History of the SPD budget & the Meaning of “Defund” and “Re-invest”

Summary

Follow the Money Until the passage of the 2021 budget, the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD’s) budget increased every successive year. In 2001, the police department budget was approximately $229 million (in 2020 dollars); in 2020 the original budget allocated about $409 million. 82% of the total budget is spent on wages, benefits, and overtime, with another 14% going in support of personnel such as HR, IT, vehicle fleet services, etc.

For decades, the SPD has regularly exceeded its overtime budget by millions of dollars. In the period of 1995-2014, SPD exceeded its budget every year but one by anywhere from 1 percent to 64 percent. A 2016 City Auditor’s report found overtime overages were in part a result of problems with internal controls on overtime, which persists today. 

A re-imagined public safety is to divest resources away from the ever-ballooning SPD budget and re-invest that money to support communities disparately impacted by police violence, which creates safer communities for all. As police budgets have grown unchecked, other areas of community support have become deeply under-resourced; affordable housing, health care, education, food security, providing better access to mental health care and addiction treatment, and creating robust violence prevention programs. There is also interest in creating more unarmed emergency response options, particularly for those who are unhoused, mentally ill, or suffering from drug addiction.

Importance

The Mayor proposes the City budget and has veto powers over the passed budget. The City Council has the legislative power to revise and pass each year’s budget. Together, the Mayor and City Council will decide whether to provide more resources for community health and wellness and from where those resources will come. They also have the opportunity to continue to check the SPD’s ballooning budget and overtime spending.

Acronyms

SPD - Seattle Police Department