Addiction treatment could get $40M boost from Seattle public safety tax

Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson’s Pathways to Recovery plan has unanimously cleared the council’s Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee.

Pathways to Recovery would dedicate up to 25% of the revenue, generated by the 0.1% local sales tax, increase to behavioral health and public safety programs, supporting expanded treatment access and community safety initiatives.

“I can’t express how often I pass someone who is bent over from the impacts of sustained drug use and think, ‘How can we just not do something about this poison that is out there?'” Nelson said at a meeting.

Seattle legislation would generate $40 million

The legislation would generate approximately $40 million a year for addiction treatment, diversion services, supportive housing, and facility improvements, making it a potential major step toward tackling addiction and homelessness in Seattle. 

“For far too long, we have watched people suffering on our streets from untreated addiction and mental illness deteriorate before us,” Nelson stated via a news release. “When we invest in people getting off the street and into treatment, we prevent crime, reduce emergency responses, save lives, and make every neighborhood safer. That is not just fiscally responsible; it is the moral thing to do.”

The full Seattle City Council is expected to vote on Tuesday.

Contributing: Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

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