Rivera asks for $418,000 to bring in a national gun violence team. Here's how the Council got here

On Oct. 21, Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) filed a budget proposal to spend about $418,000 on a two-year contract with the National Network for Safe Communities, a research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. The group would bring its "focused deterrence" approach to Seattle, according to a Council release.

Gun violence is one of the issues residents raise most often with city leaders this year, after the July mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle. The question now is not whether the city has a plan, but which plan the budget pays for.

What Rivera is proposing

The release says the group would analyze Seattle's gun violence patterns, bring together police, social services and community organizations, advise the city, and evaluate results after two years. Rivera said "we need a real gun violence prevention plan here in Seattle," and called for "an all-hands-on-deck approach — including the police." The release says the mayor's current public safety plan largely keeps investments from prior administrations.

Where the mayor's plan stands

Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled her own gun violence plan in September. KUOW reported on Oct. 14 that it puts more weight on unarmed crisis responders, conflict mediation and support for gunshot victims than on traditional policing, and that councilmembers have clashed with her over that balance. KUOW also reported that shootings and shots fired are down about 30 percent this year, with 94 people shot so far compared with 120 last year, according to police data. Wilson told reporters, "We have a gun problem in America — too many guns in too many hands."

What our records add

The resolution behind the request. Rivera's budget item follows Resolution 32217, which she sponsored. It declares the Council's intent for the city to adopt an evidence-based gun violence strategy that includes partnering with national experts such as the National Network for Safe Communities. City Clerk records (Legistar) show:

• Sept. 8, Public Safety Committee: approved as amended, with Robert Kettle (District 7), Rob Saka (District 1) and Rivera voting yes and Eddie Lin (District 2) abstaining.
• Sept. 15, full Council (meeting): adopted with seven yes votes. Dionne Foster (Position 9) and Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Position 8) abstained. Lin voted yes.

A resolution states intent but does not spend money. That is why the contract now has to go through the budget.

What the mayor's budget already includes. The Council's Central Staff memo on the CARE department, presented at the Oct. 15 budget meeting (agenda item), describes the money for the mayor's gun violence plan:

• $5.1 million in community violence intervention contracts would move from the Human Services Department to CARE, the city's civilian crisis response department.
• Another $1.2 million would go to CARE: $436,000 for two staff positions, $300,000 for case management software, and $464,000 for program audits, evaluation and technical assistance.
• The mayor's staff have said they intend to contract with one or more outside experts for technical help, but have not named any.

The memo gives councilmembers options, including restricting how some or all of the $1.2 million can be spent, requesting reports on how the plan is carried out, or both.

What's next

Councilmembers discuss their proposed changes to the CARE and police budgets on Thursday, Oct. 29. Rivera's release encourages supporters to testify at the Nov. 5 public hearing. Budget items need enough support to make it into the chair's balancing package on Nov. 4 or win separate committee votes Nov. 13-19, before the final vote on Nov. 20, according to the committee schedule.