Mayor Bruce Harrell answered that question Tuesday afternoon with the release of his proposed $8.3 billion 2025-2026 city budget. It largely — though not entirely — avoids cuts to city services and staffing while increasing investments in Harrell’s policy priorities.
It avoids deeper impacts by redirecting Jumpstart Payroll Expense Tax revenue into the general fund and away from its intended investments in affordable housing, small-business assistance, Green New Deal climate programs and the Equitable Development Initiative.
The Jumpstart transfer wasn’t enough to fully close the deficit, so the mayor’s budget proposes eliminating 159 full-time city positions, most of which are inward-facing roles such as IT and Human Resources.
“My guiding principle as mayor is that my obligation to you, the people of Seattle, is to do our best to spend every dollar we have toward the needs of the city and its people in a responsible and efficient and effective way,” said Harrell during his speech Tuesday in City Council Chambers.
The $8.3 billion breakdown
Harrell’s proposed $8.3 billion 2025 budget increases city spending by $400 million over the adopted 2024 budget.
Within that $8.3 billion, the city would spend:
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$3.8 billion on utilities, transportation and environment;
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$1.8 billion on administration;
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$969 million on public safety;
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$575 million for livable and inclusive communities;
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$542 million for arts, culture and recreation;
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and $515 million on education and human services.
Compared to 2024, that’s a $300 million increase in spending on administration costs, a $121 million increase in public safety, a $1 million increase for livable communities, a $47 million increase for arts and culture, and a $17 million increase for education and human services.
A large portion of the city’s budget is dictated by law and regulations governing how utility and transportation funds can be spent. Most of an administration’s policy priorities are established through the general fund, proposed at $1.9 billion in 2025.
City employees and supporters listen to Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2025 budget speech at Seattle City Hall on September 24, 2024. (David Ryder for Cascade PBS)
Dan Eder, City Budget Office interim director, said much of the overall increases came from investments in public safety, housing and homelessness, public health and initiatives meant to help Seattle “thrive.”
On public safety, the 2025 budget proposal increases Seattle Police Department’s budget by about $60 million over the 2024 adopted budget, including $10 million for additional emphasis patrols Downtown. It also continues investment in the expansion of the CARE Department police alternative-responder program, which will soon operate citywide instead of just in the greater Downtown area.
The mayor’s proposal also increases spending for firefighter and paramedic staffing, and invests in new pedestrian lighting Downtown along Third Avenue and in City Hall Park.
For housing, Harrell touted the large investments his budget proposes for construction and maintenance of subsidized affordable housing projects. The mayor has proposed spending $342 million on affordable housing, up a bit from this year’s $339 million investment and significantly higher than 2022’s $253 million.
To address homelessness, the mayor’s budget spends $3.2 million to maintain operations of 300 shelter beds previously funded by one-time federal pandemic relief grants set to expire this year. Harrell has also proposed spending $2.3 million to expand operations of the Unified Care Team, the city program that does homeless encampment outreach and removal.
Though the bulk of public health authority resides with King County, Harrell highlighted investments his budget would make in addressing the opioid crisis, including $5.7 million for a new overdose recovery center Downtown and $2.9 million for detox and inpatient treatment beds for people with substance-use disorder.
Balancing the budget
To avoid significant cuts to city departments and help pay for the increased spending on other programs, the mayor has proposed transferring to the general fund $287 million of the $430 million Jumpstart is projected to bring in next year. Another $43 million will be set aside in a reserve fund. That leaves $233 million for the Jumpstart spending priority areas established by the City Council: affordable housing, small-business support, climate programs and community development.
In addition to the projected $430 million in revenue next years, the mayor's proposal relies on unspent Jumpstart revenue from previous years.
The Jumpstart tax on high-earning employees at large companies has significantly outperformed its original revenue projections each year since it took effect in 2021. And the city has used those greater-than-expected revenues to help balance the budget every year, including using about $85 million last year.
The Council has allowed the general fund transfer on a year-by-year basis. Harrell’s proposal would require legislation that modifies the rules about how Jumpstart can be spent.
The mayor’s office says that the additional tax revenue is allowing it to fulfill Jumpstart’s promises and balance the budget deficit.
A coalition of 35 service providers, labor leaders and advocates released a statement before the mayor’s speech urging the city to pass new progressive taxes instead of redirecting Jumpstart money. They argue that the need for investments in housing, climate adaptation, small-business support and community development has only grown since Jumpstart was created.
“This structural shortfall requires a structural solution, not stopgap measures that will simply kick the problem another year down the road,” said the coalition’s press release.
In his speech, Harrell said, “We don't have the luxury of a pie-in-the-sky reimagining of our budget based on hope that our state's regressive tax system will magically change.”
In addition to the Jumpstart funds, Harrell’s proposal closes the general fund deficit by eliminating 159 city positions. About half of those positions are currently unfilled, thanks in part to a hiring freeze Harrell implemented at the start of 2024.
Of the 76 positions in which city employees face layoffs, about two-thirds come from Human Resources, Information Technology and Finance and Administration departments. Another 17 are permit review positions in the Department of Construction and Inspections.
On to the Council
With the mayor’s proposal now public, the budget heads to Councilmembers, who will begin a two-month process of making additions and corresponding cuts to impose their own policy priorities while maintaining a balanced budget.
In a statement released after the mayor’s speech, Council budget chair Dan Strauss thanked Harrell for his work and said, “It’s crucial that we center both fiscal responsibility and prioritize the investments the people of our city depend on — improving public safety, creating affordable housing, and addressing homelessness. We can and we must do both.”
This article has been updated to clarify how the mayor's Jumpstart proposal will work.
