Seattle's budget gets rewritten starting Tuesday. Here's the three-day schedule and what's at stake

Next week is when Seattle's City Council starts putting its own stamp on the city's next two-year budget. From Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Thursday, Oct. 29, the Select Budget Committee will hear councilmembers' proposed changes to Mayor Katie Wilson's 2027-2028 budget, department by department.

The budget pays for police, fire, parks, shelters, street repairs and much more. Changes proposed this week are the first sign of which of the mayor's cuts the Council may try to reverse, and what it might cut instead.

The mayor's plan, in brief

Wilson proposed about $9.1 billion for 2027 and $9.5 billion for 2028, The Center Square reported. The general fund, the city's main flexible account, is about $2 billion. The plan closes a projected general fund gap of $175 million for 2027 without major new taxes, relying on about $50 million a year in general fund reductions and the elimination of 128 positions, 13 of them filled, according to the same report. It also proposes a 10.7 percent increase in building and land-use permit fees, an $11 per-unit rental registration fee charged every other year, and a parking tax increase, all of which need Council approval.

What our records add: the Council's own analysis

The Council's Central Staff presented a general fund balancing analysis at the committee's Oct. 13 meeting (agenda item). Its main points:

• When the Council passed the 2026 budget last November, it projected general fund deficits of about $149 million in 2027 and $129 million in 2028.
• The mayor's plan balances both years on paper, ending 2028 with $15 million in the general fund, by combining a better revenue forecast, spending cuts, moving programs to the JumpStart payroll-tax fund, and using one-time fund balance.
• Even so, analysts identify an underlying structural deficit of about $23 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028, requiring more draws on fund balance until 2030.
• Because programs move into JumpStart, that fund would need cuts or transfers to balance starting in 2029.

The three-day schedule

Each day starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, according to the agendas posted for each meeting. Departments are listed in agenda order:

• Tuesday, Oct. 27 (agenda): public comment, then an overview of budget proposals (Inf 3017), followed by Seattle Municipal Court, the City Attorney's office, Labor Standards, Civil Rights, Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, Housing, Planning and Community Development, Construction and Inspections, Sustainability and Environment, Education and Early Learning, Neighborhoods, City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, Information Technology, and Finance and Administrative Services.
• Wednesday, Oct. 28 (agenda): Economic Development, Transportation, Fire, Arts and Culture, Parks and Recreation, and Seattle Center.
• Thursday, Oct. 29 (agenda): Human Services, Police, CARE (the city's civilian crisis response department), the City Budget Office, and the Office of the Mayor.

The agendas say councilmembers will discuss Council Budget Actions, which change spending, and Statements of Legislative Intent, which ask departments for reports or plans. One proposal already public is Councilmember Maritza Rivera's $418,000 request to hire a national gun violence group, announced in an Oct. 21 Council release.

Who decides

The committee includes all nine councilmembers. Dan Strauss (District 6) chairs it and Maritza Rivera (District 4) is vice chair, according to the committee page. When the budget process began, Strauss said in a Council release that his focus is "safety, affordability, and stability," and that he had concerns about proposed cuts to CARE's crisis responders and to the Fire Department.

What's next

After this week, the committee calendar shows:

• Nov. 4: the budget chair's balancing package, the Council's first full rewrite of the mayor's plan.
• Nov. 5: public hearing, with remote comment at 1 p.m. and in-person comment at 5 p.m.
• Nov. 13, 16 and 19: committee votes.
• Nov. 20: final vote at a special City Council meeting.

The committee page notes the schedule is subject to change. You can sign up for public comment through the Council's website.