In the nearly two months since Mayor Durkan delivered her proposed budget to the city council on September 24th, 2018, I have worked every day fighting for funding for crucial projects in District 5. As part of my commitment to bring City Hall to you, I worked with the D5 Community Network to put on an in-depth Budget Forum with the head of the City Budget Office, Ben Noble, and the Director of the City Council’s Central Staff, Kirstan Arestad. I met with countless constituents and community organizations and my office read thousands of your emails in order to hear your needs and ensure that the City Council not only listened, but responded.

The following budget items are ones that I championed and worked with other councilmembers to include in the final budget that was passed on November 19th, 2018:

Building District 5

• $8 million for replacing the Lake City Community Center, bringing the total amount of dedicated funding for a brand new building to $16 million.

• Funding to complete the Pedestrian Bike Bridge that will cross I-5 to connect the Northgate and Licton Springs neighborhoods when light rail arrives in 2021.

• $128,000 for a feasibility study of a new Apprenticeship Program at North Seattle College, with the goal of making sure that our students can obtain good-paying jobs and stay in Seattle.

• $500,000 in additional funding for the Neighborhood Parks Street Fund, empowering residents to choose more projects for their neighborhood through the “Your Voice, Your Choice” program. D5 was awarded the most money in the city for the projects you voted for in 2018.

• $350,000 for a “Home Zones” pilot project, a new idea to calm traffic, keeping kids and pedestrians safe from cars speeding and cutting through neighborhood streets.

Caring for our Neighbors

• $200,000 to expand the hours for God’s Lil Acre, meaning that D5 will finally have an all-day hygiene center for our homeless neighbors to shower and wash their clothes.

• $575,000 for Seattle Helpline Coalition (including North Helpline) to expand homelessness prevention services, including financial assistance to prevent evictions and utility shut-offs, and assist with move-in deposits.

• $160,000 for important referral and navigation services on Aurora Avenue to assist people who are survivors of sex work, opioid addiction, or mental health disorders. Aurora Commons reports that 80% of the women they serve are homeless.

• $190,000 for Mother Nation, a non-profit providing culturally-informed healing, advocacy and homelessness prevention services for Native American and Alaska Native women. This funding couldn’t be more important in light of the recent study by the Urban Indian Health Institute that found Seattle had the highest number of murdered or missing indigenous women of the 71 urban cities surveyed.

• $269,500 from the Sweetened Beverage Tax dedicated to expanding food banks and their enhanced service centers in 2019.

Protecting Our Community

• Hiring 40 additional police officers, as well as 12 Community Service Officers so that the Seattle Police Department can strengthen its community outreach and community-based policing efforts.

• $1.2 million to expand the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program.

• Expanding the Navigation Team, including the addition of staff who will specialize in outreach for those living with mental health issues.

Thank you to everyone who contacted my office, reached out to other council offices to advocate for D5, and to the folks who came down to City Hall to give public comment. Because of this collaboration, I was proud to vote for a budget that addresses needs both in my district and across the entire city on issues ranging from public safety, neighborhood investments, and social services. I’d also like to thank Mayor Durkan and my colleagues, especially Budget Chair Sally Bagshaw, for their support of investment and services for District 5.

Posted: November 20th, 2018 under Councilmember Juarez