Committee debates arts-admissions tax and funds Sadako statue replacement, theater upgrades
November 06, 2025 | Seattle, King County, Washington
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Specific arts items described by staff included $300,000 of general fund for theater upgrades (a reduction from a prior $500,000 ask) and $500,000 to support the installation and maintenance of a replacement Sadako statue (an increase from a prior $200,000 request). Noble said the increased statue amount would cover installation and ongoing maintenance costs.
On the policy side, staff presented a proposal to classify $1.5 million of arts-admissions-tax revenue directed to city functions as onetime for the 2025–26 biennium, with $500,000 continuing as an ongoing allocation to fund Festol and associated ethnic-festival programming at Seattle Center. Noble cautioned the committee that the broader question of whether ad-tax revenues should fund city functions would likely be revisited in 2027 because sustaining those activities long-term would require a general-fund appropriation if ad-tax receipts were not used.
Council members clarified which programs the arts funds would support (downtown buskers, parks teen performing arts, Seattle Folklife/Festol, Winterfest and other functions) and asked how future funding obligations would be tracked; staff said the CBAs and packet materials identify which elements are onetime and which are ongoing and that prior versions remain available in the record.
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