CBO + SPD Evaluation of Issue ID Memos, via Mayor Jenny
Durkan’s Office
Background information on the City Council’s Issue ID memos:
Important note about conducting layoffs in the middle of a fiscal year vs. conducting
layoffs at the beginning of a fiscal year. If the department were to lay off officers in
the middle of 2020, they would need to lay off more than they would need to if they
conducted layoffs at the start of 2021 (and under the direction of the 2021 budget).
That’s because other potential sources of savings have already been identified, or
the annual budget has already been expended (e.g., OT, equipment, supplies).
Additionally, some costs like facility leases and health care are fixed and cannot be
reduced mid-year.
For these reasons, the below layoff impacts are separated into 2020 and 2021. The
Mayor has repeatedly made clear that she believes a discussion of transforming SPD
is a worthy one, but it should take place regarding the 2021 budget. If you start at
the beginning of a fiscal year, you have more options, and you can decrease the
potential for layoffs by disinvesting in other areas. In addition, many of these areas
have labor implications so budget reductions are not guaranteed.
Please note: Executive branch analysis is in bold.
Councilmember Herbold Issue ID
1. Cut appropriations in the Proposed 2020 Rebalance budget as follows:
a. Cut $20.3 million that is identified for reduction as part of the Mayor’s
Proposed 2020 Rebalance Budget.
Mayor’s proposal – already done.
Fiscal Impact Aug - Dec: $0 cut beyond Mayor’s proposed cuts.
Layoffs required: N/A
Bargaining: N/A
b. Phased cut of the appropriations supporting the Collaborative Policing
Bureau, including the Navigation Team Officers and School Resource
Officers. Prioritize for reduction departmentwide those officers with
highest number of complaints.
The Collaborative Policing Bureau also houses the civilian
Community Service Officers, civilian Mental Health
Professionals, the sworn Crisis Intervention Team and the
sworn Mounted Unit. The CSOs were added to SPD in 2019-20
to bridge the service gap on police calls for service that do not
require a sworn police officer. The CSO program was launched
after an extensive program development and community
engagement process involving the Mayor’s Office, City Council,

 Office for Civil Rights, Department of Neighborhoods, Office of
Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, Human Services Department,
the Community Police Commission and a large number of
community organizations (e.g. Seattle LGBTQ Commission,
Seattle Indian Health Board, Friends of Little Saigon, El Centro
de la Raza, Project NEON, Black Prisoners’ Caucus at Clallam
Bay Corrections Center). In 2017-18, a hiring panel comprised
of SPD representatives and a community representative hired
15 CSOs and supervisors.
In 2020, SPD expanded and Council approved the number of
contract, civilian MHPs who advise and respond to crisis
incidents throughout the City. Cutting the Crisis Intervention
Team would cut this successful co-responder program and
would cut the program that researches and serves Extreme
Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) which combat gun violence in
Seattle.
The Collaborative Policing Bureau has more experienced
officers with more years of service and specialized training.
Because of this and seniority rules for layoffs, this means that
cutting funding will not lead to laying off these specific officers
but a layoff of 52 officers currently assigned to patrol with
higher layoff impacts in 2020.
Fiscal Impact Aug - Dec: $5.5M if the entire Collaborative
Policing Bureau is cut including CSOs, civilian contracted
Mental Health Professionals, and sworn Crisis Intervention
Team.
If conducting layoffs in 2020: 120 FTE
If conducting layoffs in 2021: 52 sworn FTEs and 36 civilian
FTEs (includes 18 in the CSO unit)
Bargaining: Likely
c. Phased cut of the appropriations that support recruitment and
retention activities, public relations activities and homeland security
activities. Prioritize for reduction departmentwide those officers with
highest number of misconduct complaints.
Most of these costs are associated with personnel. The SPD’s
budget for recruitment and retention activities was $1.2M and
that funded 2.75 FTE. While the initiative was stopped, the
funding currently supports 2.75 FTE that have been redirected
to reopening and other projects. Some work was completed
before we halted the initiative, and approximately $600,000
remains in this line item in 2020.

