MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle council votes to move parking enforcement away from SPD

Aug 17, 2021, 6:48 AM | Updated: 11:04 am

Seattle parking enforcement, SPD...

A Seattle parking enforcement officer. (City of Seattle)

(City of Seattle)

The Seattle City Council voted 7-0 on Monday to move the city’s parking enforcement officers out of the police department and into the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Council approves bill limiting SPD’s use of less lethal weapons during protests

This marks the latest move from city leaders to “reimagine” the structure of Seattle law enforcement. While the council and mayor’s office have clashed frequently over police reform in the last year, both parties have been aligned on this proposal since it first surfaced.

In practice, it will move just over 100 parking enforcement officers out from SPD’s purview, and place them under the control of SDOT.

It also comes after months of delays brought on by a disagreement between the parking enforcement officer union and the union representing their managers.

Those delays date back to late May, when city council approved the transfer of 911 operations away from SPD and into the nascent civilian-controlled Community Safety and Communications Center (CSCC). The council passed an ordinance to create the CSCC last November, and established what it hoped would be its two primary functions: 911 dispatch for SPD, and parking enforcement. The ordinance mandated that both be moved out of SPD by June 1.

While parking enforcement officers had hoped to play a bigger role in the city’s efforts to civilianize public safety within the CSCC, their managers preferred a move to SDOT (as did Mayor Jenny Durkan, several councilmembers, and SDOT itself). City council ultimately opted to delay moving parking enforcement until Sept. 1 to give the two parties time to negotiate, enacting a proviso allowing them to be paid under SPD’s budget in the interim period.

SPD interim chief: ‘We are a safe city’ despite concerns over police staffing

But without an agreement from either side in the months that followed — and with the pay proviso expiring soon — councilmembers said it was time to act, deciding “that a potentially expanded role for parking enforcement officers in traffic safety best aligns with the Seattle Department of Transportation’s mission and existing operations.”

“Unfortunately, this extra time did not really have an outcome of a different result,” Council Public Safety Chair Lisa Herbold said Monday.

Parking enforcement’s shift to SDOT will take effect 30 days after getting signed into law by Mayor Durkan.

MyNorthwest News

lead cookware washington...

Frank Sumrall

Washington becomes first state to ban lead in cookware

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Lead in Cookware Act Thursday, banning lead from any products used to cook food.

29 minutes ago

delta sexual assault...

Frank Sumrall

Woman sues Delta Air Lines after sexually assaulted on flight by employee

Last year, a woman was sexually assaulted on a Delta Air Lines flight from Phoenix to Seattle by an airline employee.

1 hour ago

Photo: Lewis and Clark High School students thought quickly to save their track coach's life....

Julia Dallas

Spokane high school students save track coach’s life after his heart stops

Two Spokane high school students used their quick thinking and past training to save their track coach's life last week.

3 hours ago

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

15 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

17 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

18 hours ago

Seattle council votes to move parking enforcement away from SPD