Budgets Are a Moral Document!

This Thursday (11/21), Seattle City Council will vote to approve the city's budget. The Church Council's Budget Roundtable will be present at the Specially Called City Council Meeting, offering public comment, as we have for the past 6 weeks. Let us know if you will be joining us on Thursday!

We are building collective power across the city to advocate for a Seattle budget that invests in thriving communities, that reflects “care over punishment” and that preserves the spending plan passed years ago for the JumpStart funding. We know that we cannot gut crucial services to our local community groups and be healthy. Seattle is safer when we invest in ALL communities.

Last week, several faith communities joined us at City Hall to offer public witness and comment during the Budget Hearing, including delivering written comment from their faith community. Below is a snippet from Chloe Guillot's, Director of Community Engagement at Quest Church, public comment:

"...What good does it do for us, as citizens of this city, as leaders in this city, to look at those in our community who need food, who need housing, who need social services and to wish them the best while using the funds set aside to address those needs to fund policing and sweeps that harm our communities...

...I want to see a budget that values and prioritizes care over punishment. I do not want to hear more stories of my neighbors being swept from place to place, losing all of their belongings again and again, or neighbors who are over policed and punished for the crime of needing a safe place to stay. We should be fully funding access to housing and shelter, and fully funding crucial social services that help keep all people safe. I hear a lot of folks talking about safety tonight, and I just want to amplify that no one is safe until everyone is safe. That includes those who need housing, mental health services, and the support that JumpStart provides..."