by Vee Hua 華婷婷
On Sept. 26, Mayor Bruce Harrell revealed his 2023—2024 Proposed Mid-Biennial Budget Adjustments, which continues to place focus on the City's One Seattle comprehensive plan priorities. One Seattle focuses in large part on activating the downtown core, creating housing, increasing walkability, and combating displacement challenges.
Since that date, the proposed budget has been in the hands of the Seattle City Council, which has been hearing public comment and making adjustments. On Oct. 27, members of City Council went through all the proposed budget amendments one by one over the course of nearly six hours. The conversation has been divided into Part 1 and Part 2, viewable in its entirety on the Seattle Channel.
Nearly the first hour and a half were reserved for public comment. Topics that were discussed included budgets around labor, housing services, policing, health services, substance use treatment, infrastructure, the arts, and uses for the JumpStart payroll expense tax. With all of these amendments in consideration, Seattle City Council will vote on the final budget on Nov. 21.
Previously, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, chair of the Select Budget Committee, had said Seattle City Council will prioritize three tenets: accountability, to provide greater transparency in the budget forecast and increase community engagement; sustainability, to address concerns about new proposals and initiatives when core City services that have been underfunded need to be prioritized; and equity, to ensure that critical investments in affordable housing, residential services, climate resilience, and wage equity are made.
To help Seattle residents better understand the City budget, City Council has created a new tool called the Seattle Budget Dashboard to make a more transparent and easy-to-understand process. A video tutorial provides a walk-through of the tool.
There are multiple ways for Seattle residents to participate in the budget process and offer their feedback. They can:
A number of locations around South Seattle have opened a request for qualifications (RFQ) — or a call for artists to create murals. For all projects, artists over the age of 18, especially BIPOC artists, with personal ties to the related neighborhood are preferred. Artist teams may also apply. All must demonstrate an ability to work within a strict project timeline; they will also be asked to submit a budget that includes artist fees, travel costs, arts supplies, and rental equipment.
The Chinatown-International District (CID) Small Business Relief Team (SBRT) is a joint collaboration between the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), Friends of Little S i Gn (FLS), and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda). Their work is centered around COVID-19 mitigation and recovery, and they are seeking muralists for each of the following locations:
Each mural location was chosen based on high levels of community interest, visibility, and proximity to gathering spaces.
The RFP and details about each wall can be seen on the SCIDpda website; the deadline for submitting the RFP is 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
SCIDpda is also seeking a mural artist for Beacon Pacific Village, a mixed-used affordable housing development located in North Seattle. The site is located in the north lot of the historic Pacific Hospital Campus. The development will be broken up into two phases, and the first phase will be completed by August 2024. According to a listing on SCIDpda, features of the development will include:
Suggested themes for the mural are history, family, community, healing, belonging, inclusion, journey, and intergenerational.
The RFP and details about each wall can be seen on the SCIDpda website; the deadline for submitting the RFP is 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
As the South Seattle Emerald reported in September 2023, updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters are now available. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is also alerting residents that it is perfectly safe to get a COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine simultaneously.
DOH recommendations for the new 2023—2024 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines include:
Those who wish to find a vaccine location can easily use the Washington State Department of Health's Vaccine Locator and see all options near them.
King County still tracks ongoing COVID-19 metrics through the Public Health — Seattle & King County dashboard.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, chair of the Select Budget Committee, calls the Friday, Oct. 27, meeting to order. Screenshot from the Seattle Channel.
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