Seattle police gets more money by the city council to hire more women, new marketing budget reaches $3.4 million

Seattle, Washington – Approving most of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s midyear budget plans, the Seattle City Council made important decisions about budget allocation in their most recent meeting. Despite divisive ideas and discussions over funding priorities, especially in the area of youth mental health and homelessness programs, key among the decisions was the more money for the marketing efforts of the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

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Councilmember Tammy Morales led a push to amend the budget to unlock approximately $20 million in payroll taxes earmarked for youth mental health programs immediately. Inspired by promises made in response to a 2022 shooting incident at Ingraham High School, this initiative seeks to increase mental health support for students earlier rather than later. But other council members and the mayor’s administration contended that careful disbursement of the money depended on appropriate planning to guarantee efficient utilization of these resources. Morales’s suggestion was thus not approved since others argued that hurried funding might result in mismanagement.

Morales also encountered resistance in trying to move money from the Unified Care Team, which deals with encampment clearances, to the CARE Team, a group of social workers helping with non-emergency police calls. This idea was also turned down, hence the strategy for removing the campsite is still in place.

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The council did, however, approve an extra $800,000 for SPD’s marketing, so bringing the total to $3.4 million. Supported by Councilmember Cathy Moore, this revised distribution calls for half of the money to be used for recruiting women into the police department. Moore’s proposal essentially replaced another by Morales, which would have eliminated the same amount pending a report on SPD’s attempts to reach a 30 percent women by 2030. This choice came under close examination as SPD’s contemporary marketing policies have been attacked for not fairly reflecting diversity in recruitment materials.

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Strong support for the emphasis on hiring women was expressed by Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle, who said that although present initiatives were already inclusive, this runs counter to recent criticism of the marketing material created by SPD’s contracted company, which mostly highlighted male officers.

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The choices the council makes highlight a difficult balancing act between long-term planning and responsibility in budget allocation and acute social care requirements. The arguments draw attention to the continuous difficulties in handling city money in a way that supports public safety as well as necessary community services.