♪♪
-Okay, thank you for being here, everybody.
We just had a little pre-huddle
and my last words were let's do this in love
for what we're here to talk about this afternoon.
So, I'm very happy to have community leaders
and elected officials here,
people who are actually experiencing some
of the issues in the immigrant refugee community
and telling their life stories.
And so I want to ground this in a quote, if I may.
Former President Barack Obama once said,
"A budget is more than just a series of numbers on a page.
It is an embodiment of our values."
And so that's what I think we're trying to accomplish here
when we're looking at those
who right now might be most vulnerable here.
So, we're here to announce critical investments
as part of my 2026 Proposed Budget
that makes a clear statement of who we are, what we prioritize,
and who we stand with.
And I say those in unambiguous terms.
We know that the policies coming out of DC
can be described as cruel, inhumane,
violations of due process.
They target our immigrant and refugee
neighbors and slash federal support to vital services,
something as simple as how one can eat.
Seattle is choosing to stand with our communities
and our values,
and this set of investments that I'll describe
represents Seattle's effort to keep afloat
proven solutions and programs that work,
even while Trump wants to take us backwards.
So, I have a series of investments we'll talk about,
and then you'll hear from some of my colleagues
who I'll introduce one after the other.
First, I'm proposing a $4 million investment
that will strengthen our critical programs and services
for our immigrant and refugee neighbors,
while increasing our Office of Immigrant
and Refugees Affairs budget by 60%,
to be led by no one other than Hamdi Mohamed, sorry.
I had memorized to say it just right.
And in all seriousness,
these investments are directly responsive to the needs
we are hearing from the community.
And we know we have the right leader, the right staff,
the right employees,
and the right commitment in that particular department.
And these dollars will do a few things.
I won't steal Hamdi's thunder,
but they will expand workforce training for youth
and English learners.
They'll provide more legal help, safety resources,
and improve access to city and community programs.
They'll help families navigate
through the housing and employment
and legal service challenges that they may have.
They will strengthen rapid response efforts,
including legal consultations,
which again we know is critical work.
Know your rights training, safety planning,
and a hotline
to report immigration enforcement activities.
Please have a seat. You're welcome to come in.
I want you to hear this. We will launch new initiatives
that expand naturalization efforts and new career pathways
for immigrant youth, and broader civic engagement opportunities.
So in addition to that work in Director Mohamed's shop,
we're also announcing $9.35 million
to sustain shelter and voucher programs
at risk of federal cuts.
I think you'll hear Council Member Mercedes Rinck talk
a little bit more about this.
Now, these dollars will create a reserve
we can deploy to keep shelter doors open
and to maintain short-term housing supports
and prevent a surge of people onto the streets,
particularly when federal shelter funds are withheld
from our human service providers.
Now, we can't mince words on this issue.
We can't make any mistakes about this.
Trump's budget and his policies
are what we sort of describe as taking a chainsaw
to critical programs that help people stay housed.
I read very recently that the homelessness increase
in our country is up 18%.
So, clearly this is an American challenge
that we are all dealing with.
But here, these investments are part of a larger strategy
in our proposed 2026 budget, backfilling, again,
essential services threatened by these federal cuts.
And these investments would be paid for
by the proposed Shield Initiative, again,
that you'll hear more. And just to, again,
give some more context in what we're trying to do
as a city in this particular budget.
We announced very recently
that we have placed $6.2 million
to expand the Fresh Bucks program to increase
the monthly participant stipend by 50%, to $60 a month.
And we knew that we had thousands of people
on the wait list for this valuable program,
close to 4,000 people,
in addition to the 12,000 people that are receiving services.
We're taking them off the wait list.
So with these investments,
you'll see close to 16,000 people
who will now get the food that they need.
We do not want them to go hungry in one
of the wealthiest countries in this country.
There's absolutely no excuse for that.
We've also announced $4 million to support food banks
and other meal access programs and seniors and people
experiencing homelessness.