 The department’s public affairs unit answers media questions,
in addition to publishing information on the department’s
social media channels and website.
On Homeland Security – it’s important to note that this
function in no way relates to the federal agency. This is a unit
of sworn officers who staff the Seattle Police Operations
Center during large emergencies and coordinate staffing for
citywide events such as festivals, fun runs and sporting
events. Eliminating this unit will eliminate the analysis
necessary to identify threats and appropriate security
measures needed for these events. SPD is reimbursed for
$5.7M/year of event costs which is General Fund revenue.
Cutting this function would effectively cut this revenue from
the General Fund. Furthermore, State law requires sworn
officers to play a role in any traffic signal overrides. The
Executive believes a deep analysis is necessary of special
events and sporting events, including reimbursements of these
events. The Mayor agrees the unit’s work should be clarified
with a more appropriate title of work as well.
Fiscal Impact Aug - Dec: $600,000 (RR) + $1.2M (HS) +
$374,000 (PA)
If conducting layoffs in 2020: 46 FTE
If conducting layoffs in 2021: 15 sworn FTE and four civilian
FTE
Bargaining: Possible
d. Phased cut of the appropriations that support overtime expenditures.
The Mayor and SPD have already proposed reductions to SPD’s
overtime in 2020, in addition, SPD As of July 7, 2020, SPD
expended $21,921,109 on overtime, or 104 percent of
its total overtime budget. There is no budget remaining.
Fiscal Impact Aug - Dec: $0 cut
Layoffs required: N/A, as there is no funding left to cut in 2020
Bargaining: N/A, as there is no funding left to cut in 2020
Total projected cuts from Councilmember Herbold’s Issue ID in 2020:
$7.2M and 166 FTE
2. Replace the current 9-1-1 operations with a civilian-led system.

 The 911 Call Center is already almost entirely civilian (140 civilian
FTE; 12 sworn FTE). The Executive branch has proposed moving the
911 Call Center out of the SPD in 2021. This proposal will likely need
to be bargained and cannot be fully implemented until late
2020/early 2021.
3. Introduce a Council resolution that would direct the Chief to use her authority
under PSPSC rules to make out-of-order lay-offs to preserve efficient
operations of SPD by focusing lay-offs on officers with history of disciplinary
issues.
See attached background on PSCSC rules. In addition, a Council
resolution is legally non-binding and has no legislative power.
4. Create a path to Fund $68 million; phased September through December.
Need more information on budget, organization, and implementation
plan.
5. Fund community-led alternatives to policing, including violence-interruption
and prevention, restorative and transformative justice approaches to harm,
including diversion.
Need more information on budget, organization, and implementation
plan.
6. Fund a fall 2020 community-led process with police-impacted communities to
inform roadmap for reducing violence beyond policing.
Already funded in the Mayor’s 2020 rebalancing proposal. $500,000
is currently proposed in the Department of Neighborhoods for this
purpose.
7. Fund additional rent assistance for homeless people.
Need more information on budget plan.
Councilmember Morales Issue ID
1. Replace current 9-1-1 operations with a civilian-led system. Create an
independent emergency operations system responsible for coordinating first
responders, to move 911 dispatch out of police control. Additionally, City of
Seattle will create a non-SPD controlled process for handling non-priority,
non-life-threatening calls for assistance. Any 911 replacements should be
truly civilian-controlled. For example, the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, while
a marked improvement over Seattle’s current state of affairs, still relies on a
police-controlled 911 dispatcher to refer callers to the community mental
health workers. The City of Seattle should reorganize 911 so that civilian
dispatchers can refer people in crisis to EMTs and social workers who are
grounded in a harm-reduction model. The City must simultaneously commit

