Select Budget Committee

Summary

Beginning on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, the Select Budget Committee’s annual budget deliberation process commences after the delivery of Mayor Bruce Harrell's proposed budget adjustments to the Seattle City Council amending the 2024 endorsed budget. Budget deliberations will conclude when the Seattle City Council passes the 2023 Adopted Budget, which is scheduled for a final vote on November 21, 2023.

Committee Members

Teresa Mosqueda, Chair
Lisa Herbold, Vice Chair
Debora Juarez, Member
Andrew J. Lewis, Member
Tammy J. Morales, Member
Sara Nelson, Member
Alex Pedersen, Member
Kshama Sawant, Member
Dan Strauss, Member

Committee Materials

You can find agendas, presentations and other materials for the Select Budget Committee on Legistar, the system the City uses to manage legislation and committees.

View Budget Committee Agendas and Materials

Demystifying the Budget Process

This interactive guide, Demystifying the Budget Process, is the most straightforward and simple way to understand the Council's budget work. Most importantly, this resource is intended to highlight when and how the public can make their voices heard. There is also more information about that below.

Learn more about the budget process

Budget Dashboard

To increase transparency and support public participation in the budget process, the Seattle City Council is releasing a new tool, the Seattle Budget Dashboard, to help keep track of budget adjustments.

People can use the Seattle Budget Dashboard to:
Understand how the City of Seattle’s budget is distributed by department.
Track how budget spending has changed from year to year and adjustments to the 2024 endorsed budget.
See how departments and programs are funded, and more.

This tool will be updated throughout the budget process. For example, it was updated after the Mayor transmitted his proposed adjustments to the 2024 budget.

Use the Budget Dashboard

Understanding Council's Budget Amendments

This interactive tool is meant to make the Council's budget amendments more transparent, engaging, and accessible. You will find detailed information about the 124 amendments for the proposed 2024-25 budget sponsored by Councilmembers.

For each amendment, you can see which department it pertains to, a short summary of what it does, the Councilmembers who originally sponsored it, a link to read a policy memo about each amendment, as well as a link to watch the Council's discussion of it. You can follow along during the voting process, as the amendment tool will update in near real-time with information about the votes, like if an amendment passed, failed, and how each member voted.

Learn About Council's Amendments

How to Participate in the Budget

Your input is a critical part of the budget process! There are three ways to participate in the budget, sharing your perspective during Budget Committee meetings, Public Hearings, or sending written comment.

Summary of the Budget Process

There are four main steps in the budget process, outlined in the graphic below:

1. Mayor's Proposed Budget Adjustments | Sept. 27
2. Budget Hearings (Budget presentations and revenue forecast update) | Oct. 11 - Oct. 19
3. Budget Deliberations (Amendments and votes) | Oct. 25 - Nov. 15
4. Final Committee Vote and Council Adoption | Nov. 20 - Nov. 21

Download the Fall 2023 Budget Calendar

DATE	SUBJECT MATTER
September 26	Mayor delivers Proposed Budget Adjustments
September 27 @ 9:30am	Overview of Proposed Budget Amendments Oral Public Comment @ 9:30 AM
October 11 @ 10:00am	Budget Hearings - Central Staff presentations Oral Public Comment @ 10:00am
October 12 @ 10:00am	Budget Hearings
October 13 @ 10:00am	Budget Hearings
October 16 @ 10:00am	Budget Hearings
October 17	Revenue Forecast Update
October 18 @ 10:00am	Budget Hearings
October 18 @ 5:00pm	Public Hearing
October 20 @ 11:00am	Balancing Package presented by the Chair
October 27 @ 10:00am	Budget Deliberations Oral Public Comment @ 10:00am
November 13 @ 10:00am	Budget Deliberations, Discussion, and Voting Oral Public Comment @ 10:00am
November 13 @ 5:00pm	Public Hearing
November 14 @ 10:00am	Budget Deliberations, Discussion, and Voting
November 15 @ 10:00am	Budget Deliberations, Discussion, and Voting
November 20 @ 9:00am	Budget Committee, Final vote
November 21 @ 2:00pm	Final Action, City Council Vote

Quorum

Five Councilmembers constitute a quorum for this Select Committee.