In addition, in the context of what Trump is doing,
you all know that he has canceled critical programs
that provide over $1 billion to food banks across the country.
His SNAP cuts are unprecedented at the levels that he has done.
And in addition to that,
we have $4 million in ongoing annual rental assistance.
We've looked at Trump's department,
Trump's HUD department, and what they're doing,
threatening billions in rental assistance.
And we know how challenging this could be.
We know the trauma and the fear that people have to live with,
knowing if they can afford their rent.
So, we've placed money in the budget for that.
Now, budgets are about choices.
And so today we are announcing our choice
to protect food access, housing,
our immigrant and refugee communities,
and shelter for the people who need them most.
I'll close in my remarks by saying once again how I started.
It's more than a series of numbers on a page.
It reflects who we are at our core as the City of Seattle.
I'm very proud to be I think
standing on a long list of mayors
who have demonstrated this kind of commitment.
The stakes have changed a little bit.
We have to double down and triple down
and quadruple down on our values,
and that's what these budget investments really do.
And having said that,
I'm going to introduce Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck,
who's been a strong partner in advancing the Shield Initiative,
which will help fund these proposed investments.
And Council member Mercedes Rinck, you have the microphone.
-We have to adjust it a little bit.
Sorry, everyone. Well, thank you, Mayor Harrell.
I think that'll be just fine. Thank you, Mayor Harrell,
for prioritizing these investments
in your proposed budget.
I look forward to emphasizing their importance
as Council takes that budget very soon,
a little bit too soon. And good afternoon, everyone.
I am honored to be here among you all,
but also among many leaders in the space,
carrying out the work every day of taking care
of our most vulnerable neighbors.
And I want to take a moment to recognize you all
for the work that you're doing, taking care of our neighbors.
Today, I hope we remember this as the day
we drew a line in the sand.
When the federal government abandons its
most vulnerable residents, immigrants, refugees,
families struggling with housing and food insecurity,
Seattle steps up.
We must refuse to be complicit in cruelty.
What we're witnessing from Washington,
DC is the systematic dismantling of the social safety net
that has protected American families for generations.
These cuts to food assistance, housing programs,
immigrant and asylum
seeker support are cruelty designed
to scapegoat our most vulnerable neighbors.
That's why we have sent the Seattle Shield Initiative
to voters to ensure that when corporations
and large businesses profit in our city,
they contribute fairly to our community's well-being.
Today's investments prove that progressive tax policy works,
and it will protect our communities at this time.
Make no mistake,
when federal leaders target immigrant families,
gut nutrition programs, and slash housing assistance,
they're not making America great,
they're betraying American values.
I'm here as a proud Salvadoran and Jewish woman
whose American story was possible because of immigration.
Seattle will not stand by
while authoritarianism disguised as policy inflicts suffering
on our neighbors.
So to every family worried about their safety,
their next meal, their housing,
we see you, we value you, and we will fight for you.
To every corporation benefiting from our local economy,
it's only right that you pay your fair share
to protect the community that makes your success possible.
We cannot control what happens in Washington, DC.
But Seattle can choose to boldly stand up to defend our values,
to shield our small businesses and our neighbors.
And today we prove that local leadership matters,
that progressive values translate to real protection
for real people,
and that Seattle will never abandon those who need it most.
So when history judges this moment,
let it show that Seattle chose courage over compliance,
compassion over cruelty, and community over callousness.
Thank you.
-Council member Mercedes Rinck, Rincks of Fire.
And next we're going to have Kelly Kinnison,
Dr. Kinnison,
the CEO of the King County Regional Homeless Authority,
to share more about the impacts of federal cuts
to shelter and other homelessness response programs
that we have here locally.
Dr. Kinnison. -Thank you, Mayor Harrell,
for inviting me to come speak today
about this strategic investment.
I'm really grateful to be part of this positive news
for our community
when I know we've all been weathering so much
that's so very difficult.
