Seattle City Council approves wage increases, simultaneously growing budget shortfall

SEATTLE — Seattle’s City Council unanimously agreed to give major raises to government workers while simultaneously admitting they don’t know how they’ll pay for it.

The vote ratified what was previously agreed upon by Mayor Bruce Harrell and multiple unions for city workers and non-represented employees. More than 11,000 employees will receive an almost 10% raise retroactive to 2023.

“(It) will grow the budget deficit that we're anticipating," said Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss, who sponsored the legislation.

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Council Central Staff Director Ben Noble reiterated publicly what was seen in internal documents, that the projected budget deficit will grow from $230 million to more than $245 million in 2025, as a result of the agreement.

Councilmember Tammy Morales immediately said it was clear that “we will need to have a discussion about increasing revenue.” Morales has been a proponent of the Jumpstart Tax, targeting large businesses.

Yet, Council President Sara Nelson quickly shot that down that idea saying that she and the Mayor have pledged to not increase taxes to get out of the budget shortfall.

“I think there are many ways of addressing our budget deficit including, unfortunately, cuts to service, reallocation of funds,” Nelson said on Tuesday.

It is all a backdrop for the tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the Seattle Police Guild, that according to one report, will give massive raises to the rank and file officers.

When asked about it on Tuesday, Harrell said: “We're excited about it. This is several years in the making. It's up to the officers now to make sure, they have to vote on it. But we think what we're trying to achieve is both compensation make us competitive to reach our recruiting numbers, demonstrating the respect we have for officers, and also the accountability pieces that I think (Federal Judge) Robart would be pleased with.”

Harrell was also asked how the city will pay for it all and responded: “Most of this was already accounted for in what we call reserves, it did take it up more, it increased. As we speak daily, we're going to address that issue, we will present a balanced budget to the city council. We know how to do that,” adding, “Driving that process is making sure that the essential service to the core services that the city has delivered to the people are not in any way reduced.”