If at first you don’t succeed, plan, plan again
The City of Seattle spends roughly $86.7 million per year on programs and services meant to abate and ameliorate the homelessness crisis, officials told members of the City Council on Sept. 14.
According to the analysis, Seattle spends nearly half of that total on emergency shelter and services, and 28 percent on housing. Homelessness prevention takes up 8 percent of funding, and access to services another 7 percent. The remainder covers operational costs.
Although the homelessness crisis, declared an emergency nearly three years ago by the city and county, is a regional problem, the vast majority of people experiencing homelessness stay in Seattle city limits.
The Mayor’s Office has responded with a “homelessness sub-cabinet” comprised of departments that work on homelessness response in some way. This builds on former Mayor Ed Murray’s plan, which created a cabinet position meant to work across departments to coordinate the homelessness response. That job, filled by George Scarola, was moved to the Department of Finance and Administrative Services.
The new subcabinet is designed to fulfill many of the same functions by aligning city departments and resources and resolving planning issues.
Coast to coast
The city of Seattle was one of 20 winners in the American Cities Climate Challenge, an effort spearheaded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The campaign aims to fulfill the letter of the Paris Climate Accord, which the Trump administration exited in 2017.
The award means that Seattle will be part of a two-year acceleration program and receive resources to meet its climate goals, focusing on both the energy efficiency of Seattle buildings and a reduction in emissions from cars and trucks.
Mayor Durkan has floated ideas to reduce traffic congestion and emissions in downtown such as tolling city streets. Former Mayor Tim Burgess also committed the city to banning gas cars from the downtown core by 2030.
The Durkan administration has also come under fire, though, from bicycle and public transit advocates, who are concerned about bicycle safety and the suspension of a streetcar project that would connect the existing routes.
The Central City Connector was originally estimated at $143.2 million, but a review released on Aug. 31 found that the construction costs had jumped to $252 million.
Strikes over
Students in the region will be going back to school this week after local teachers unions won significant pay increases and called off strikes.
Tacoma Public Schools teachers approved a deal to end their strike on Sept. 14 after winning an average 14.4 percent raise. Seattle Public School employees voted to strike but avoided an actual walkout after receiving a 10.5 percent raise.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshleyA_RC
Check out the full Sept. 19 - Sept. 25 issue.
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