 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 haven?t 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.
Our community is hurting right now ? from the pandemic to continued injustices. None of the? challenges that we?re 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 at?[email protected], reach out via?Twitter?and?Facebook, and stay up-to-date on the work we?re doing for the people of Seattle on?my blog.?
 
Mayor Jenny A. Durkan?transmitted?legislation to the Seattle City Council to?establish a 99-year lease with?Africatown Community Land Trust?(ACLT)?for Fire Station 6?and to permanently?transfer?the?Central Area Senior Center?(CASC)?to community ownership.?Earlier this week,?the City Council approved the transfer of ownership of the former Fire Station 23 to?Byrd Barr Place, a Central Area community service organization that provides?energy assistance, affordable housing, access to nutrition and financial counseling.??
Fire Station 6?will be the future home of?the?William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation, where ACLT will provide?small business assistance, skills training?and celebrate?Black/African American culture?and history in the Central Area.?The project is?one of five original?Equitable Development Initiative?(EDI)?demonstration projects identified in 2016 intended to reduce?displacement of Seattle?s communities of color.?The City has?committed $1 million?from the EDI fund?for tenant improvements to Fire Station 6. The long-term lease allows ACLT to take possession of the building and begin the remodel, while the?established?process for permanent transfer of the property?ownership?to ACLT?continues.???
The City of Seattle announced today that it will be?expanding upon the successful?Stay Healthy and Keep Moving Streets?by?announcing?new?free?Stay Healthy Block Permits.?The free Stay Healthy Block permit will allow community organizations and non-profits to take the lead and open one or more blocks?on non-arterial streets?to 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 community?s preferences. The initial evaluation period is scheduled for four weeks.
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 region?s participation rates:
- Somali Health Board
- Entre Hermanos
- Refugee Women?s 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 include?Safe Routes to School?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 through?affordable housing development,?energy improvements,?critical home repair, and?home buyer education.
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.
For this week?s edition of the Weekend Read, we encourage you to read up on the Seattle Department of Transportation?s plan to help local artists from VividMatterCollective preserve the Black Lives Matter mural on Capitol Hill:
 SDOT said they'll provide the supplies, and SDOT pavement engineering crew chief Dahvee Encisco, who's?designed some murals of his own?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.
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