Seattle Mayor Unveils Latest Budget Cuts

Deborah Wang
04/14/2009

The Seattle Public Library could see its capital budget reduced by two thirds under a series of budget cuts proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels.

The City's finance director appeared before the City Council on Monday, with a list of dozens of projects the Mayor wants to delay or to cut. They are all funded by the city's real estate excise tax. That's a tax you pay whenever you buy or sell a property. The money goes for capital improvements and major maintenance projects.

Last year, the city projected the real estate market would slow and that excise tax receipts would be down. But according to Finance Director Dwight Dively, the slowdown was steeper than expected.

Dively: "So we've gone down from roughly 67 to 43 for a difference of about $24 million in the revenue forecast for this biennium. That $24 million, there is no source to cover that at this point other than reducing spending."

In response, the Mayor proposes cutting half the capital budget for Seattle Center for this year and next. That means halting some planned roof repairs and parking improvements. About 45% of the capital funding for Seattle Parks would be slashed. That will affect playfield renovations, pavement restoration and urban forestry projects. The Fire Department would also be hit, with planned renovations of nine firehouses delayed.

But the biggest single cut appears to be to the capital program of the Seattle Public Library. The library had budgeted $3 million for major repairs in 2009 and 2010. The mayor would reduce that to about $1 million, a 66% cut.

Library supporters appeared at the City Council hearing to protest. Annie Searle is a board member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

Searle: "Attendance is up 20% in the libraries, the libraries are overflowing with people, using the computers trying to find positions doing job searches, creating new resumes for themselves. We've done such a wonderful job to get the libraries to this point it would be a shame to cut back on services."

City Finance officials say the cutbacks represent only 3% of the library's total budget. They argue that since many library buildings have recently been renovated, cuts to the library's capital budget are doable in the short term.

The Mayor's proposed $24 million in cuts are not the end of the story, however. The city has an estimated $43 million deficit to plug for this year, and is expecting an equally large budget gap in 2010.

Deborah Wang, KUOW News.

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