‘Right now is not the time’: Ursula rejects shifting Seattle police funds for arts and culture

More than 115 Seattle arts and cultural organizations and 800 residents have signed an open letter asking the city council to move $8 million of a proposed police budget increase into arts and culture programs.

The letter argued that concerts, festivals, public art, and busy public spaces make neighborhoods safer by putting more people on the street, calling it “natural surveillance.”

“Right now is not the time to talk about trying to take away money from public safety,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin said in response to the letter. “Right now, I would say the No. 1 issue for the City of Seattle is public safety, along with the homelessness crisis.”

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed budget would raise Seattle Police Department (SPD) funding by $68 million, to about $556 million, and pay for 66 more sworn officers. The proposal comes as the city faces a $175 million general fund deficit. The $8 million the letter targets is about 1.4% of SPD’s proposed budget.

“I’m a proponent of the arts. I love the idea of doing things, like the walks or different things to bring people downtown and just to enjoy what this beautiful city has to offer,” Ursula continued. “But I don’t want to do it at the expense of taking money away from a situation where I do believe, even though it is a very, very big budget, we still don’t have enough police officers.”

City Councilmember Bob Kettle, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, has said in a letter that Wilson’s police funding proposal doesn’t go far enough. Wilson’s budget also leaves existing arts funding intact, though the city’s total arts contribution would fall by about $2.1 million from 2026 because FIFA World Cup grant money won’t recur.

“You can hold two truths at the same time,” KIRO host Gee Scott said. “This is how I look at this topic. Yes, public safety is important. Public safety, I do believe, is No. 1.”

The letter said the $8 million would more than double the city’s 2025 investment in community-led public events, which it credits with helping produce Seattle’s first homicide-free June since the 1970s. That figure is the letter’s own claim.

Julie Chang Shulman, who started the letter, said the money would fund year-round programming that builds relationships between neighbors.

“Imagine you have your home, in your home you have ring cameras … Every weekend, all you’re doing is protecting your house,” Gee said. “At some point, you gotta live a little bit.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.