As the leader of the Regional Homelessness Authority,
I've heard firsthand from service providers
who are concerned about these federal impacts on their
budgets, and the devastating consequences instability
in our system can create.
Despite the uncertainty they feel,
they continue to remain committed to serving some
of the most vulnerable members of our community every day,
and we must continue the work to support them.
This investment provides two vital resources
to the Emergency Homeless Response System,
voucher programs, and emergency shelter.
Vouchers are a lifeline for many in our community,
and they keep folks stably housed.
During the pandemic,
vouchers played a crucial role in helping hundreds of people
transition into housing,
and our region stepped up and had one of
the most successful distribution models in the country.
And so this is a very strategic investment in
how we will do this going forward.
We must also preserve emergency shelter.
This shelter meets the immediate need of unhoused people.
It brings them indoors, out of the elements,
and puts them on the path to rebuilding their lives.
The investments announced today
really show Mayor Harrell's continued commitment
to advancing one of our region's most pressing issues,
and one of our nation's most pressing issues,
and really highlights the values that we will continue to use
as we serve everyone in our community.
Thank you, Mayor Harrell,
for the strategic and compassionate approach,
and I look forward to witnessing the transformational outcomes
that I know it's going to have.
-Thank you, Kelly.
Our next speaker is not only an elected official,
but of course Hamdi Mohamed is the Director
of the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
to bring some remarks.
And Director Mohamed, you have the floor.
-Good morning, everyone. Well, first,
I just want to start off by thanking Mayor Harrell
and our City Council members, Council member Rinck,
Council member Dan Strauss, who's here with us.
Thank you for your leadership,
for your partnership, for your vision.
Mayor Harrell, thank you for strategizing with our office,
for your One Seattle vision that you bring.
Seattle is making a choice today, a choice to protect,
a choice to invest, and a choice to stand.
with our immigrant and refugee communities.
In these unprecedented times,
when some choose fear, we in Seattle are choosing hope.
When some promote division, we in Seattle are choosing unity.
And when some strip away opportunities,
our Seattle leadership is choosing to expand them.
That is what this $4 million investment represents
for our Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs,
a commitment to rapid response when families are facing crisis.
A commitment to our legal defense
when due process is under attack.
A commitment to citizenship, workforce development programs,
youth opportunities that open doors to stability,
to home ownership,
and to a brighter future for so many people
who call Seattle home.
And this commitment builds on the work
that we already have been doing.
I want to recognize the staff
from the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
who's in this room today,
who work hard on behalf of our immigrant and
refugee communities.
I also want to recognize so many of our partners
who are in this room,
the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project,
Neighborhood House Literacy Source,
the list goes on, Somali Task Force,
who's in this room today with us.
You all make that possible.
You bring the vision for seeing not only
our immigrant and refugee
communities survive in this community,
but you bring a vision where you see our communities thriving.
Immigrants are no stranger to struggles.
They are the backbone of this workforce in our economy
and in this region.
They are the small business owners on our main streets.
They are the parents raising the next generation of leaders.
They are our neighbors.
They are our friends and families
who make Seattle strong every single day.
And for me, this work is not abstract.
It's not distance. It's personal.
I came to this country
as a 3-year-old refugee with my parents.
seeking safety and protection.
We worked hard, like so many immigrant families,
like so many everyday families in the City of Seattle,
to build a life here.
I've dedicated my career to public service
because I am so grateful for what the United States,
what this country has given us.
And now, my commitment is clear,
to make sure that every immigrant and refugee
family has the chance to feel safe,
to make sure every family feels supported,
to make sure every child has the opportunity to thrive.
This is a moral responsibility
that Mr. Mayor articulated so well.
Budgets are a moral document.
They say what our values are.
That is our economic opportunity that we're building.
This is our One Seattle commitment.
And as the Director
of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs,
I also want to share that in early 2026,
We will be announcing exactly how these funds will be used
and how they'll be allocated and how organizations like yours
who are in this room can apply. And rest assured,
we are doing the work right now to prepare those RFPs
and make sure that we get them out the door
as quickly as possible
so that these dollars can reach our community.
