(The Center Square) – Despite concerns about the impact of the proposed tax, the Seattle City Council is poised to approve a 0.1% public safety sales tax next week, even as city leaders brace for a projected revenue shortfall later this month.
The council is scheduled to vote on the public safety sales tax on Tuesday. The measure was authorized by state law and would fund various public safety initiatives, including the expansion of the city’s nonpolice emergency response program. The vote follows an 8-1 recommendation from a Select Budget Committee meeting on the preceding Wednesday.
During the budget committee meeting, Ben Noble, city council central staff leader, described the sales tax as “effectively, general fund resource” as the city faces a $143 million deficit going into 2026.
The public safety sales tax increase – authorized by the state Legislature via House Bill 2015 – aims to bridge funding gaps, although the city’s updated General Fund Financial Plan shows a $140 million deficit beginning in 2027, even after assuming passage of both the business and occupations tax restructure authorized by voters in the Nov. 4 general election and the new public safety sales tax.
The city’s upcoming economic forecast is expected to show a projected revenue deduction for the city, due to national jobs data showing considerable weakness since the August forecast.
Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera was the lone vote against recommending the public safety sales tax due to its impacts on low-income residents.
Most of the city council has acknowledged that sales taxes are highly regressive. Seattle’s current sales tax rate of 10.35% exceeds that of other major U.S. cities, such as New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston.
If the public safety sales tax is approved and signed into law by Mayor Bruce Harrell, it would increase to 10.55% in 2026, along with King County’s own sales tax increase approved earlier this year. Noble, alongside fellow central staff member Tom Mikesell, provided the example of someone purchasing a $25,000 car having to pay $25 in taxes.
Rivera highlighted recent tax increases, including a transportation levy, a families and education levy, a business and occupation tax, and additional taxes imposed by King County, all of which are adding to residents’ financial burdens.
Rivera emphasized that low-income renters, who comprise a significant portion of Seattle’s population, bear the burden of property tax increases through higher monthly rent.
“Every time we do a tax we say, ‘Oh, it’s only going to go up a certain percentage’ – but once you add all that up, it is more substantive than it may appear,” Rivera said during the budget committee meeting. “We’re essentially taxing poor people to help poor people, and this doesn’t seem right to me.”
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s latest survey revealed that affordability is one of the most significant concerns for voters.
“Voters continue to be deeply concerned about the national environment, with most saying the country is pretty seriously off the wrong track, most saying they are worried about a recession, and three-quarters expressing concern [about] their own personal financial situation,” Seattle Metro Chamber wrote in its summary.
The sales tax is expected to generate $39 million in 2026, according to Harrell’s budget proposal. The tax must be approved before Oct. 18 to receive the whole year’s revenue. If it is delayed past that deadline, anticipated revenue would drop $9 million in the first quarter, according to Mikesell.
Revenue generated by the public safety sales tax increase can only go toward public safety needs. Harrell’s 2026 budget emphasizes utilizing some of that revenue to double the size of the city’s behavioral health response team.
Harrell’s 2026 budget proposal includes an additional $9.5 million in funding to double the city’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement Department, or CARE, from 24 nonpolice responders to 48. The department consists of behavioral health experts who are dispatched to calls that involve people experiencing a crisis. In turn, police resources are freed up to answer other calls.
