SCC Insight
Seattle City Council Approves 2019 Budget
Plus, the council resolves three outstanding issues.
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. After a handful of tweaks Monday morning, the City Council gave its final approval Monday afternoon to the $5.9 billion city budget for next year. In Monday mornings final Budget Committee meeting for the year, the Council approved a handful of technical corrections to the budget they assembled…
Understanding Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Proposed Budget: Homelessness Response
The Mayor's proposed 2019-2020 budget, explained.
See what changes Mayor Jenny Durkan is proposing on the spending side here and the revenue side here. This story originally ran on SCC Insight. On October 3, the Mayors Office walked through for the City Council the parts of the proposed budget related to responding to the homelessness crisis, which span several departments. Lets…
Seattle’s Expenditures: Understanding Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Proposed Budget
Take a deep dive into how the city's money is being spent.
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. Earlier I posted a review of the revenues side of the Mayors proposed budget. Heres the flip side: how the moneys being spent. A reminder: its a 2-year budget proposal for 2019 and 2020; the 2019 budget will be officially adopted and the 2020 one will be endorsed…
Seattle’s Revenues: Understanding Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Proposed Budget
Take a deep dive into the city's revenue sources.
See what changes Mayor Jenny Durkan is proposing on the spending side here. This story originally ran on SCC Insight. We tend to focus all our attention on the spending side of the city budget, but the revenue side is equally important: you need to know how much money you have to spend before you…
King County’s New Northgate Development Plans Include Fewer Affordable Housing Units than Councilmembers Are Requesting
The county issued a new request for proposals for a transit-oriented development at the site
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. Last week, King County finally re-issued its RFP for a Transit-Oriented Development project in Northgate, next to the new light rail station. It fails to live up to its most significant promises. You may recall that King County withdrew its earlier RFP at the beginning of the summer…
Mayor Durkan Nominates Debra Smith as New CEO of Seattle City Light
For the past five years, Smith has been the general manager of a utility company on Oregon's central coast
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. Mayor Jenny Durkan nominated Debra Smith to be the new CEO of Seattle City Light. According to Durkans press release, Smith is a 22-year veteran of the Pacific Northwest utility business. For the past five years, she has served as General Manager of Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District,…
What Will Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan Decide on the “Save the Showbox” Ordinance?
Signing the bill passed unanimously by the City Council seems likely, but could a deal with Onni be in the works?
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. On Aug. 13, the City Council voted 8-0 to add the site of the Showbox Theater to the Pike Place Historical District, granting it protection from a a 440-unit apartment redevelopment project proposed by Onni Development. But Mayor Durkan has yet to take action on the bill, despite…
Appeals Court Dismisses Uber Drivers’ Lawsuit Challenging City of Seattle Policy
The latest decision in the ongoing dispute over ride-hail policy in the city of Seattle
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. Kevin Schofield wrote the April 2018 cover story of Seattle Business magazine on the city’s policies on ride-hail businesses like Uber and Lyft. Read the full story here. This year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has heard two challenges to the City of Seattles ordinance authorizing collective…
Seattle City Council Sets New Airbnb Rules
The council passed three changes in its short-term rental regulatory structure that applies to Airbnb.
This story originally ran on SCC Insight. The Seattle City Council voted to approve the third piece of the short-term rental (i.e. AirBnB) regulatory structure, completing the councils work on regulating the nascent but quickly growing market. In the last few weeks, the Council passed the first two pieces: a tax on short-term rentals, and…