Seattle Council shifts $15M saved by officer departures to community-based programs

SEATTLE – Seattle City Council has decided to shift some of the $ 15 million savings related to the departure of police officers into community-based programs.

The police will withhold about $ 10 million for technology projects and other expenses, while about $ 5 million will be invested elsewhere in a “hybrid approach” described by Councilor Teresa Mosqueda.

The plan will partially meet the commitments made by the Council in 2020 to reduce the police authority’s budget in 2021. The vote was 8 to 1, with Councilor Kshama Sawant calling for the department to keep less money.

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The council’s mid-year budget legislation is somewhat in line with a plan proposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan this summer, despite a Durkan-backed proposal to allocate some money to hiring officials and incentives for employee retention was denied.

Police spending was back in the spotlight on Monday as more officials left City Hall this year than City Hall budgeted, resulting in an estimated $ 15 million in salary savings.

In November, Durkan and the council cut the police agency’s budget for 2021 by tens of millions of dollars, reversing a growth trend. But they also released the department to hire new officers.

The Council is also no longer pursuing dismissals of officials with records of wrongdoing on the basis of legal obstacles.

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