Cuts at Seattle City Hall are on the table as city aims to fill $117M budget gap
The city of Seattle is facing a projected $117 million revenue shortfall in 2023. Senior Deputy mayor Monisha Harrell says the funding gap will have consequences around town.
"The city will have to cut back on some programs, we do know that," Harrell said. "We are evaluating all of our programs at this point in time. We are evaluating programs to make sure that we're getting the return on investment that we are seeking."
Seattle's economic growth was stalling out before Covid struck in early 2020. The pandemic snarled efforts to address the funding gap in the meantime. While pandemic relief from the federal government helped, that money is now drying up.
What kind of cuts could Seattle be considering?
Deputy Mayor Harrell says staff cuts will be the last option on the table. The city is considering leaving some open positions vacant, however.
Mayor Bruce Harrell is required under state law to submit a balanced budget to the City Council by late September.
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John O'Brien
Producer
John O’Brien is a KUOW newsroom producer. He works with the Morning Edition and All Things Considered teams to schedule, record, and edit interviews and stories on a variety of topics, from politics and public health to arts and culture. He learned to make radio in 2006 as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation and is a former host of KUOW's Speakers Forum.
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