Seattle Budget Hearing Draws Calls for Shelter Expansion and Arts Funding

On Oct. 6, Seattle City Hall was a packed house. In attendance were housing advocates, leaders from arts and culture nonprofits, spiritual community members bearing loaves of bread and paper fish, exhausted firefighters, and former City Councilmember Kshama Sawant.

For close to three hours, nearly 100 speakers addressed Seattle City Council and voiced their support for prioritizing housing, arts and culture funding, and other community-based concerns for the proposed 2027–28 city budget. Mayor Katie Wilson, who submitted the proposed $9.1 billion budget for 2027 to council, was at the center of many comments, both positive and negative.

A plurality of commenters urged the council to fully fund Wilson's shelter expansion.

Sam Wolff, policy director of Purpose Dignity Action, an organization that develops community-based responses to public health and safety issues, discussed the success of the Streets-to-Housing effort in Pioneer Square, where he claimed 90% of unhoused people were matched with appropriate shelter or housing. "These outcomes are replicable," said Wolff. He asked the council to maintain Wilson's shelter proposal to "turn the corner on this crisis."

Humberto Marquez, a resident of North Beacon Hill, agreed with expanding shelter access after commenting on funding ranked-choice voting education. "When I see cops respond to [poor and homeless] communities at Jose Rizal Park, I see that loss of empathy. I think expansion of shelters will do a great job at fixing a lot of these problems."

The group Inspire Washington spearheaded a push to increase funding for arts and culture, the evening's second-most-discussed topic. Many speakers wanted to ensure that funding from the Seattle Shield Initiative goes toward arts and culture. Marlette Buchanan, executive director of Coyote Central in the Central District, said, "This investment sustains youth programs, supports the livelihood of teaching artists and other dedicated workers, and keeps creative opportunities accessible across our city."

Other speakers supported a proposal outlined in an open letter organized by hip-hop artist and community organizer Julie Chang Schulman to redirect $8 million of the proposed $68 million increase for the Seattle Police Department (SPD) toward year-round arts and culture funding. (Editors' Note: Julie Chang Schulman is the former ad representative for the South Seattle Emerald.)

Clarisa Perez, also known as La Flor Chicana, spoke in favor of the proposal and talked about the deaths of her brother and mother, wondering if they would still be alive "if public safety looked like art instead of police and punishment."

Much of the proposed police budget increase stems from compensation increases under a Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) contract signed during former Mayor Bruce Harrell's administration.

At one point, two groups with similar budget priorities took aim at different targets. First, Sawant railed against Wilson. "Democratic Party Mayor Katie Wilson ran as a self-described socialist. Now she has delivered a budget proposal that cuts the funding for public sector jobs and essential services … and gives a shocking $68 million increase to [SPD]."

Later, members of the Church Council of Greater Seattle spoke not about a person but a concept: abundance. They supported a budget focused on abundance for social services that decreased funding for surveillance and other policing tools.

While members of the Church Council held loaves of bread and paper fish, Rachel Ketola, an organizer from the Church Council, said, "We are pro-public safety. That's why we are asking you to protect funding for shelters, affordable housing, food security, and supports for our migrant and queer neighbors." She continued, "Believing policing and surveillance are our only paths to safety is scarcity thinking."

Some of the harshest criticism of Wilson's budget proposal came from firefighters who say the $7 million cut to their overtime budget could have extreme consequences. Sam, a firefighter who lives in Rainier Valley but works on Capitol Hill, said his station is currently stretched thin. "If we do not increase funding for the fire department now, everyone in this room will wait longer when you call 911," Sam said.

Toward the end of the public hearing, many commenters focused on rejecting the SPD budget increase and redirecting the funding not only to arts and culture initiatives but also to alternatives to policing and to social services.

The final commenter, Arin, gave the most succinct comment of the night about SPD's protest unit: "Defund P.O.E.T.," referring to the Police Outreach Engagement Team.

The next public hearing on the proposed budget will be on Nov. 5, with remote public comment beginning at 1 p.m. and in-person public comment at 5 p.m. The full council is scheduled to vote on the final budget package on Nov. 20.