Also in this edition: Grocery vouchers for essential workers, Census 2020 investments, healthy blocks, and more!



Durkan Digest Standard Header



Equitable Communities Initiative logo - multi-colored blue speech bubble with the name of the initiative and the City of Seattle seal

We are living in unprecedented times: a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a civil rights reckoning ignited by the murder of George Floyd. All have shown the undeniable and devastating impacts that systemic racial inequities have had on Black and Brown communities for generations. The disparities are reflected across all systems, including housing, access to wealth, education, policing, the criminal legal system and health care.

Millions have taken to the streets across our country to demand change. We must heed their calls.

There should be no disagreement that we need, as a City, to commit to significant, new long-term investments in Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. In June, I promised $100 million of new investments that would be centered around and guided by community.

In recent months, I have worked to make this promise real, and my proposed budget will create a new $100 million Equitable Communities Fund to address the systemic racial inequities in our city. This funding will be in addition to existing programs that are crucial to building opportunities and community health. I believe we must commit this level of resources each year over at least ten years in order to make the generational investments needed to build healthy, resilient, and safer communities.

Our City has been working to address systemic inequities and institutional racism through many proven programs. From the Seattle Preschool Program, to the Legal Defense Fund for immigrants and refugees, to laws protecting wages, we know what works.

But we must do more, and proven solutions come from community itself.

In the coming months, the City Council will consider my budget. There is no shortage of challenges, and to address our declining revenues, we have had to freeze hiring, use our emergency and rainy day funds, and delay some capital projects. There is no shortage of good projects that our City could do with $100 million.

History is demanding that we fundamentally reshape our budget priorities to invest in communities of color in a new way. We havent looked holistically at solving the deep disparities that exist in our city, and we have never given this historic level of funding to begin to solve these disparities.

As Council is considering my budget, I will launch a community-led task force comprised of individuals from BIPOC communities. For too long, City Hall has been the gatekeepers of dictated solutions. Together, the task force will engage communities in a collaborative process to prioritize how the funding can create opportunity and an inclusive economy; build community wealth and preserve cultural spaces, ensure community wellness, and achieve environmental and climate justice. Communities must be empowered and resourced to determine what solutions may best address deep, systemic issues. You can read more about Equitable Communities Initiative here [ [link removed] ].

Our community is hurting right now from the pandemic to continued injustices. None of the challenges that were trying to solve will be solved overnight. But we can start making progress. We can show the country what it means to invest in Black Lives Matter and embark on something big together.

As always, please continue to write me [email protected], reach out viaTwitter [ [link removed] ]andFacebook [ [link removed] ], and stay up-to-date on the work were doing for the people of Seattle onmy blog. [ [link removed] ]

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In Addition to $100 Million Investment in 2021 Budget for BIPOC Communities, Mayor Durkan Transmits Legislation to Transfer Fire Station 6 and Central Area Senior Center to Community

Mayor Jenny A. Durkantransmittedlegislation to the Seattle City Council toestablish a 99-year lease withAfricatown Community Land Trust [ [link removed] ](ACLT)for Fire Station 6and to permanentlytransfertheCentral Area Senior Center(CASC)to community ownership.Earlier this week,the City Council approved the transfer of ownership of the former Fire Station 23 toByrd Barr Place, a Central Area community service organization that providesenergy assistance, affordable housing, access to nutrition and financial counseling.

Fire Station 6will be the future home oftheWilliam Grose Center for Cultural Innovation, where ACLT will providesmall business assistance, skills trainingand celebrateBlack/African American cultureand history in the Central Area.The project isone of five originalEquitable Development Initiative [ [link removed] ](EDI)demonstration projects identified in 2016 intended to reducedisplacement of Seattles communities of color.The City hascommitted $1 millionfrom the EDI fundfor tenant improvements to Fire Station 6. The long-term lease allows ACLT to take possession of the building and begin the remodel, while theestablishedprocess for permanent transfer of the propertyownershipto ACLTcontinues.

