Seattle City Council approves 18% police budget cut, said to be one of biggest cuts nationwide

Seattle City Council voted to cut the police department’s budget by about 18% – less than half of the 50% cut activists had called for – and instead reallocated “millions” of dollars to “fund” community alternatives, ”according to officials and recent reports.

Council members voted on Monday to cut funds for SPD training and overtime, reallocate roles to other city agencies and eliminate vacancies, according to officials and the local KING 5 news station. MyNorthwest.com previously described it as one of the biggest budget cuts of the year in major city police departments.

SEATTLE WANTS TO REDUCE POLICE BUDGET BY 20%, THE SECOND MOST IN THE NATION BUT WITH LESS REQUESTS FOR “ DEFUND ”

The council also approved the hiring of 100 new police recruits in 2021, which Mayor Jenny Durkan and other officials deemed necessary.

The 8-1 vote reported on Monday capped months of heated discussions. Seattle officials ultimately voted to transfer 911 call takers, parking enforcement officers, and police department mental health workers.

They will also cut funding for vacant agent positions and try to fire agents with a history of misconduct, while allocating tens of millions of dollars to community solutions. According to the Seattle Times, the police budget will drop by more than $ 30 million after growing steadily for years.

“The 2021 budget proposal for the Seattle Police Department outlines a solid first step in reinventing policing and reinventing community safety,” the budget proposal states. “The budget reduces the size of the sworn force of the SPD, transfers functions of the SPD that are better performed into a more civilized practice, and in the short term reduces the budget of the SPD in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“As alternative community-led responses are developed, the size of the force and the appropriate response will be continually considered,” he notes.

In a Twitter message Monday, González called it a “budget priority” to make changes to the Washington City Police Department – “to resize our law enforcement.”

In July, during nationwide protests where many called on cities to ‘defund’ the police, most council members agreed that the police department should see its funding cut by 50%, with the money being transferred to other needs.

The push led then police chief Carmen Best, the city’s first black police chief, to announce his retirement.

Best’s announcement came just hours after city council voted to cut his $ 285,000 annual salary from $ 10,000, as well as the salaries of his command staff, and to cut up to 100 officers from one 1,400 force through layoffs and attrition.

NEW EMAILS AND TEXTS SHOW HOW SEATTLE LEADERS LEAVE CHOP SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL

She said at the time that she was okay with his pay cut, but not with having to fire young officers, many of whom were minorities hired in part to improve the diversity of the department. “That for me – I’m done. I can’t do it, ”she said at a press conference.

“It’s really about the general lack of respect for officers.”

On Monday, Durkan said she would sign the 2021 budget into law in the coming days.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I applaud City Council for taking a more deliberate and measured approach to the Seattle Police Department’s 2021 budget than this summer, which led to the resignation of former SPD chief Carmen Best,” he said. she said in a statement on Monday. “As we approach the end of an undeniably long and difficult year, I believe we have turned a corner and can make collaborative, data-driven decisions that advance our common political goals.”

Evie Fordham of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.