Thank you again for the work that you do,
and we'll continue to work in partnership together.
-Thank you, Director Mohamed.
Usually when we hear such passionate pleas
and such inspirational words, at least where I grew up,
you usually pass a collection plate around after.
So do we have a bowl back there or something?
Because we are continuing with this kind of fire.
We want to hear from Henry Zhang,
a little bit of an introduction to Henry.
He's a downtown Seattle resident.
He's with OneAmerica,
who's one of our strongest partners
among many strong partners.
He's a downtown Seattle resident,
a first-generation immigrant.
He's a member of OneAmerica
and a volunteer at the Washington
New Americans program. And Henry,
we'd just love for you to share some thoughts with us, please.
-Hi, I'm Henry.
I'd like to just give a short talk.
So, the person credited with making Seattle-style
teriyaki famous came here from Japan.
The founder of Nordstrom came here from Sweden.
The founder of OneAmerica,
who is now serving in Congress, came here from India.
Immigrants have a place in every sector of Seattle's economy
and every facet of Seattle's social and cultural landscape.
Seattle wouldn't be Seattle without us.
Everyone here knows this already,
but in this day and age,
it needs to be repeated, and repeated often.
I've heard firsthand the fear of a young mother
for the safety of her non-citizen husband
when he drives an hour to work.
I've heard the disbelief and indignation
with which a retired federal prosecutor talked about
the injustice and disregard
for due process being inflicted on the immigrant community.
In the wake of federal funding cuts
and capricious detentions and deportations,
all of which are of dubious legality at best,
Seattle needs to step up.
The city needs to increase its investment
in providing access to healthcare, preschool,
language services, English classes, affordable housing,
jobs training, and more important than before,
legal services
that range from helping with citizenship applications
to asserting basic human and constitutional rights.
On behalf of OneAmerica,
I want to thank Mayor Harrell, Director Mohamed,
the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs,
the City Council, especially Councilman Rinck,
along with other important
and cherished service providers and organizations
who tirelessly uplift the immigrant and refugee community.
Seattle's renewed
and deepened commitment to keeping our city
a welcoming place for everyone, regardless of national origin,
is a step in the right direction toward making
this city a thriving home for us all.
OneAmerica and our community partners
are here to work with you all to organize, educate,
and empower our community on this long
and worthwhile journey.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Henry. Thank you, Henry.
Our last speaker will be Jinyao Ma,
who has participated
in the Asian Counseling and Referral Services Program,
which is, of course,
one of the workforce development programs that OIRA support.
I do want to recognize we're standing with,
after a national search, Kendi Yamaguchi, who is the CEO.
I've had the honor and the privilege to work with her
as Deputy Mayor here in Seattle,
and I don't think the ACRS could have picked a more outstanding
and effective leader.
And so I look forward to hearing Jinyao Ma.
Please, you have the microphone.
-Hello, everyone. My name is Jinyao.
I want to share my story with you.
After high school in China, I moved to America in 2010.
I did not go to college. My English was not good.
I worked as a waitress in a restaurant for many years.
The jobs were not stable, without benefit.
The hours were always changing.
I feel nervous about my future.
I need a change. I need a better future.
I joined the Ready to Work program.
It was a big help for me.
In Ready to Work, I took ESL classes.
My English got much better.
My case manager talked with me about careers.
He helped me find a good path.
Because I always had many questions about the human body,
I wondered, Why does medicine help?
Why does water not help a sickness?
What helps a painful shoulder?
I wanted to learn the answers.
I became interested in the medical field.
I wanted to help people also. My case manager told me
about Renton Tech College Medical Certificate programs,
and he referred me to the career service manager
at Renton Tech College.
I registered for the medical assistant training program.
I also got financial aid.
I didn't have to pay for all of it.
I was so happy.
