(This article was originally published on PubliCola and has been reprinted with permission.)
The Seattle City Council’s debate about a proposed cut to the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) budget will drag on for at least another two weeks, but a discussion during Tuesday’s Public Safety Committee meeting shed light on the growing disagreement within the council about how the City should hold SPD accountable for overspending.
(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
The Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee is considering a $5.4 million cut to the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) 2021 budget to account for an equivalent amount of overspending by the department last year. During the committee’s regular meeting on Tuesday morning, councilmembers received a briefing from the council’s central staff on the potential impacts of those cuts on a department still reeling from a spike in attrition in 2020.