Seattle News, Views, and Brews
Jul 22, 2026 · 28 min · 14 segments
Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and…
Brian CallananHost
Well, David, I'm going to send us instantly into the weeds with the weighty topic of the supplemental budget, which the council is set to approve this week.
So folks, this is something the mayor's office sends down to the council midyear, making some changes in terms of hiring and capital projects, usually not too big of a deal.
The idea here is to meet some needs that were unforeseeable at the time the 2026 budget was adopted in November of last year.
The number that jumped out at me, David, the mayor is calling for an increase of $94 million coming from the general fund.
About 84 million of that is because of the cost of the new contracts for the city's police union.
So I wanna look at kinda what's happening now and what's going to be going on in a few months as the mayor is required to present a balanced budget.
Yeah, I mean, sig- significant to the point where people in, in, you know, the analysts in City Hall and from the police department were saying, "Look, I mean, we don't necessarily have the funding for this, and, and we may have to pull back on the amount of hiring that we're doing if we don't get new funding." And so, you know, if you look back on the last several budgets, SPD has been the budget that has grown the most, even as other departments have seen reductions-
And you know, I mean, that really has to do with the fact that, I mean, it, it's a few things.
They, they negotiated one contract, became the highest paid in the state, and then almost immediately got y- another significant raise.
And then, you know, they, they've been pretty successful actually in, in hiring new officers.
So it is a trend that I don't think, you know, even Katie Wilson is inclined to reverse or slow down.
We saw pretty clearly in the 2021 election that people are not particularly interested in shrinking the size of the police department.
Well, David, I'm going to send us instantly into the weeds with the weighty topic of the supplemental budget, which the council is set to approve this week.
So folks, this is something the mayor's office sends down to the council midyear, making some changes in terms of hiring and capital projects, usually not too big of a deal.
The idea here is to meet some needs that were unforeseeable at the time the 2026 budget was adopted in November of last year.
The number that jumped out at me, David, the mayor is calling for an increase of $94 million coming from the general fund.
About 84 million of that is because of the cost of the new contracts for the city's police union.
So I wanna look at kinda what's happening now and what's going to be going on in a few months as the mayor is required to present a balanced budget.
Yeah, I mean, sig- significant to the point where people in, in, you know, the analysts in City Hall and from the police department were saying, "Look, I mean, we don't necessarily have the funding for this, and, and we may have to pull back on the amount of hiring that we're doing if we don't get new funding." And so, you know, if you look back on the last several budgets, SPD has been the budget that has grown the most, even as other departments have seen reductions-
And you know, I mean, that really has to do with the fact that, I mean, it, it's a few things.
They, they negotiated one contract, became the highest paid in the state, and then almost immediately got y- another significant raise.
And then, you know, they, they've been pretty successful actually in, in hiring new officers.
So it is a trend that I don't think, you know, even Katie Wilson is inclined to reverse or slow down.
We saw pretty clearly in the 2021 election that people are not particularly interested in shrinking the size of the police department.
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