This morning Mayor Harrell unveiled a new recruitment and retention plan to address the dramatic drop in SPD officers over the past two years. The plan centers on four key themes: Make hiring easier, faster and more efficient; Attract top recruits with competitive compensation; Recruit candidates committed to the community; …
Continue readingMonth: July 2022
Seattle City Council proposes ranked-choice voting for primary elections
After punting for a week on sending Initiative 134 — “approval voting” — to the voters, this week the City Council will be introducing its own alternative, “ranked-choice voting,” to potentially appear alongside it on the November ballot. Approval voting allows voters to vote (without priority) for all candidates they …
Continue readingFamilies, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy 2020-2021 annual results report
The Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning has published its annual report for the 2020-2021 school year on the impact of programs funded through the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy (FEPP). They have also published a set of slides used to present the report to the City Council. …
Continue readingCity of Seattle arbitration appeal for parking enforcement officer
In January of this year, a labor arbitrator issued a decision overturning the firing of Seattle Parking Enforcement Officer Jonathan Skeie. The city has filed a petition asking a King County Superior Court judge to reverse the arbitrator’s decision. On the morning of June 9, 2020, Skeie told co-workers, “Well, …
Continue readingState economic forecast update
The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has issued its forecast update for June. This is a detailed report of national and state economic forecast indicators, with predictions for the next few years. Given everything that is in play at the moment — war in Ukraine, the ongoing COVID …
Continue readingSeattle Public Schools proposed 2022-2023 budget
Tonight the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on approving the school district budget for the next academic year. The proposed budget includes $1.64 billion in expenses, while spending down about $287 million of the accumulated fund balance. You can find more detail about the budget development process here. …
Continue readingCurbside EV chargers
Seattle City Light (SCL) has announced that it is launching a service that will install public electric vehicle chargers at curbside locations throughout the city. Acceptable locations include: Single-family homes, including properties with detached single houses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and accessory dwelling units. These requests must be for properties …
Continue readingSeattle Police Chief search committee
Here is a list (with bios) of the people on the search committee evaluating potential candidates for the new Chief of Police in Seattle. The search committee will submit to the Mayor up to five candidates for the position. Those candidates will then complete a written examination, and the Mayor …
Continue readingWeekly state influenza report
The latest weekly influenza report from the Washington State Department of Health concludes that flu season is finally starting to fade. It got a very late start this year, coinciding with the lifting of COVID restrictions, and plateaued in late May — but cases have been rapidly decreasing over the …
Continue readingRegional Homeless Authority 5-year plan components
The King County Regional Homeless Authority has begun work on its required five-year plan. It has broken up the plan into seven components, and is creating opportunities for the community to engage and provide input and feedback. The seven components are: Measurable actions, outcomes and goals; Sub-regional planning activities; Procurement …
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