‘A $13 million mistake’: Ursula blasts Seattle’s ‘ineptitude’ after major SPD payroll error

More than 900 Seattle Police Department employees received excess back pay totaling approximately $13.1 million after the city used incorrect wage rates to calculate retroactive raises, the City of Seattle confirmed to KIRO Newsradio.

The error has Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, calling for the money to be returned — but also for answers about how the mistake happened.

“I mean, a $13 million mistake at a time when Seattle is staring at a $175 million budget hole,” Ursula said. “I’m just going to say that kind of ineptitude is only adding to this lack of faith that I have in how City Hall handles our money, and I want to point out that this was not a mysterious computer glitch, which is often what we hear.”

The city said the error was not caused by its payroll system, Workday. Instead, the calculation used 2020 base pay rates rather than 2024 rates to determine retroactive wages owed under the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) contract.

Employees were supposed to receive the difference between their existing 2024 rates and new rates reflecting a 6% increase. Using the older, lower rates made those payments larger than they should have been.

The money went out in June 12 paychecks. The City Budget Office learned of the problem in mid-July after SPD flagged a discrepancy between its budget and actual spending related to retroactive pay. The city informed the council in early August and expected to notify affected employees by Sept. 30.

For Ursula, the mistake raised questions about who was checking the calculations before the payments went out.

“I mean, this is someone who used the wrong pay rates, and somehow a $13 million mistake still made it all the way through the system,” Ursula said.

Gee: ‘Make sure you keep the same energy across the board’

Gee argued that people should apply the same standard to police overpayments that they would to any other organization receiving city money.

He posed a hypothetical: If Seattle accidentally overpaid Community Passageways, would listeners want the organization to keep the money or return it?

“Whatever your answer is to that, make sure you keep the same energy across the board, no matter who it is,” Gee said. “Now, the City of Seattle, you messed up. You made a mistake. However, now you got to get the money back.”

Still, both hosts urged the city to account for the burden repayment could place on employees who did not cause the error. Ursula reported that some officers had told her they were being asked to return between $10,000 and $20,000.

She supported reasonable payment plans that spread repayment over time, while maintaining that officers need to return the excess money.

“I mean, if the bank accidentally gave me a $10,000 deposit, and I saw that money, and it was great for a while, even if I ended up spending it, I need to pay it back,” Ursula said.

Union wants accurate numbers before repayment

SPOG president Kent Loux emphasized that the guild was not trying to keep money its members were not entitled to receive. The union also wants to resolve underpayments.

“We’re not looking to keep money that isn’t owed to us,” he said. “That’s not the point at all. We just want to make sure that what we are paying back is accurate. Looking at these overpayments, we also want to address the other side of this equation, which is some of the underpayments that we’re working through too. So, what we’re really fighting for is just accurate numbers.”

The city confirmed it must bargain with SPOG over how members will repay the money. The guild has already filed a batch grievance on behalf of affected employees.

Most impacted employees are represented by SPOG, though smaller numbers belong to the Seattle Police Management Association or Teamsters 117. Those unions’ contracts already include procedures for addressing payroll errors, according to the city.

The city could not provide a definitive timeline for recovering the money because of the required bargaining and grievance processes.

City outlines new checks on retroactive pay

To prevent another error, the city outlined a new requirement for retroactive payments to receive prior approval from the City Budget Office, Office of City Finance and the affected department. The Office of City Finance is also updating its payroll manual to reflect that requirement.

The overpayments pushed SPD’s 2026 expenses approximately $13.1 million above projections, requiring additional budget authority included in a year-end supplemental budget proposal sent to the council in September.

The city expects no effect on its long-term finances if the money is recovered. In the short term, however, the overpayment meant $13.1 million in general fund money was unavailable to support the proposed 2027-2028 budget.

For Ursula, recovering the money does not resolve the question of accountability.

“So, who’s being held accountable for that is one of the questions I have,” Ursula said.

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.