(The Center Square) – Seattle’s affordable housing and homelessness crises would be addressed with $403.4 million in proposed funds from Mayor Bruce Harrell’s budget.
The Seattle Office of Housing would receive the highest amount of dedicated funds in its history with $253 million from Harrell’s proposed budget. The boost in funding for the department primarily comes from $138 million in JumpStart payroll tax dollars.
The Housing Department’s $253 million would see $228 million be used for multifamily housing projects; $17 million for homeownership and sustainability; and $8 million for department administration, according to the budget.
Harrell said the near quarter of a billion dollars to housing efforts would create hundreds of units of permanently affordable housing and advance affordable homeownership opportunities.
“By merging investments from our Housing Levy, Payroll Expense Tax and more, we are taking historic action to create places for people to not just get out of the elements, but to be stable, to recover and to thrive,” Harrell said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Harrell’s proposed budget dedicates $150.4 million in funds to homelessness. The King County Regional Homelessness Authority would be given $87.7 million from a transfer out of the $108 million that would be allocated to the Human Services Department in 2023 for homeless outreach, shelter, services and administration.
The budget states that this is a 13% increase in Seattle’s contribution to the authority from the 2022 revised amount of $77.5 million, excluding one-time federal funding received this year.
However, Harrell pledged around $118 million to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in his proposed city budget in May, following the authority’s requested budget of $227 million.
Unspent money from $40.6 million in one-time federal funding that was first made available as a lump sum in the 2022 budget will also be available to the authority for approved uses.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority would also receive $2.2 million in 2023 and $7 million in 2024 to sustain existing homeless programs and services previously funded with one-time funding. To build new tiny home villages, the authority would be allocated $2.4 million and $5 million for new safe parking lots to serve people living in vehicles.
According to the budget, the remaining $20.2 million of proposed spending for the Human Services Department budget would support city managed homeless programs with $16.6 million, $1.1 million for contract oversight and administration, and $2.4 million for expanded outreach support to connect homeless people to shelter and housing.
The Seattle City Council launched its budget process to review Harrell’s proposals for the upcoming biennial year. Councilmembers have until Dec. 2 to adopt a budget for the next fiscal year.