 to fully funding services and housing so that crisis workers can offer
appropriate referrals.
The 911 Call Center is already almost entirely civilian (140 civilian
FTE; 12 sworn FTE). The Executive branch has proposed moving the
911 Call Center out of the SPD in 2021. This proposal will likely need
to be bargained and cannot be fully implemented until late
2020/early 2021.
2. Cut appropriations in the Proposed 2020 Rebalance budget related to the
functions below. If Officer layoffs are required, then the Department shall
prioritize for reduction departmentwide those officers with highest number of
misconduct complaints.
a. End contracts with private firms to defend SPD and the City against
police misconduct – Funding will be allocated to support the
community organizations who will be scaling up, supporting youth
outreach work plans, and supporting organizations to absorb violence
prevention work. The funding will include capacity building support for
organizations to apply and receive city funding.
This would not result in budget savings from SPD. Any outside
counsel retained for defending claims against SPD officers, or
any other City employees for that matter, comes from the
Judgment Claims Fund. Outside counsel is only retained when
CAO lacks capacity, outside expertise is needed, or there is a
conflict of interest. CAO cannot represent an employee or
officer of the City if there is a conflict between that person
while acting within the course and scope of their employment
and the City itself (i.e. that employee may be subject to
disciplinary review or may have been disciplined). CAO legally
requires outside counsel assistance for this purpose.
The City is required to indemnify officers, all employees, under
SMC 4.24.010 if they within the course and scope of their
employment. This requires the Chief to make a “course and
scope” determination. 4.64.020 Evaluation of “course and
scope” is also subject to state law course and scope
jurisprudence. See e.g., Dickinson v. Edwards, 105 Wn.2d 457,
466 (1986); Greene v. St. Paul-Mercury Indemn. Co., 52 Wn.2d
569, 573 (1958); RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF AGENCY § 7.07
(2006); and DeWolf and Allen, TORT LAW AND PRACTICE, § 4:6
(4th Ed. 2013).
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $0 for SPD
Layoffs required: None
Bargaining required: No

 b. Cut ties with Homeland Security–This will be coupled with immediate
approval of funds towards urgent housing needs. This can come
through a combination of emergency rent-assistance grants, and
money towards additional public housing assistance through the
Department of Housing. People currently unhoused should be
prioritized for receipt of any assistance, with no barriers based on
income, criminal records, record of addiction, etc. All options for using
empty housing stock in the city should be used until any unhoused
person who wants a place to live has one.
On Homeland Security – it’s important to note that this
function in no way relates to the federal agency. This is a unit
of sworn officers who staff the Seattle Police Operations
Center during large emergencies and coordinate staffing for
citywide events such as festivals, fun runs and sporting
events. Eliminating this unit will eliminate the analysis
necessary to identify threats and appropriate security
measures needed for these events. SPD is reimbursed for
$5.7M/year of event costs which is General Fund revenue.
Cutting this function would effectively cut this revenue from
the General Fund. Furthermore, State law requires sworn
officers to play a role in any traffic signal overrides. The
Executive believes a deep analysis is necessary of special
events and sporting events, including reimbursements of these
events. The Mayor agrees the unit’s work should be clarified
with a more appropriate title of work as well.
If by “cut ties” the Councilmember means “cut” the unit, then:
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $1.2M (and additional fiscal impact
caused by less revenue to the General Fund)
If conducting layoffs in 2020: 40 FTE
If conducting layoffs in 2021: 11 sworn FTE and two civilian FTE
Bargaining: Possible
c. Cut Recruitment and Retention Budget – Funding will be allocated to
support the community organizations who will be scaling up,
supporting youth outreach work plans, and supporting organizations to
absorb violence prevention work. The funding will include capacitybuilding support for organizations to apply and receive city funding.
Remove the Office of Collaborative Policing, including ending the
Navigation Teams and ensuring via proviso that officers cannot in the
future perform Navigation Team activities – This will be coupled with
immediate approval of funds towards urgent housing needs. This can
come through a combination of emergency rent-assistance grants, and
money towards additional public housing assistance through the
Department of Housing. People currently unhoused should be

