Mayor Durkan, Seattle council ‘set differences aside’ for new COVID-19 relief package
Aug 21, 2020, 12:54 PM | Updated: 12:57 pm
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
After weeks of conflict between Mayor Durkan and Seattle City Council, city leaders have come to an agreement over a new COVID-19 aid package.
City Council responds after Seattle mayor vetoes COVID relief bill
The joint amended relief package creates and extends $45 million in COVID aid programs through the end of 2020 and into 2021. The plan will invest an additional $21.25 million in COVID-19 relief in 2020, and another $23.75 million to be distributed in 2021. It will leave over $50 million in the city’s reserves to mitigate future expected budget shortfalls. That new spending is in addition to the $233 million the city has invested in aid as part of its 2020 budget.
This comes after Durkan had vetoed the council’s previous unanimously-passed relief proposal, which would have pulled $86 million from the city’s emergency funds to help families and small businesses. The mayor said in a letter to the city clerk that it would have been irresponsible to drain the entirety of the rainy day and emergency funds in the first few months of what’s likely a multi-year crisis.
Councilmembers responded in the following days, claiming that Durkan’s veto would “flatline Seattle’s recovery,” and that the city’s emergency funds were designed to address immediate needs like the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The proposal agreed to by Durkan and the council Friday represents a rare compromise between the two parties, who have frequently sparred in the last year over the city’s soda tax, its homeless response, and police department funding. At least three councilmembers have also called for the mayor’s resignation in just the last few months.
Facing COVID-19 shortfall, Mayor Durkan proposes cuts to SPD
“Over the last week, I have worked with Council to develop a joint solution that serves our communities,” Durkan said in a news release. “In the coming weeks, I am confident we can continue to partner on issues – even when we may disagree. Partnership between the Executive and Council is critical, and it’s what our residents expect of us.”
“The Mayor and Council are striving to set our differences aside in the hope of doing right by the people of our city and supporting those who need government to serve them well today and in the future,” Council President Lorena Gonzalez echoed.
The City expects to face a $326 budget shortfall brought on by the pandemic.
