Sticker shock
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is asking for a 75 percent increase in its budget for 2023, a figure that has members of the Seattle City Council calling on the authority to identify new sources of revenue.
KCRHA is funded jointly by the city of Seattle and King County, with the city providing the majority of the organization’s budget. Despite the fact that the KCRHA helps coordinate homelessness policy throughout the county, no other cities contribute.
KCRHA’s first budget was approximately $119 million, which rose to $170 million in 2022. The organization is asking for $209 million in 2023.
Much of the new money is proposed to go toward increasing the number of spaces for people experiencing homelessness. A proposal to the KCRHA governing committee included $5 million for safe parking, $15 million for daytime community spaces, $20 million for emergency housing and $20 million for high acuity shelter. It also adds $15.4 million for provider wages. According to the presentation, direct service workers in the homelessness system earn, on average, $19.70 per hour, and case managers earn $24.92.
The median household income in King County, in contrast, is $49.04 per hour.
Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who sits on the governing board, put forward a resolution saying that future budgets will need to include plans for revenue and that the existing proposal may have to come down if new funding isn’t identified. The governing board approved the resolution.
The proposal will now go to Mayor Bruce Harrell and Executive Dow Constantine, who will put together their own proposals to be considered in the fall, when the City Council begins its budgeting process.
Parking problems
The city of Seattle announced that it would have to refund or void more than 200,000 parking tickets issued between Sept. 1, 2021, and April 5, 2022, after it was discovered that the parking enforcement officers who issued the citations did not have the legal authority to do so, reported the Seattle Times.
The problem occurred after the City Council decided to move parking enforcement from under the auspices of the Seattle Police Department in an attempt to reduce the size of the department after the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
According to the Times, parking enforcement officers were not granted a “special commission” to allow them to continue to write tickets. Special commissions are required for people outside the police department to write tickets, although parking enforcement officers are not police officers.
The mistake could cost the city as much as $5 million.
Timm for a change
The Sound Transit CEO Selection Committee recommended Julie Timm, the head of the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) in Richmond, Virginia, for the top spot at Sound Transit. She could be approved for the job as soon as June 23.
If approved, Timm would replace Peter Rogoff, who has led the transit system since 2015. Rogoff announced in 2021 that he would be leaving the following year. The system is currently helmed by Interim CEO Brooke Belman.
GRTC operates a commuter bus service in Richmond. Sound Transit also includes rail lines and is in the midst of a major expansion plan called Sound Transit 3, a package which was approved by voters in 2016. The expansion is meant to add light rail, rapid transit buses, express buses and commuter rail in Pierce, Snohomish and King counties.
Alex Hudson, executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, cheered Timm’s nomination in a press release, calling her a “people-first” leader.
King County getting even?
The King County Council is considering a proposal to move elections for some county positions to even-numbered years instead of the current odd-year schedule in an attempt to increase voter participation in these races.
The change would affect elections for county executive, county assessor, county director of elections and county councilmembers. The proposal — sponsored by councilmembers Claudia Balducci, Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Girmay Zahilay — could be approved by the council by June 15. If they sign off, it would go to voters for final say on their Nov. 8, 2022, ballots.
To shift to the even-numbered schedule, the next term of each of these positions would be cut from four years to three, and then return to a regular four years.
Most counties in Washington hold their county elections in even years, but King, Washington, Snohomish and Whatcom counties are “home rule counties,” a designation which allows them to make the change, unlike most other counties.
According to county staff, voter turnout in even-numbered years has averaged 77 percent since 2010 while turnout in odd-numbered years hit an average of 47 percent. However, staff said, the ballots would become longer in even-numbered years, and “[i]t is unclear to what extent voter response rates are impacted by ballot length, ballot position, or voter interests in the types of races or measures.”
Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who is running for Congress in Washington’s District 8, released a statement opposing the change. Dunn argued that aligning the ballot federal and state contests would starve local issues of attention.
Ashley Archibald was the editor of Real Change through July 14, 2023, after working as a staff reporter for the newspaper for several years. She left to become a communication specialist for Purpose. Dignity. Action., previously known as Seattle’s Public Defender Association. Real Change is proud to know this talented person.
Read more of the Jun 8-14, 2022 issue.