YOUR MONEY, THEIR VOTE: Key time for your feedback on city spending

In the comment discussion below our coverage of the shooting that injured two people on Alki last night, some are talking about larger issues of public safety, police, and politics. One immediate matter in which you still have time to give feedback is the city budget for the next two years, which will be finalized before Thanksgiving. Last week, city councilmembers discussed their proposed changes to what Mayor Bruce Harrell presented, and next Monday, the council’s budget chair, West Seattle-residing citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, presents her version of an amended budget. If you feel strongly about what the city should focus on (or not), you’ll want to send a message now, and consider speaking at the next public hearing, which is one week from today – online and in-person. In the short run, you can find out about the proposed budget amendments by using this online tool developed by the council. Here’s council staffer Joseph Peha‘s overview:

It lays out all 100 amendments with detailed information about each one:

o The department it pertains to

o The amendment number

o A short summary of what it does

o The Councilmembers who originally sponsored it

o A link to read a memo from Council’s policy staff

o And a link to watch the Council’s discussion of the amendment – timestamped to go right to that specific part of the meeting

The tool is interactive. You can filter amendments by Councilmember or department. And the number of amendments for each department is listed in the dropdown. Everything is also mobile friendly, so the tool will work on phones, tablets, etc.

After Councilmember Mosqueda presents her “balancing package” on Monday, and the public hearing next Tuesday (9:30 am – the agenda explains how to participate), there’s another round of council amendment opportunities, followed by a November 22nd public hearing and final voting November 23rd. (Here’s the budget calendar.) And if you’re just catching up on the city budget – here’s our coverage of the mayor’s original announcement, and key points.

Cindi B November 1, 2022 (12:06 pm)

Thank you for providing the link to the tool for reviewing the amendments. If you have any interest AT ALL about how the city spends money, this tool is a super fast way to scan through what is going on and makes it clear who to provide comments back to. It’s amazing how much goes on in the city and this is a good way to find who is supporting adding projects that you are interested in. Of course, you have to read the original budget proposal to get the full picture, but this is where special items are added.

James November 1, 2022 (12:43 pm)

$500,000 to refurbish 3 cottages in Bell Town; $200,000 for electric leaf blowers. With all due respect, the combined total of $700,000 would be put to better use building tiny homes.