 prioritized for receipt of any assistance, with no barriers based on
income, criminal records, record of addiction, etc. All options for using
empty housing stock in the city should be used until any unhoused
person who wants a place to live has one.
The SPD’s budget for recruitment and retention activities was
$1.2M that funded 2.75 FTE. While the initiative was stopped,
is a currently supports 2.75 FTE that have been redirected to
reopening support and other projects. Some work was
completed before the City halted the initiative, and
approximately $600,000 remains in this line item in 2020.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: Roughly $600,000
Layoffs required: 2.75 FTE (no 2020/2021 difference in this
scenario)
Bargaining: No
d. End SPD Overtime Pay and Institute a Freeze hiring, including
cancelling this year’s planned hires to support scaling-up of
community-led solutions –Fund groups who are already developing
community-led alternatives to policing, including groups involved in
violence-interruption and prevention, and restorative and
transformative justice approaches to harm. Groups led by and based in
communities that have suffered the bulk of police presence,
surveillance, and violence, will be prioritized for these funds. Funds will
also go towards incubating new projects and organizations in policeimpacted communities. These immediate investments will allow the
groups to dramatically scale up their operations in preparation for
future cuts to SPD’s budget and operations. To allow community groups
to focus their efforts on their growth and development, the grants will
be for general operating funds, with minimal bureaucratic
requirements (for examples of low-requirement contracts: See city
contract with POC-Sex Worker Organizing Project, for example of
deliverables, see EPIC Giving Circle, where the deliverable was
dispersing the funds). Organizations should not be required to end
violence in Seattle in one funding cycle.
A hiring freeze has been in place for SPD since April 2020. In
addition, because of significant early hiring and recruitment
gains during the first two quarters of 2020, and a 25 percent
decrease in attrition, SPD’s hiring budget for 2020 is
completely spent.
The Mayor and SPD have already proposed reductions to SPD’s
overtime in 2020 in the amount of $8.6M. As of July 7, 2020,
SPD expended $21,921,109 on overtime, or 104 percent of
its total overtime budget. There is no budget remaining.

 Fiscal Impact Aug - Dec: $0 cut
Layoffs required: N/A, as there is no funding left to cut in 2020
Bargaining: N/A, as there is no funding left to cut in 2020
e. Cut SPD’s funding for Public Relations and transfer funds to OCR for a
summer-fall 2020 community-led research process, with the goal of
gathering ideas and proposals from police-impacted communities to
inform a roadmap for reducing violence beyond policing – Policing and
community safety are fundamentally racial justice issues, so a broad
coalition of directly impacted people of color must take the lead in
shaping the solutions to creating sustained community safety beyond
saturated policing. Create a new community-led process to address
this harm. Citywide dialogues about expanded notions of community
safety will inform the roadmap City leaders need to move forward with
further cuts to SPD’s budget. The funding from the City will allow
people who are most directly impacted by police contact and
surveillance to systematically produce their own solutions to guide the
City’s next steps. Paying community members to be involved in this
dialogue will offer income support to the communities most directly
impacted by COVID-19 and the economic crisis. As city officials are
paid to plan for public safety, community members should not be
expected to come up with solutions on a volunteer basis. This
community-led research process will transition into a 2021
Participatory Budgeting process for the Public Safety parts of the city
budget.
The department’s public affairs unit answers media questions,
in addition to publishing information on the department’s
social media channels and website.
In addition, $500,000 is currently proposed for the Department
of Neighborhoods for this purpose.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $374,400
Layoffs required: Four sworn FTE and two civilian FTE (no
2020/2021 difference in this scenario)
Bargaining: Possible
f.

Reduce patrol staffing to account for civilianization of many calls for
service currently being responded to by patrol officers, with
corresponding reduction in administrative staffing – Fund groups who
are already developing community-led alternatives to policing,
including groups involved in violence-interruption and prevention, and
restorative and transformative justice approaches to harm. Groups led
by and based in communities that have suffered the bulk of police
presence, surveillance, and violence, will be prioritized for these funds.

