Wednesday's budget session: 58 Council proposals for parks, transportation, fire, arts and business. Who filed what

The Seattle City Council's Select Budget Committee meets Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. for the second of three days of councilmember proposals to change Mayor Katie Wilson's 2027-2028 budget. Central Staff has posted the proposal packets for all five departments on the agenda: the Office of Arts and Culture, the Office of Economic Development, the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Seattle Fire Department, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

These sessions are where residents can see exactly what each councilmember is asking for, before the budget chair decides what stays. Councilmembers filed about 170 changes overall, which KUOW reported is more than usual, and many are not expected to survive in a tight year.

This follows our look at Tuesday's 36 proposals.

What our records add: the count

Counting prime sponsors across the five packets:

• Rob Saka (District 1): 15
• Dan Strauss (District 6, budget chair): 13
• Joy Hollingsworth (District 3, Council president): 11
• Robert Kettle (District 7): 7
• Eddie Lin (District 2): 6
• Dionne Foster (Position 9): 3
• Maritza Rivera (District 4): 2
• The committee as a whole: 1, the October forecast update for SDOT

Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Position 8) and Debora Juarez (District 5) are not prime sponsors of any Wednesday item, though both co-sponsor several.

By department: Parks 17, Economic Development 15, Arts 12, Transportation 10, Fire 4.

The money

Adding the General Fund cost shown on each item, Wednesday's proposals total about $34.7 million for 2027. That counts both versions of the fire overtime restoration, $7.1 million and $5.1 million, which are alternatives. Counting only one, the total is about $29.6 million with the full $7.1 million fix, or about $27.6 million with the smaller one.

The largest items:

• $7.1 million or $5.1 million a year to restore Fire Department overtime (SFD-001, Strauss; SFD-002, Foster). See our story on the two versions.
• $7 million a year for the District Project Fund for neighborhood traffic safety (SDOT-003, Saka).
• $3 million one-time for community arts programming (ARTS-002, Hollingsworth).
• $2.5 million to continue the Stabilize, Activate, and Invest Locally (SAIL) Fund for small businesses (OED-006, Lin).
• About $1.68 million a year to free Admissions Tax money for arts grants (ARTS-005, Foster).
• $1.45 million a year to restore graffiti removal (SPR-008, Kettle). See our story.
• $1.25 million for pothole repair (SDOT-004, Saka).

Several items cost the General Fund nothing because they redirect existing money. Rivera's OED-011 would reserve $1.8 million for the Back to Business Fund, and two transportation items would earmark transit measure money for summer shuttles, as we explain in Prop. 1 hasn't passed yet, but the Council's budget already counts on it.

How it compares

The October revenue forecast gave the Council about $13 million in room, KUOW reported. Tuesday's proposals added about $19.8 million in General Fund spending for 2027 by our earlier count, before Wednesday's. Anything beyond the available room has to be paid for with cuts elsewhere, and the mayor's budget already relies on one-time money to close the 2027 gap, The Center Square reported.

What's next

• Wednesday, Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m.: Select Budget Committee with public comment first. No votes are taken.
• Thursday, Oct. 29: CARE, City Budget Office, Human Services, the Mayor's Office and Police (meeting). Those packets were not posted as of Tuesday morning.
• Nov. 4: Strauss's balancing package. Nov. 5: public hearing.