成人X站

MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle Mayor Durkan vetoes city council’s 2020 budget which prompted Chief Best’s retirement

Aug 21, 2020, 2:35 PM | Updated: 3:08 pm

budget...

Mayor Jenny Durkan on Friday, Aug. 21. (TVW)

(TVW)

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Friday she has vetoed the city council’s 2020 budget plan, which includes major cuts to the police department budget.

On August 10, the Seattle City Council voted to approve budget legislation enacting sizable cuts to the police department鈥檚 budget. Durkan’s veto means the legislation goes back to the council. If enough council members side with Durkan’s veto, the legislation is void. The veto was announced in a Friday afternoon press conference.

“It did not look at the concerns of public safety,” Durkan said on Friday. “We need to know what those cuts do to public safety.”

“There’s no plan for example for how the city will address encampments … that were cut by this budget,” the mayor said in response to the Council plan to end the SPD鈥檚 Navigation Team.

The council’s approval was considered a down payment on its pledge to defund SPD by 50% now expected in 2021. Council President Lorena Gonzalez explained the reasoning in a . All but one council member approved the budget cuts on the 10th. Councilmember Kshama Sawant was the lone 鈥渘o鈥 vote, while Debora Juarez 鈥 who was not present at the meeting 鈥 abstained.

鈥淭oday I voted against what is euphemistically called the City Council鈥檚 鈥楤alancing Package鈥 to the 2020 budget, because the only balancing that is happening is on the backs of working people, especially in Black and Brown communities,鈥 Sawant said in a news release. 鈥淭his budget fails working people.鈥

The 2020 budget package approved by council members include:

  • Eliminating up to 100 sworn officer positions across various teams via layoffs and attrition (including 32 patrol officers), beginning in November 2020
  • Capping command staff pay at $150,000 (not including Chief Best鈥檚 salary, which was reduced to $275,000).
  • Ending the Navigation Team (14 of the 100 officers mentioned above)

“There’s no plan for example for how the city will address encampments … that were cut by this budget,” the mayor said.

The council’s legislation prompted Police Chief Carmen Best to announce her retirement, effective Sept. 2. In what will likely be her last news conference, she said she hopes that the city will support interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz.

Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County calls Chief Best鈥檚 retirement a loss

Seattle and beyond react to Chief Best鈥檚 retirement announcement

“I know there will be disagreements — that’s OK, but we need to find a way to continue discussions,” the mayor said to close out the news conference.

This isn’t the first veto this summer for Mayor Durkan. She vetoed the city council’s COVID-19 relief package in July as she was concerned it basically spent too much too soon on an issue that has no end date in sight, let alone the economic aftermath. However, on Friday, Durkan announced a compromise with the council.

MyNorthwest News

Trader Joe's...

Frank Sumrall

Seattle man humped fridge, threatened to kill everyone in Trader Joe鈥檚 outburst before arrest

The SPD arrested a man after he "humped" a refrigerator inside of a Trader Joe's grocery store before making threats against employees and customers with a knife.

41 minutes ago

sound transit beacon hill...

成人X站 Newsradio Newsdesk

Mechanical issue disrupts Sound Transit at Beacon Hill station

Sound Transit's 1 Line is temporarily suspended at Beacon Hill Station due to a mechanical issue.

1 hour ago

king county primary...

Frank Sumrall

Tightest primary races in King County, WA Legislature

King County residents voted to narrow down the races for King County executive and five positions on the County Council during the primary election. Additionally, nine state-level legislative seats were on the ballot.

2 hours ago

Washington Little League World Series...

Jason Sutich

Washington teams dominate as Little League World Series dreams stay alive

Two Washington teams remain in the Little League World Series: the Bonney Lake-Sumner baseball team and the Mill Creek softball team.

2 hours ago

seattle primary election results...

Frank Sumrall

Seattle primary election results: Incumbents, including Mayor Harrell, stumble out of the gate

Results from the 2025 Washington state primary were being tallied and recorded Tuesday night as voters decided the races for Seattle mayor, Seattle city attorney, spots on the Seattle City Council, and the Seattle School Board.

4 hours ago

wa newlyweds head-on crash...

Deborah Horne, 成人X站 7 News

‘They had each other:’ WA newlyweds killed in head-on crash; family raising money to bring them home

A young couple with ties to Western Washington was killed in a crash, just 22 days after getting married.

5 hours ago

Seattle Mayor Durkan vetoes city council’s 2020 budget which prompted Chief Best’s retirement