After almost two months of deliberation, Seattle City Council unanimously adopted Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2026 city budget.

The nearly $9 billion budget keeps Harrell’s main priorities intact, including a bloated $486 million police department budget and millions for graffiti scrubbing. This budget is balanced, but it’s not sustainable. It depends on money left over from 2025, and a series of one-time funds that create a maze of fiscal cliffs. To continue much of this budget into 2027, Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson will have a $140 million deficit to tango with.

In January, the outgoing conservatives—Council President Sara Nelson, appointed Councilmember Mark Solomon, City Attorney Ann Davison, and Mayor Harrell will be replaced by Dionne Foster, Eddie Lin, Erika Evans, and Katie Wilson, respec

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