CARE's budget on Thursday: Strauss would restore 14 crisis responder jobs, Rivera wants shorter non-emergency waits

The City Council's proposals for the Community Assisted Response and Engagement department, known as CARE, are now public. The department runs Seattle's 911 call center and sends unarmed crisis responders to some calls, and its budget is one of the questions this fall.

Council Central Staff's CARE packet for Thursday's Select Budget Committee meeting has six items. Two would add money; the rest ask for reports or direct how existing money is spent.

This is a follow-up to our Oct. 27 story, A crisis responder vehicle was stolen during a Greenwood welfare check. When we wrote it, the packet had not been posted and it was not known whether anyone would try to restore the crisis responder positions the mayor's budget cuts.

Crisis responders: the answer is yes

CARE-001-A, from Budget Chair Dan Strauss with Eddie Lin and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, would add about $2.26 million a year in 2027 and 2028 to fund 14 Community Crisis Responder positions. They are vacant now, and the mayor's budget reduces their funding.

According to Central Staff's October budget memo, the 2026 budget added 24 responder positions and 10 have been filled; the memo said current citywide deployment would be maintained under the mayor's plan. Strauss raised concerns about the cut when budget season began, in a Council release.

911 non-emergency line

CARE-006-A, from Maritza Rivera with Rob Saka and Robert Kettle, would add two 911 dispatcher positions, about $293,000 in 2027 and $296,000 in 2028. A proviso would require the money to go to call takers who prioritize non-emergency calls, "with the intention to decrease non-emergency line wait times."

LEAD and CoLEAD

CARE-007S-A, also Rivera's, with Saka and Joy Hollingsworth, asks for quarterly reports starting April 1, 2027 on the LEAD and CoLEAD diversion programs. It lists 12 questions, including how many participants finish substance use treatment, how many with prior records have no new police contact for a year, how many drop out, any overlap with the City Attorney's Connection Court, and a comparison with a matched group of people arrested on similar charges. We explained Connection Court in an earlier story.

The gun violence plan, from three directions

The mayor's budget moves $1.2 million in gun violence money from Human Services to CARE, making CARE the city's coordinating department, the packet says. Three CARE items respond:

• CARE-002S-A (Hollingsworth, with Debora Juarez and Kettle): an implementation update on the Mayor's Gun Violence Plan by March 31, 2027, including timelines, a list of all city gun violence investments and how success will be measured.
• CARE-003-A (Lin, with Rinck and Dionne Foster): a proviso reserving $250,000 of existing money for local planning and community violence intervention providers to work alongside a national "focused deterrence" consultant such as the National Network for Safe Communities.
• CARE-004S-A (Lin, with Kettle and Rinck): a fuller report by Dec. 1, 2027 on every city gun violence investment, contracting and coordination with King County.

Separately, Rivera's MO-002-A in the Mayor's Office packet adds $418,000 for a two-year contract with an organization like the National Network for Safe Communities, which we covered when she announced it.

What our records add

The Council's intent to hire that national group is already on record. Rivera's Resolution 32217 passed 7-0 at the Sept. 15 meeting, with Foster and Rinck abstaining. In the Public Safety Committee on Sept. 8, Lin abstained. Lin is now the prime sponsor of the $250,000 proviso meant to work alongside that contract. Asked about the resolution in September, Mayor Wilson said, "This is not a time for grandstanding and politicking," KUOW reported.

What's next

• Thursday, Oct. 29: CARE proposals at the Select Budget Committee (agenda item). No votes are taken.
• Nov. 4: Strauss's balancing package. Nov. 5: public hearing (meeting page).