City Council’s Role in Police Accountability

Summary

The City Council creates the City budget. This authority means that they make decisions about how much money is allocated to which City programs, including the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and community safety, e.g., alternate crisis response, mental health, and housing. The budget is on a 2 year cycle and was recently voted on for 2021.

In addition to creating the budget, the City Council also drafts legislation and, therefore, has the ability to pass legislation that creates greater accountability with the aim of reducing police violence against communities.

The City Council also approves the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) contract. The 2017 Police Accountability Ordinance was passed by City Council unanimously, but then key portions were not included in the union contract that the Council voted to approve. 

Elected City Council members must not only be committed to passing accountability legislation, they must stay committed when negotiating with SPOG.

Importance

It’s crucial to elect Councilmembers who are committed to divesting resources away from the ever-ballooning SPD budget and re-invest that money to support communities disparately impacted by police violence, thereby creating safer communities for all.

Passing accountability legislation to reduce police violence against communities is essential to public safety, but it should be noted that most legislation that involves police accountability has to be negotiated with SPOG. Hence, it is paramount that elected City Councilmembers are not only committed to passing accountability legislation but willing to stay committed to accountability when negotiating with Seattle’s police unions.

Acronyms

SPD - Seattle Police Department

SPOG - Seattle Police Officers Guild