Spin
The package leaves the City's main reserves untouched. Slide 7 lists the Emergency Fund and Rainy Day Fund as not impacted.
Budget
Chair's Balancing Package Increases Spending by About $75M; Sources Include JumpStart, a Fire Pension Cut, and New Sales Tax Share
On Nov. 4, the Select Budget Committee reviewed Chair Dan Strauss's proposed Balancing Package, which adds about $75 million in net spending over 2027-28, by our sum. The Chair recommends a consent vote at the Nov. 13 committee meeting. Chair's package Central Staff presentation, slide 4
Most of the new spending is labeled “one-time” and about two-thirds of the funding sources that Central Staff lists are one-time or reserve money.
Central Staff's presentation lists the money in two buckets. General Fund: $22M from cutting the transfer to the Fire Pension Fund (Chair's package, p. 63), $7.6M from a new 0.01% families and children sales tax (p. 65), and $10.4M from fund balance, the October forecast and corrections. JumpStart payroll tax: $10M of forecast revenue, a $13M off-cycle payment and $19.1M in reduced contributions to the JumpStart reserve, which stays at $20M in 2027 and 2028.Central Staff presentation, slide 7
NOTE: Slide 7 prints no totals. Our sums are $40.0M General Fund, $42.1M JumpStart and $82.1M overall, and by our reading about $54M of it is one-time or reserve money. The bill text says part of the reserve supports the 2028 transfer (p. 62). Our $75M is a sum of the 77 package items that reduce the budget balance, including about $15M of new money paired with provisos. The two totals don't reconcile, and the slide doesn't say why.
KEY STATS
- About $75M. Council spending added in 2027-28, $51.5M in 2027 and $23.4M in 2028. CT sum of the package's financial summaries. Chair's package
- $42.1M, $22M and $7.6M. JumpStart items, the reduced Fire Pension transfer and the new sales tax share, the three main sources on Central Staff's slide. CT sums. Central Staff presentation, slide 7; Chair's package, pp. 63 and 65
- 36 of 77: Chair’s Package items that list Strauss as a sponsor or co-sponsor, worth about $42M. CT count from CBA sponsor attributions. Chair's package
Reality
It does cut the JumpStart reserve to $20M (FG-903-A, p. 62), and it leans on one-time money.
Receipts
- SponsorBudget Chair Dan Strauss (package); individual CBAs as noted.
- CommitteeSelect Budget Committee
- VoteNone. Nov. 4 was a briefing. The Chair recommends a consent vote at the Nov. 13 committee meeting (slide 4); committee votes are listed for Nov. 13 and Nov. 16, and the deadline for self-balanced amendments is Monday, Nov. 9, at noon (slide 11).
- Fiscal noteThe Mayor's proposed budget projected a $15.1M surplus in 2028 and smaller ones in 2029 and 2030 (KOMO) -> The package adds about $75M net. The materials don't show what is left of those surpluses.
Budget documents
The documents behind this brief. Saved PDFs preserve the version we read; original links may change.
Chair’s Balancing Package
Council Central Staff
Link only · No saved copy
Items in Chair’s Balancing Package
Council Central Staff
Link only · No saved copy
Inf 3021 - Chair’s Balancing Package
Council Central Staff
Link only · No saved copy
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