Seattle City Council OK's spending from emergency reserves
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council has voted unanimously to authorize spending $86 million from Seattle’s emergency reserves to provide additional relief to residents and small businesses struggling to deal with the public health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
It also on Monday unanimously approved a resolution laying out a detailed plan for more than $200 million per year in expected proceeds from a new tax on big businesses, allocating the lion’s share to affordable housing projects.
The Seattle Times reports that COVID-19 relief bill and the spending plan for the big-business tax are linked, because the spending plan calls for the first $86 million raised by the tax next year to be used to replenish the emergency reserves.
The council took the steps over objections from Mayor Jenny Durkan, who described them as fiscally, legally and economically risky.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seattle-city-council-ok-s-spending-from-emergency-reserves/ar-BB170Som?ocid=hplocalnews
