SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's budget proposal includes a plan to use funds from the Payroll Expense Tax to help fill a gap in the city's general fund.
Harrell unveiled his $8 billion 2025-2026 budget proposal Tuesday, which includes balancing the city's $250 million deficit.
The proposal includes $8.3 billion in appropriations overall. It includes $916 million for public safety services, $264 million for education and human services, $145 million in arts, culture and recreation, and $91 million in utilities, transportation and the environment. It includes a $342 million investment in affordable housing in 2025, with another $343 million for the following year.
He said the plan does not include tax increases and does not require major employment cuts, although 159 city positions will be eliminated. Harrell said about half of those are currently vacant.
Instead, the proposal would use $287 million collected from the Payroll Expense Tax to help fill the city's $1.9 billion general fund gap. The Payroll Expense Tax, also known as JumpStart, was passed in 2019 and collected money from the city's largest companies to fund initiatives such as affordable housing, economic development and Green New Deal investments.
Harrell's proposal would eliminate the "rigid percentages" the tax followed in allocating money, allowing the city to use the funds for the city's general fund.
Harrell said in his proposal the Payroll Expense Tax collected nearly doubled the forecasted revenue. Even after using $287 million to cover the gap in the general fund, the city would be left with $233 million for the tax's original spending categories. The proposal includes $19.25 million toward youth mental health and violence intervention.
The extra money collected would allow the city to set aside $40 million in reserves to use if the payroll tax slips below forecasts in the future.