Now I am studying to be a medical assistant.
My dream is to work in a clinic or a hospital.
My long-term goal is to become a registered nurse.
It is a big dream, but I am not scared.
Ready to Work gave me hope.
It gave me a plan.
Thank you to my teachers and my case manager.
Thank you for your support of this life-changing program.
You are not just funding a project.
You are investing in people,
in futures, and in our community health.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Jinyao.
Okay, with that, I'll just close with sort of a simple thought,
and that is that if you are here, thank you for being here.
You're all busy folks.
-I'm not sure how to help with that.
-Now that is scary.
How you can help with that is to...
in all seriousness, it's good
that we can laugh together even in a moment like this.
These are unprecedented times
when we're looking at who we're trying to serve as a city.
And you've heard me say this before,
and you're going to hear me say it today,
that I believe the answers in this country
can be found right here in Seattle.
How we embrace race and social justice,
how we love our immigrant and refugee communities,
how we love our LGBTQ+ neighbors and communities,
how we fight for climate change,
how we educate our kids.
The answers are right here.
So, I'm very proud to stand with you and my friends and family
here to say, Onward.
And with that, I'd be more than happy to take some questions.
Yes, Joel. -For context, please, Mayor.
What is the dollar figure or the percentage of federal dollars
that make up the city budget,
and any projections on how much you anticipate losing?
-Yeah, so I didn't come with a budget director to say that.
So we are looking at that.
I could say hundreds of millions of dollars
that we look at all of...
Now we're talking about transportation dollars.
We're talking about public safety dollars.
And so we look at the whole bucket.
So, I don't have my Office of Intergovernmental Relations
folks here, but I do have a staff or two.
I'm not going to call them out.
But we're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars
that are in jeopardy.
One good example would be on the continuum of care funds.
That's $60 to $70 million,
and it goes into your shop, Dr. Kinnison.
So there are real numbers at stake.
We've been very successful in the courts
thus far on all fronts, and so we'll continue that.
We've already initiated three lawsuits
and we're not afraid to use the judicial system to make sure
that these federal cuts...
we think we have a right to certain federal dollars,
and we certainly need them. So, it's a significant number.
Yes, Aaron.
-Just on the sidebar, of late, the Supreme Court,
and I think this relates to our immigration,
our immigrant population here in Seattle.
The Supreme Court okayed on a criminal justice perspective,
racial profiling.
Is the office,
is the mayor's office going to be addressing that
or is it prepared to address that aspect of immigration
and that aspect of the rights of the people in this city?
-Yeah.
Having read that decision,
I strongly agree with the dissenting opinion
in that decision.
And so we are very confident, again,
that's one of the reasons why,
Aaron, we put in so much money in for the legal defense dollars
to protect people's rights.
We know under this state, under RCW 49.60,
that race discrimination is unlawful.
So, we have strong state protections
under the Keep Washington Working Act, 1093.160,
that we know that we do not have to cooperate
with ICE efforts in our city, in our state.
So, we think we have adequate legal footing
to make sure our immigrants and refugees are protected.
And as Mayor, I fully commit to those protections as well.
Yes, sir.
-You know, it sounds
like a lot of the resources for immigrant defense
are poured into kind of outsourcing them to some
of the non-profit organizations that provide these services.
Including, you know, ICE Watch, legal defense.
But would the city ever consider moving forward
and providing that in-house, you know,
using the police department or any other city agencies
to address these concerns, these issues?
-Interesting question.
I've never been asked that question before.
What we've done as a strategy
is we've met with the community-based organizations
and we said, What do you need?
Lead us. We're here for you.
And we have not heard that request,
that we use our city attorney department as a source
to protect rights. Everything's on the table
when you're fighting the Trump administration.
So, we'll entertain those,
that thought has never been presented to me.
So, we'll keep, yes, please. Say we had a pre-huddle.
I say when you see the mayor struggling, come and save him.
-Yeah, thank you for that question,
and Mayor Harrell did answer it really well.
