CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE related to increasing the Business License Tax rates and amending Section 5.45.050 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, Mayor Murray's 2016 State of the City speech doubled the original goal for expanding the City's police force from 100 new officers to a total of 200; and
WHEREAS, the recently completed police staffing study validated community concerns about the need to increase police visibility and investigatory resources; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Murray's 2016 State of the City called for updates and increased capacity at the City's 911 call center; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Police Department's (SPD) call center is facing increasing call volumes that have placed a growing strain on the current system. Calls have increased by 13 percent since 2010, and recent trends show no slowing in this growth; and
WHEREAS, initial work in developing the SPD's budget for the 2017-2018 biennium has identified the need for a number of significant information technology investments; and
WHEREAS, SPD is engaged in several large-scale technology projects. These include development of a Data Analysis Platform (DAP) that will allow SPD to both closely track individual officer performance and department-wide trends with an envisioned future state allowing for better use of available crime data to target police resources and deployment of Body-Worn Cameras to all patrol officers; and
WHEREAS, additional revenues are needed in order to fund these vital measures; and
WHEREAS, the City is increasing the current business license tax rates in two steps, with the first increase effective January 1, 2017, and the second increase effective January 1, 2018; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 5.45.050 of the Seattle Municipal Code, which section was last amended by Ordinance 123074, is amended as follows:
5.45.050 - Imposition of t...
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