The Seattle City Council is voting on the city budget next Monday. They’ve made some changes in Mayor McGinn’s original proposal. Ross Reynolds talks with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn about the upcoming budget vote.
The Mayor of Kent, Washington is proposing another round of layoffs and new taxes to bridge a $2 million budget shortfall. Mayor Suzette Cooke presented her 2013-2014 budget to the City Council Tuesday. In her opening speech, Mayor Cooke called her budget “as ugly as the economic times we face.”
Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has asked for an additional $4.1 billion for basic education in his biennial budget proposal, a 39 percent increase compared to the current budget. Dorn says that’s what it’ll take for the state Legislature to fulfill its constitutional duty to fully fund K-12 education.
Tacoma officials are proposing slashing 217 city jobs over the next two years in order to bridge a looming budget gap of $63 million.
The police and fire departments would both lose 27 officers and two support staff. Other layoffs would result from the restructuring of several city departments.