 Funds will also go towards incubating new projects and organizations in
police-impacted communities. These immediate investments will allow
the groups to dramatically scale up their operations in preparation for
future cuts to SPD’s budget and operations. To allow community groups
to focus their efforts on their growth and development, the grants will
be for general operating funds, with minimal bureaucratic
requirements (for examples of low-requirement contracts: See city
contract with POC-Sex Worker Organizing Project, for example of
deliverables, see EPIC Giving Circle, where the deliverable was
dispersing the funds). Organizations should not be required to end
violence in Seattle in one funding cycle.
Mayor Durkan has previously articulated that SPD is reviewing
the 800,000 911 calls and 400,000 dispatch calls to determine
other programs that need to be ramped up. Need more
information on budget, organization, and implementation plan.
Cannot determine fiscal, staffing, or labor implications without
specific cut proposals for patrol staffing.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: Cannot yet project
Layoffs required: Cannot yet project
Bargaining: Cannot yet project
g. Cut Travel and Training budget – Funding will be allocated to support
the community organizations who will be scaling up, supporting youth
outreach work plans, and supporting organizations to absorb violence
prevention work. The funding will include capacity-building support for
organizations to apply and receive city funding.
The Mayor included a $596,000 cut to SPD’s travel and training
budget in her 2020 rebalancing proposal. The remaining
budget for August – December 2020 is $201,000. This funding
is used for travel and required training and certifications.
Some training is required under the Consent Decree.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $201,000
Layoffs required: No
Bargaining: No
Total projected cuts from Councilmember Morales’s Issue ID in 2020:
$2.4M and 48.75 FTE
3. Transfer the funding for DON’s Community process around public safety to
OCR for a community-led participatory budgeting process.

 Deputy Mayor Ranganathan is working with a series of departments
regarding the community engagement process.
4. Cap salaries of officers who receive misconduct complaints.
This effort would require bargaining, which would prolong the
process of implementing this in 2020. In addition, there may be
constitutional due process issues involved. Further analysis is
necessary before proceeding. CAO is evaluating the legality of this
proposal.
Councilmember Sawant Issue ID
1. Cut appropriations in the Proposed 2020 Rebalance budget as follows:
a. Stop the Sweeps – Cut from the Proposed 2020 Rebalance Budget
funding for the Navigation Team and shift to other council priorities
such as homeless services.
$1.08M of the remaining 2020 SPD budget for the Navigation
Team pays for sworn officer salaries.
Please note, cutting budget for the Nav Team would not
necessarily lay off those specific officers because of PSCSC
rules regarding layoff order. Those sworn officers would just no
longer reside on the Navigation Team.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $1.08M
Layoffs required: 14 sworn FTE (no 2020/2021 difference in this
scenario)
Bargaining: No.
b. Reduce General Fund Allocations to the SPD for Aug-December by
approximately 50 percent ($85 million) distributed between the
following budget summary levels:
This cut is larger than the estimate SPD used to project 1,100
layoffs caused by an immediate 50 percent cut last week. You
can read Chief Best’s previous memo here.
Fiscal Impact Aug – Dec: $85M
If conducting layoffs in 2020: More than 1,800 FTE, sworn and
civilian, if the reductions below are in addition to the
reductions presented in the Mayor’s rebalancing package. If
the $85M includes the $20.4M already proposed, then the
layoff number would be less (est. 1,429).
Bargaining: Very likely

 Budget Line

2020 Adopted
Budget

Reductio
n

SPD-BO-SP-P1000 –
Chief of Police
SPD-BO-SP-P1200 –
Office of Police
Accountability
SPD-BO-SP-P1600 –
Leadership and
Administration
SPD-BO-SP-P1800 –
Patrol Operations
SPD-BO-SP-P2000 –
Compliance and
Professional
Standards Bureau
SPD-BO-SP-P3400 –
Special Operations
SPD-BO-SP-P4000 –
Collaborative Policing
(Not CSOs)
SPD-BO-SP-P7000 –
Criminal
Investigations
SPD-BO-SP-P8000 –
Administrative
Operations
Totals