The thing that I would say is for us,
our community organization,
our nonprofit are trusted leaders in the community,
and for those who do want legal protections,
a lot of the times that's who they look to,
and not government. And there's a lot of mistrust.
And an organization like ours,
we are subject to public record disclosures,
a lot of information can be released
through those mechanisms. And so for us,
it is really important
that we continue to build relationships
with our nonprofit organization,
who, a lot of them,
the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project,
they have attorneys that work for them
and they're working through these cases.
Some of these cases take many, many years to solve
and for hearings to be held.
And so we really are intentional about partnering with our CBOs
and making that partnership stronger.
We advise the,
if there's curriculums on Know Your Rights trainings,
we help develop those curriculums.
So, it's honestly just a true partnership.
And our office in particular,
we don't just contract when we do programming.
And so it really is a partnership
with the organization,
and we're developing those programs together.
I hope that answered your question.
-And I'd like to change my answer
to what Director Mohamdy said.
Please, Mohamed. Yes, Joel.
-Could Seattle see any new tax proposals, sir?
And how much would these added investments lean
into the Shield Initiative
that's going to go before voters?
Would it all be going into this?
-Just to be clear, that's a good question.
So just to be clear, this is the funds from the Shield law.
The, what is will be on the ballot,
that's what these funds will go to
and Council Member Mercedes Rinck,
if you want to say anything extra,
but this is the package,
this is how we're choosing to spend that revenue.
And so...
-I'll just chime in on the point that the investments
that have been laid out by Mayor Harrell
are consistent with what was laid out,
the priority areas that were laid out by Council
when we passed it unanimously out of Council.
-Okay I'm going to make sure there are no more questions.
Yes? -I have a question.
I don't know if it's out of context
because I came in a bit late.
Since we're talking about immigrants,
and I just heard this Jinyao.
I'm sorry if I'm pronouncing it wrong.
So she came in for studies,
and that she was struggling the whole time.
I myself came as a student from Bangladesh,
and you know, Bangladesh is a developing country.
It was very difficult for me to come here for study.
But I completed my master's, and then...
I found it so difficult to get a job.
I had to wait for, like, six months.
And since I don't have any, I have an F1 visa,
there were many opportunities that were not even open for me.
And then I even went to workforce and Work Source,
and then I wanted their help.
And they said that, Okay, we can help you build your resume,
but won't do anything apart from that.
But now since I can't work, I was on the verge of,
you know, getting homeless,
because I didn't know how to pay my rent.
And then luckily I got this job
at the Sabani Family Safety Workforce.
I was so grateful for them.
It was the right of the time.
Otherwise, I don't know what I would have done.
And also, I have a certain lease at the time.
So do you think this issue can, it's not only me,
I've heard from a lot of people struggling with the same thing,
six months, 10 months, no jobs.
I applied to over 1,000 jobs.
So do you think that this is related
and anything can be done, you know,
to speed up this, I mean,
to increase the employment opportunities for people like us
so that we can move forward with this?
We don't want to go back to our country.
I mean, like, you know, I don't have anything
to do here so I want to go back.
This is, you know, it's so difficult,
so I just wanted to address this.
I don't know if it's relative.
-So, you're asking a great question
about employment opportunities
for the immigrant refugee community,
and I would want to think that through the efforts
we're doing as a city and the state,
through their workforce development efforts,
that we're providing every opportunity.
But we recognize how tough it is right now.
So, I don't know, Hamdi,
would you like to say anything on that?
I don't have a lot of,
I could go through some of the programs we have,
but thank God you're working for one of our greatest CBOs around.
But we do recognize how tough it is for immigrant refugees,
particularly in this climate, to get jobs.
But I don't know what else to say.
-Similar to what Mayor Harrell said,
obviously the job market is really difficult
and people from all sorts,
who have all sorts of different immigration status
struggle through it. And again, we do partner with,
there's the East African Community Services,
Munir Mohammed is in the room, Literacy Source.
