CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE related to increasing the Business License Tax Certificate Fee and amending Sections 5.30.060 and 5.55.030 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 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 closely track both 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 currently imposes a business license tax certificate fee on businesses engaging in business in the City; and
WHEREAS, the business license tax certificate fee is currently set at an annual rate of $110 for businesses with worldwide gross income of more than $20,000 and at $55 for businesses with worldwide gross income of $20,000 or less; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to maintain...
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