$10,268,376

$2,139,00
0
$0

$4,693,942

Layoffs
Required
*
47
0

Bargain
ing
Very
likely
N/A

$70,026,107

$14,589,0
00

321

Very
likely

$147,826,693

$30,979,0
00
$0

681

Very
likely
N/A

$14,158,0
00
$2,736,00
0

311

$59,695,661

$12,437,0
00

274

Very
likely

$39,090,706

$8,144,00
0

179

Very
likely

$409,111,751

$85,000,
000

1,873

Very
likely

$4,610,702

$57,635,958
$13,131,820

0

60

Very
likely
Very
likely

*If conducting layoffs in 2020. Layoff estimates are based on reduction amount.
Actual layoffs may not correspond to the bureaus as listed above.
Total projected cuts from Councilmember Sawant’s Issue ID in 2020:
$85M
2. Cap the salaries and overtime of employees of the Seattle Police Department
at 150,000 per year.
Wages are a mandatory subject of bargaining – this would require
bargaining with both unions representing officers in SPD, and
because of that, could not feasibly be implemented in 2020.
3. Place a proviso on the budgets of the CAO and the SPD as follows: “No funds
may be used, directly or through contract, to support the prosecution of
individuals for actions taken while participating in Justice for George Floyd
protests, including but not limited to, collecting or transmitting evidence,
providing testimony, and attorney time, except as required by court order.

 Funds may be used for the purposes of dropping charges, releasing arrestees,
and clearing records
Council cannot instruct SPD to disobey lawfully issued subpoenas by
King County Superior Court or Seattle Municipal Court, but it also
cannot command SPD to disregard their oath to uphold State and
Federal law. CAO and KCPAO have both committed to nonprosecution of peaceful protestors. Further, there would not be a
way to isolate “funds” spent on these items from the other duties of
CAO and SPD employees.
Councilmember Lewis Issue ID
1. Request the Executive to develop a plan to implement and scale a 911
response system modeled on Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets
(CAHOOTS). Request that the Executive emulate a community visioning
processes shaping CAHOOTS adoption similar to the experience of Portland,
Denver, and Oakland. Further request that Decriminalize Seattle, among
other community stakeholders identified by the Council and Executive, be
intimately included in the visioning process to develop this new system of
911 response.
The Mayor had previously worked closely with Councilmember
Bagshaw to create the successful model of Health One, which took
approximately significant time to create, fund, operationalize, train,
and deploy. Considering it is a similar model to send a social worker
and firefighter, Mayor Durkan, Chief Best, and Chief Scoggins believe
this model can best be expanded and deployed in Seattle more
rapidly. She welcomes the same level of partnership that she
received from Councilmember Bagshaw to articulate resources
needed, staffing, models, and implementation.
Health One responded to 203 incidents in the second quarter of
2020, with the most common cases being non-medical needs,
weakness, alcohol use, behavioral or mentation issues, anxiety, and
minor injury.
The below map shows where the vast majority of Health One
responses have been since its launch.

 In Seattle, SPD responded to 17,000 crisis calls. In addition, the
Mayor supports the work of Seattle Police Department’s Crisis
Response Team, which is comprised of specially trained officers,
partnered with mental health professionals, to assist individuals in
mental health crises. The Crisis Response Team was created from the
Consent Decree (paragraph 130) and is mandated under the Consent
Decree. In last year’s budget, the Mayor added resources for civilian
mental health professionals at each precinct, recognizing the need
for more civilians to serve individuals in crisis.
The Mayor acknowledges the immense lack of resources to serve
behavioral health and mental health needs, which has typically not
been a City function. As we look to send the right person, we can
and should also evaluate other community-based programs funded
by the County that do crisis response.
Finally, the Mayor’s 2020 rebalancing proposal includes $500,000 in
the Department of Neighborhoods for the purpose Councilmember
Lewis outlines above.
2. Create a new Department of Public Safety removing numerous civilian
elements of SPD from the sworn chain of command. This includes, but is not
limited to, traffic enforcement, 911 dispatch, and the community service
officer program.
The Executive and Chief has already outlined their preliminary
actions to remove many civilian functions from SPD as part of the
2021 budget. Creating a new department will likely require

 significant investment and the Mayor does not support the creation
of a new department in 2020
Total expected cuts from Councilmember Lewis’s proposal in 2020:
$0 as the Councilmember did not propose any cuts.