CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance 126237, which adopted the 2021 Budget; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the Budget; lifting provisos; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts; all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.
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WHEREAS, in 2020, in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a $100 million fund to “focus on up-stream investments for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities to address disparities and make meaningful changes that can be measured by community progress,” known as the Equitable Communities Initiative; and
WHEREAS, during the 2021 Adopted Budget process, the City Council reduced that funding to $30 million and placed two provisos on funds in Finance General, pending the recommendations of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force, in Council Budget Action FG-003-B-002; and
WHEREAS, the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force is comprised of 26 community leaders representing diverse constituencies with backgrounds in nonprofit, religious, labor, climate justice, health care and community; and
WHEREAS, the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force met more than 30 times between December 2020 to June 2021 to make recommendations for investments that begin to address generations of systemic and government sanctioned racism and oppression against communities of color and the resulting disparities related to housing and generational wealth, health and environmental justice, education, and small businesses;
WHEREAS, the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force collaborated with nine City departments in May and June 2021 to refine their recommendations and develop specific programmatic investments, including new City programs and expansions or modifications to existing programs, to implement the recommendations; and
WHEREAS, the Task Force has made its final recommendations and it is now time to lift the proviso on the funds and to appropriate them to the relevant departments to carry out the work recommended by the Task Force;
WHEREAS, the City expects to incur reasonable administrative costs to implement the recommendations of the Task Force using a portion of the $30 million (currently estimated at $1.95 million or 6.5% of the $30 million); NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The restrictions imposed by the following budget provisos, which limit spending on the following item, are removed because the conditions set forth in the provisos have been satisfied and they are no longer restrictions for any purpose, including those set forth in subsection 1(b) of Ordinance 126237:
|
Item |
Department |
2021 CBA |
Proviso |
Budget Summary Level |
|
1.1 |
Finance General |
FG-003-B-002 |
“Of the appropriation in the 2021 budget for Finance General Reserves, $29,500,000 is appropriated solely to fund the Equitable Communities Initiative and actions recommended to the City by the Equitable Communities Task Force and may be spent for no other purpose. Furthermore, none of the money so appropriated may be spent until authorized by future ordinance. The Council anticipates that such authority will not be granted until the Executive submits to the Council a plan for spending the funds that describes how the allocations were informed. The Council expects that there will be alignment between the Task Force and the Participatory Budgeting process to ensure that investments are coordinated.” “Of the appropriation in the 2021 budget for Finance General Reserves, $400,000 is appropriated solely to fund develop a robust facilitation process and convene community for the purpose of providing recommendations for the Equitable Communities Initiative and may be spent for no other purpose." |
General Purpose (BO-FG-2QD00) |
Section 2. In order to pay for necessary costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred, but for which insufficient appropriations were made due to causes that could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time of making the 2021 Budget, appropriations for the following items in the 2021 Budget are modified as follows:
|
Item |
Department |
Fund |
Budget Summary Level |
Amount |
|
2.1 |
Finance General |
General Fund (00100) |
General Purpose (00100-BO-FG-2QD00) |
($21,000,000) |
|
2.2 |
Executive (Office of Arts and Culture) |
Arts and Culture Fund (12400) |
Arts and Cultural Programs (12400-BO-AR-VA160) |
$2,000,000 |
|
2.3 |
Department of Education and Early Learning |
General Fund (00100) |
K-12 Programs (00100-BO-EE-IL200) |
$4,000,000 |
|
2.4 |
Department of Neighborhoods |
General Fund (00100) |
Community Grants (00100-BO-DN-I3400) |
$750,000 |
|
2.5 |
Department of Neighborhoods |
General Fund (00100) |
Community Building (00100-BO-DN-I3300) |
$1,800,000 |
|
2.6 |
Finance and Administrative Services |
Finance and Administrative Services Fund (50300) |
City Purchasing and Contracting Services (50300-BO-FA-CPCS) |
$1,000,000 |
|
2.7 |
Human Services Department |
General Fund (00100) |
Promoting Public Health (00100-HS-H7000) |
$2,500,000 |
|
2.8 |
Human Services Department |
General Fund (00100) |
Supporting Affordability & Livability (00100-BO-HS-H1000) |
$200,000 |
|
2.9 |
Human Services Department |
General Fund (00100) |
Supporting Safe Communities (00100-BO-HS-H4000) |
$1,500,000 |
|
2.10 |
Executive (Office of Economic Development) |
General Fund (00100) |
Business Services (00100-BO-ED-X1D00) |
$9,700,000 |
|
2.11 |
Executive (Office of Housing) |
Office of Housing Fund (16600) |
Leadership and Administration (16600-BO-HU-1000) |
$1,375,000 |
|
2.12 |
Executive (Office of Housing) |
Low Income Housing Fund (16400) |
Homeownership and Sustainability (16400-BO-HU-2000) |
$4,625,000 |
|
2.13 |
Executive (Office of Sustainability and Environment) |
General Fund (00100) |
Office of Sustainability & Environment (00100-BO-SE-X1000) |
$550,000 |
|
Total |
|
|
|
$9,000,000 |
Unspent funds so appropriated shall carry forward to subsequent fiscal years until they are exhausted or abandoned by ordinance.
Section 3: The City Council finds that ongoing disparities within the City of Seattle related to housing and generational wealth, health and environmental justice, education, and small businesses are contrary to the welfare of the people of the City of Seattle. The City Council therefore finds and declares that it is a fundamental governmental function of the City of Seattle to remedy those disparities as allowed by state and federal law.
Section 4: It is the City Council’s intent that funds appropriated in Section 2 will be implemented through contracts and programs that are aligned with the recommendations of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force to the extent consistent with applicable legal limitations.
Section 5. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.
Section 6. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by a 3/4 vote of all the members of the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2021, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2021.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this ________ day of _________________, 2021.
____________________________________
Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2021.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)