Read more [ [link removed] ]
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Mayor Durkan announces Free Stay Healthy Block Permits, adding to the recent success of Stay Healthy and Keep Moving Streets

The City of Seattle announced today that it will beexpanding upon the successfulStay Healthy and Keep Moving Streets [ [link removed] ]byannouncingnewfreeStay Healthy Block Permits [ [link removed] ].The free Stay Healthy Block permit will allow community organizations and non-profits to take the lead and open one or more blockson non-arterial streetsto Seattleites to enjoy outdoor space for recreation and community building while following social distancing and other public health guidance.

With the popular implementation of Stay Healthy Streets, the City has received requests for more outdoor recreation space. Within the initial evaluation period, the duration of the permits is flexible and determined by the applicant according to the communitys preferences. The initial evaluation period is scheduled for four weeks.

Read more [ [link removed] ]
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King County investing in final push of 2020 Census in SeaTac, Tukwila, and South County

King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove today announced a strategic investment of $50,000 to community-based organizations that will help boost participation of south King County residents in the 2020 Census.

The funds are targeted to areas of the County where self-response rates are yet to reach their 2010 Census Self-Response Rates. The following organizations received $10,000 to conduct outreach and engagement efforts in order to increase the regions participation rates:


* Somali Health Board
* Entre Hermanos
* Refugee Womens Alliance
* Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
* Coalition of Immigrants, Refugees & Communities of Color (CIRCC)

As of April of this year, Seattle had the highest census response rate of any major City at 60.7% of households responding. If you have not yet filled out your census form, it's not too late!

*A fair and complete Census count will help ensure Seattle receives its fair share of federal resources.*Certain federal funds are dispersed by population. Examples of these critical federal investments includeSafe Routes to School [ [link removed] ]projects, hazardous material release training for Seattle firefighters, and our rapid rehousing programs that help move families and children out of homelessness and into permanent housing. Federal funds are also used to create affordable homes and provide housing stability for low-income households including throughaffordable housing development [ [link removed] ],energy improvements [ [link removed] ],critical home repair [ [link removed] ], andhome buyer education [ [link removed] ].

Learn more [ [link removed] ]
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City of Seattle enrolls thousands in Utility Discount Program to reduce utility bill burden since beginning of COVID-19 pandemic-Grocery Vouchers

As of the end of August, the City of Seattle has now enrolled 11,825 new households into the Utility Discount Program (UDP) in 2020, including 8,173 through the fast-track application process launched in March to more quickly support customers financially impacted by COVID-19. UDP provides a 60% discount on Seattle City Light (SCL) electricity bills and a 50% discount on Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) water/sewer/garbage bills for income-eligible customers. Through August, there were 41,961 households enrolled in the City assistance program.

In March 2020, as COVID-19 began to spread in our community, SCL and SPU created a UDP self-certification form for customers. This allows income-eligible residential customers to access heavily discounted utilities by simply signing a short form that attests to their household income, rather than having to provide income documentation. This will provide immediate utility bill relief for customers who are unemployed or underemployed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more [ [link removed] ]
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Weekend Read: The Stranger: Black Lives Matter Mural to Get New Paint Job

For this weeks edition of the Weekend Read, we encourage you to read up on the Seattle Department of Transportations plan to help local artists from VividMatterCollective preserve the Black Lives Matter mural on Capitol Hill:

Screenshot of the lede from the SLOG showing the colorful BLM mural on capitol hill [ [link removed] ]

"SDOT said they'll provide the supplies, and SDOT pavement engineering crew chief Dahvee Encisco, who's""designed some murals of his own" [ [link removed] ]"over the years, will oversee the project. He'll advise VividMatterCollective "on how to install a durable on-street mural with the correct primer, number of paint layers, and adding traction material to each coat of paint that can withstand the roadway conditions in this area."

Read more [ [link removed] ]
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