The mayor pledged to reveal the Seattle Comprehensive Plan for growth by early March and teased efforts to coordinate growth in South Downtown.
Mayor Bruce Harrell spoke for 45 minutes on Tuesday in his annual “state of the city” speech, but key questions linger about the work ahead for the City of Seattle in 2024. No question looms larger than how to close a gaping budget deficit that is currently estimated around $230 million for 2025 and even more the following year. While Harrell and his allies have yet to offer concrete ideas on where the money to close the budget gap will come from, the mayor did seek to take one option off the table, namely raising taxes.
“The size of this deficit means we will have difficult financial decisions ahead, and, while there are some who would suggest that the answer lies in new revenue, the fact is that passing a new or expanded tax will not address the fundamental issues needed to close this gap in the long run,” Harrell said. “Without changes to how we budget, without changes with how we think about budgeting, this problem will occur again and again and again for the city for years ago delivering a sustainable, balanced budget is a basic responsibility of city government.”
The Mayor largely spent the first two years of his term ignoring the well-known impending deficit, and even sent the city council a 2024 budget that included new ongoing costs for the city to take on, pushing up the expected shortfall up by nearly $50 million annually.
In 2022, the Harrell administration commissioned a “Revenue Stabilization Work Group” inviting progressive, labor, and business leaders to collaborate to seek solutions, but the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce ended up spiking the group’s report, which ranked potential new revenue sources, as it was issued, arguing cuts rather than new revenue was needed.
It was only just weeks ago that Harrell instituted a hiring freeze across all City departments — police and fire excluded — that signs of impending action became visible. Yesterday’s speech was further indication that he has sided with the chamber.
