‘Big Brother watching you go number 2’: Jake and Spike split over Mayor Wilson’s plan for more high-tech toilets

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson wants to spend $1.4 million a year on 10 more high-tech Throne public toilets while cutting $50 million and 128 positions to close a $175 million budget gap, according to Seattle Red 770 AM.

The plan divided KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill. Jake questioned the cost and the privacy trade-off, while Spike argued the toilets could pay off by bringing visitors downtown.

Jake took issue with Wilson backing toilets that require users to scan a QR code to get in.

“I thought Katie Wilson was like an anti-surveillance person. You’re telling me now I got to pull out my phone, use a QR code to get into the bathroom,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

He also pointed to the toilets’ ability to detect smoking and other misuse and send text messages to users.

“This is Big Brother, Big Sister watching you go number two, and Katie Wilson says it’s a good idea,” Jake said.

Jake questions price tag of high-tech toilets

The toilets drew attention during the World Cup, when Jake described the city paying $116,000 per toilet each year for maintenance, cleaning, and support. Jake recognized that a private vendor can place the toilets where the city wants them without building permanent restroom infrastructure.

“If you’re contracting with a private company to come in and do something the city is unable to do, I understand that trade-off,” Jake said.

But the cost remained his biggest concern.

“We’re talking about a city that is $175 million in the hole next year, and they want to spend $1.4 million on 10 new toilets that they don’t own. That’s a hard ask, I think, for people,” Jake said.

He argued that the city should focus on safety and cleanliness first, including the restrooms it already has.

“Like they already have toilets, they could just clean those. The city has toilets,” Jake said.

He also pointed to the hundreds of millions spent on the downtown waterfront.

“They didn’t think to build bathrooms,” Jake said.

Spike argues the toilets could pay for themselves

Spike agreed that the city could buy hundreds of standard portable toilets for the same money. But he argued that those units quickly become unsightly and vandalized.

He suggested that putting the high-tech toilets in strategic spots, including near large events, could make downtown more attractive to tourists who complain that they can’t find a clean, safe place to go.

“If you tell folks, hey, look, we have a clean, safe public facility for you to use. It may draw more business into the community. It may bring folks into downtown,” Spike said.

Spike pointed to the World Cup pilot, which he described as getting strong reviews, with an average stay of two minutes and no vandalism. Jake noted only one broken window, which Spike said the vendor fixed the next day.

“I’d rather the city spend money and deliver a service that they can count on, and guarantee is effective, useful, safe to use, and welcoming than spend half that on 200 porta potties that are all garbage,” Spike said.

Spike also downplayed the surveillance concerns. He acknowledged that scanning in makes users accountable if a toilet is damaged.

“No one’s watching you go. They just know who checks in,” Spike said.

When Jake asked where he landed on the proposal, Spike didn’t hesitate.

“I’m into this,” Spike said.

Time limits raise one more concern

Spike also mentioned that the toilets have a 10-minute limit and warn users when time is running out, prompting one last question from Jake.

“What if I’m having some sort of a digestive, super bad situation?” Jake said.

“Well, you have to get back in line and go back in, finish your biz,” Spike responded.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3