised $20 million, which the Metropolis has already collected by way of the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax.
The entire dramatic ordeal, which concerned a number of hours of conferences over the course of two weeks for a single line merchandise, seemingly serves as a preview for the finances negotiations this fall. Within the face of a giant deficit, the council can both considerably tax firms that bankrolled the campaigns for a lot of the new members, or slash funding to crucial Metropolis applications for poor, marginalized communities. Primarily based on Tuesday’s vote, advocates for something apart from growing the finances of the Seattle Police Division (SPD) can have an uphill battle with this council, which has a historical past of ignoring, stifling, condescending to, and even arresting constituents who disagree with them.
The Entire Dramatic Ordeal
This combat for the varsity psychological well being funding started after a baby shot and killed one other youngster at Ingraham Excessive College on the finish of 2022. Following that taking pictures, college students lobbied the council to reroute $9 million from the SPD finances to pay for counselors in faculties. They gained $4 million in JumpStart and levy funds over the 2022-2023 biennium.
In 2023, the earlier, nominally extra progressive council handed a small enhance to the JumpStart Payroll tax to pay for $20 million value of psychological well being counselors in faculties. the Metropolis began elevating the cash in the beginning of the 12 months. After one other scholar was shot and killed within the Garfield Excessive College parking zone, the scholars pressured the Metropolis to authorize the Division of Early Training and Studying to spend the funds. As an alternative of doing that, Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed a $10 million plan, which college students noticed as a finances lower and a damaged promise in response to tragedy. Listening to that outcry, Morales introduced an modification to the midyear supplemental finances to revive the total $20 million the Metropolis already collected. The council rejected that modification, however then Morales introduced it again to full council on Tuesday. She argued that “we have now absolutely funded SPD and now we should absolutely fund this psychological well being work.”
“Neighborhood Doesn’t Perceive”
The council members who voted in opposition to the modification final week, together with Council Members Maritza Rivera, Bob Kettle, Sara Nelson, and Moore, didn’t change their minds this week. They maintained that the Metropolis couldn’t spend an extra $10 million on psychological well being providers by the top of the 12 months as a result of solely 4 months stay and the finances workplace would not at present have a plan for the funds.
Rivera, who used the tragic taking pictures at Ingraham because the origin story of her marketing campaign, stated that it was “problematic” to vow neighborhood cash that the Metropolis doesn’t suppose it will probably get to them. She accused the earlier council of taking a “performative,” “symbolic vote” to sign assist for college kids reasonably than “an precise vote,” saying that the “neighborhood would not perceive the distinction between a symbolic vote and an precise vote.” It’s unclear why Rivera doesn’t suppose the vote the earlier council took was “precise.” They really voted on an precise invoice that truly hiked the tax price on JumpStart, which truly raised precise cash for precise psychological well being counselors in precise faculties resembling Ingraham and Garfield.
Nelson suspended the principles to permit Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to again up the naysayers. “It isn’t as straightforward as simply saying we will provide you with this cash,” Washington stated, earlier than including her appreciation for “efforts to be frugal” coming from these members voting in opposition to the extra funding in psychological well being sources.
However even when the council authorized the total $20 million and the Metropolis didn’t spend it, the cash wouldn’t disappear. The council may carry over the funds to subsequent 12 months or else reallocate them to fill another gap later.
Morales’s modification primarily aimed to save lots of the promised funding from the Mayor’s anticipated plan to stability the looming quarter-billion-dollar finances deficit by raiding JumpStart, whose funds the earlier council earmarked for reasonably priced housing, Inexperienced New Deal initiatives, and financial improvement. Through the alternate with Washington, Morales accused the Mayor of siphoning the psychological well being cash to stability the finances. Washington didn’t like that characterization one bit. She characterised any dialogue over what the Metropolis may use the remainder of the promised cash for as a “diversion.”
Regardless of Washington’s try to spin, Central Workers Director Ben Noble stated Morales’s level was roughly true–finally, the Mayor will ask the council to let him use JumpStart funds to stability the deficit. He wasn’t positive how a lot cash the Mayor would wish to use, however he stated in all probability greater than the tens of millions the council declined to spend on psychological well being programming.
Council Member Dan Strauss, who abstained final week, solid the decisive vote in opposition to Morales’s $20 million modification. He and Morales cosponsored a compromise modification to authorize an extra $2.25 million on prime of the Mayor’s $10 million plan for addressing violence in faculties. Washington stated that the Metropolis may realistically spend an extra $2.25 million by the top of the 12 months.
The council voted unanimously to approve the compromise modification, leaving $7.75 million on the desk.
