Council hears plan for 0.1% public-safety sales tax to fund care teams, 911 staff and treatment beds

Seattle officials on Sept. 25 detailed a proposal to adopt a state-authorized 0.1% local sales tax earmarked for public-safety purposes, saying the levy would raise about $39 million in 2026 and support a mix of first-response, alternative-response and treatment investments. Central staff warned the committee the tax must be adopted by mid-October to meet Department of Revenue implementation deadlines and that the state enabling law does not contain a non-supplantation clause, meaning proceeds could be used to replace existing local funding as well as for new spending. Tom Mikesell of the City Budget Office described the legal and timing constraints: “Chapter 350, Laws of 2025 passed by the state legislature provided for a 0.1% councilmanic tax,” he said, adding that the tax would raise an estimated $39,000,000 in 2026 and must be adopted by Oct. 14 for full-year 2026 collection. Mikesell stressed the sales-tax increase would be regressive, that household food purchases for home consumption are exempt, and that the city’s October revenue forecast could change the estimate. The mayor’s package, and the executive’s proposed use of the revenue, emphasizes a “holistic” approach to public safety, combining traditional emergency response with public-health and diversion investments. Natalie Walton Anderson, the city’s chief public-safety officer, described the proposal as a way to “expand our diversified response system,” including a planned doubling of the CARE (community crisis responders) team. Key proposed investments presented to the committee included: - CARE expansion: $6,900,000 to double the CARE teams from the current staffing to 48 crisis responders, plus supervisors and management, and to expand dispatch hours toward a 20-hour-per-day citywide footprint. - 911 capacity: $2,600,000 to hire 12 additional call takers, create three training positions and make three business-support positions permanent to reduce mandated overtime and improve non-emergency call response. - Seattle Fire Department: $2,000,000 to hire and train 20 firefighter recruits to reduce vacancies and reliance on overtime. - Overdose and treatment system: $1,500,000 to expand the Fire Department’s post-overdose team to seven-day operations; $1,200,000 to expand DESC/ORCA outreach pods; $2,840,000 for a competitive selection process to secure detox or inpatient treatment beds; and $1,800,000 to support reopening Thunderbird Treatment Center (Seattle Indian Health Board), a 92-bed residential program. - LEAD and diversion funding: a multi-million-dollar package to stabilize and expand LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) programming; the executive presented approximately $14.5 million for core diversion services and additional co-lead funding that together approach $20 million for diversion and connected supports. Sarah Smith in the mayor’s office detailed the overdose-response ecosystem, noting Health 99 and related teams have played an active role in connecting people to care. “This team has responded to over 1,400 overdoses,” Smith said, and she described several examples in which rapid field response coupled with ORCA and follow-up navigation led to same-day medication and linkage to supports. Central staff and the executive also laid out fiscal context and risks. Budget Office staff noted the city’s general-fund financial plan projects a structural deficit beginning in 2027 (roughly $140 million under the presented plan) and cautioned that adopting the sales tax would change the revenue mix going into that planning horizon. Tom Mikesell emphasized that the October revenue forecast — to be delivered in the coming weeks — could downgrade revenue expectations and that the state’s recent revenue outlook was weaker. Council members broadly expressed support for components of the package while asking for details. Committee chair Strauss and Public Safety Committee chair Bob Kettle praised the integrated approach and stressed the need for capacity where people go after first contact. Councilmembers asked how success will be measured for CARE, how the CARE expansion will be staffed and dispatched citywide, whether the proposed CARE hours will reach 24/7 or a 20-hour model, and for a clearer accounting of how much of the diversion and LEAD funding sustains existing contracts versus funds new capacity. The record shows the budget team intends to return to the committee with operational details: hiring and training plans for 911 and CARE, outcome metrics for CARE and LEAD, and a clearer breakdown of one-time versus ongoing dollars used to stabilize diversion services. Mikesell reiterated the adoption deadline: to collect the full calendar-year 2026 revenue the council must adopt the ordinance authorizing the tax by mid-October. The committee also discussed equity and regressivity: central staff noted sales taxes are regressive and stressed that grocery purchases for home consumption are exempt; councilmembers asked staff to weigh the equity trade-offs and to consider coordination with the county (which has a related tax conversation underway). The council did not vote on the tax at the Sept. 25 briefing; the ordinance was transmitted by the executive earlier in September and the council is scheduled to take up final action in October.