There's a number of organizations
that do do workforce pipelines
and try to help people with job placements.
And so we would refer you to some of those organizations.
Or also the universities sometimes have pathways
to help people attain a job, and it is difficult.
And when you're going through different visa types,
those challenges are real.
But you could reach out to our office,
and we would do whatever we can to be a source of information
and connect you to some of the organizations
that are doing that work.
-So I'm going to close...
Oh, I was going to close.
Let me close, and then I'll take your question if I may.
Your question is actually a profound one,
because we're here to talk about the Shield Initiative,
as I think is very apparent.
In recent days,
I've talked much about another issue
that will be on the ballot, which is the education levy.
And in that,
we recognize that a lot of the children
in our Seattle Public Schools,
they may not go on to work for a high-tech company
and be developers.
We have great opportunities at the port and in industry
and in manufacturing
and as a port city in the maritime industry.
And they're looking for employees as well,
and they pay pretty darn good wages.
So in this program,
we have set up that you can go to college
for two years for free.
Just graduate from Seattle Public Schools.
And we have apprenticeships and internships such
that you can pipe into these different jobs.
And if you want to go into high-tech or biotech,
there's opportunities there as well.
So, we recognize your experience
and hopefully the younger generation coming out of
our schools will have a more pleasant experience.
And you have a question, sure.
I think this will be the last question.
-Hi, good morning.
[inaudible] with Associated Press.
-Nice to meet you, sir.
-I'm new to the city and I'm coming from New York,
and I've been writing for a long time.
And earlier you talked about doubling down on proven
strategies around [inaudible]
And I wonder if you and your colleagues
can talk for a second about evaluating effectiveness.
A lot of folks have been in a little bit of an emergency
since the new administration came in.
A lot of emergency contracts.
So when you look, for example, at legal services,
how do you judge whether it has been affected or not?
-Great question, and welcome to Seattle, by the way.
Effectiveness, outcomes,
how do we know that the taxpayer is getting value
for the money or the outcomes?
Maybe you could speak to that.
-Yeah, I mean,
and we send reports to the mayor's office as well.
Metrics is really, really important.
And being good stewards of public dollars
is really important.
So, every time when these types of investments are being made,
we also report out on how many clients are helped,
what resulted from that.
And some of the examples I could give you is,
for instance we had an influx of migrants
who arrived in the Seattle area. They were unhoused at one point.
And some of our legal service dollars went to that.
And what we saw is individuals receive temporary shelter for,
at times maybe 30, 60 days.
And the organizations we were partnering with then
helped them obtain a work authorization.
And so once they received that work authorization,
that person became able to be able to get a job themselves.
And what we saw is within less,
in some cases less than 90 days,
someone receives temporary housing,
they receive services to get a work authorization,
they find employment, and they move out of that shelter,
and they rent their own place
and are able to receive stability.
And so I have a bunch of program specialists in our office.
They do site visits at the organizations
that we're partnering with.
They collect the data, the cases and the stories.
And if you'd like, I'm happy to share more of those stories.
Thank you.
-Okay, here's my last closing, family.
It's very important to realize the significance
of some of these challenges.
I've said publicly that,
I said the B&O tax policy we proposed is good policy,
it's strong policy. Many of you may or may not know
that Amazon had record profits last year, $60 billion.
The year before that, it was $30 billion.
Microsoft, $80 billion.
So, what we were very intentional about doing
is looking at the largest taxpayers
and giving 90% of the businesses a tax break, a benefit,
because we have to protect the most vulnerable.
And so when you ask about return on investment,
financial outcomes, I ask another question,
what's the right thing to do?
This is the right thing to do.
So in closing, thank you for being here.
Onward, fighting together as a family and as friends.
And my co-speakers,
I know some people aren't as used to public speaking,
but you knocked it out the park, by the way.
Thank you very much for being here.
And everyone, let's have a great day.
Thank you.