Seattle Councilmember Kettle warns Katie Wilson’s budget caps police staffing at 15-year low

Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle warned that Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed budget could put Seattle’s recent public safety progress at risk.

Kettle pointed to a proposed cap of 1,250 police positions and said staffing levels could leave about 1,100 officers deployable by the end of 2028. But, even with those concerns, Kettle applauded Wilson’s proposed budget for not imposing any additional taxes.

“I commend Mayor Wilson for delivering a budget proposal that avoids raising taxes on Seattle residents during a time where affordability is on everyone’s minds, and I appreciate the tough fiscal situation her staff and the city has been thrust into,” Kettle said in a prepared statement. “However, capping our police staffing levels at numbers not seen in over 15 years poses a direct threat to our public safety posture and leaves our deployable force stretched unacceptably thin relative to our city’s growing population.”

The proposal would decrease police officer hiring by 12% in 2027 (128 hires) and 46% in 2028 (79 hires) relative to 2026 baseline hiring (145 hires). It would provide 43 net new hires in 2027, but calibrates 2028 for zero net new hires, with sustainment and replacement hires only.

The city’s police staff would be capped under the mayor’s budget at 1,151 fully trained officers, or 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents. For perspective, according to the FBI, comparable large urban centers had at least 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents in 2019.

“My commitment is to work collaboratively with the mayor and my council colleagues to learn more about the details of this proposal as we go through the budget process,” Kettle said. “Together, I believe we can explore responsible adjustments so we can ensure our staffing needs are met and set Seattle up for success in the future and beyond.”

Last week, Wilson unveiled a $9.1 billion budget proposal for 2027-2028 on Tuesday that included $50 million in cuts. Wilson’s budget priorities are shelter and homelessness response, public safety and Vision Zero, food access, affordable housing, and support for youth, immigrants, refugees, and the LGBTQ+ community, according to a post on her blog.

Now that the proposed budget is circulating, the Select Budget Committee will spend the next two months reviewing, amending, and finalizing a balanced 2027-2028 city budget. The committee normally adopts the budget in late November.

Community members are strongly encouraged to participate in the budget process. Public hearings are scheduled for Oct. 6 and Nov. 5. A complete list of ways residents can weigh in is available on the council’s Budget Basics page.

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