Seattle Mayor pledges $916M to public safety in new budget

Seattle Mayor announces $900M public safety budget

Mayor Bruce Harrell revealed his proposed 2025-2026 budget for the City of Seattle this week.

SEATTLE - Mayor Bruce Harrell revealed his proposed 2025-2026 budget for the City of Seattle this week.

The Mayor, currently faced with a staggering $250 million budget shortfall, is ready to make cuts while also promising investment in improving public safety, affordable housing and addressing homelessness.

"It's no secret that this year we'll have to make some hard decisions," said council member Dan Strauss, head of the budget committee. "I’m glad and relieved to see the mayor’s team did not have to make as deep of cuts as were predicted in January of this year."

Seattle’s 2025-2026 budget earmarks a staggering $916 million for public safety, making it the largest allocation in the city’s spending plan. These funds are going directly to addressing crime, emergency responses, and community safety across the city.

Of that sum, $1.9 million would go to expanding the Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Team. Right now, the city only bankrolls six behavioral health professionals to respond to 911 calls. This new financial commitment would add 23 more people to the team and extend the hours of the community crisis responders to seven days a week.

The mayor also wants to dedicate $3.1 million to founding a Real Time Crime Center. This operation would be run by a third-party vendor and utilized by Seattle Police to capture, collect and assess surveillance footage from gun violence and crime hot spots across the city. At this point, the Real Time Crime Center is only a proposal. This week, members of City Council's Public Safety Committee voted unanimously in support of an ordinance that would establish this network.

The full council is expected to vote on the measure in the beginning of October.

An estimated $19.25 million will fund youth mental health and safety, including violence intervention specialists working inside schools, case management for families impacted by gun violence, and infrastructure improvements such as upgraded cameras, fencing, and door locking systems.

Interim City Budget Director Dan Eder confirmed that the budget does not include any new taxes but acknowledged the city’s ongoing struggle with expenses outpacing revenue.

Strauss emphasized that the budget does not yet account for the transportation levy, which if approved by the voters in November, will need to be incorporated into the current proposal.

A final vote on the budget is scheduled for the week before the Thanksgiving holiday.