'S ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THE AUGUST 11, 2025 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL WILL COME TO ORDER. IT IS 1:32 P.M., I'M SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. WILL THE CLERK PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? >> COUNCILMEMBER SOLOMON? >> HERE. >> COUNCILMEMBER STRAUSS? >> PRESENT, HERE. >> COUNCILMEMBER HOLLINGSWORTH? COUNCILMEMBER JUAREZ? >> HERE. >> COUNCILMEMBER KETTLE? >> HERE. >> COUNCILMEMBER RINCK? >> PRESENT. >> COUNCILMEMBER RIVERA? COUNCILMEMBER SAKA? >> HERE. >> AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT NELSON? >> PRESENT. >> SEVEN PRESENT. >> AND I'LL NOTE COUNCILMEMBER RIVERA WAS EXCUSED FROM TODAY'S MEETING. ALL RIGHT, IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, THE AGENDA WILL BE ADOPTED. ALL RIGHT, HEARING NO OBJECTION, THE AGENDA IS ADOPTED. IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, THE RULES WILL BE SUSPENDED TO ALLOW CENTRAL STAFF TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL. HEARING NO OBJECTION, THE RULES ARE SUSPENDED, AND BEN NOBLE, THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL STAFF, WILL JOIN US AT THE TABLE. YOU'RE FREE TO BEGIN WHENEVER. GO AHEAD. >> THANK YOU. I'M HERE TODAY TO EXPLAIN -- WELL YOU ARE HERE TODAY, AND THE REASON YOU ARE HERE TODAY IS THAT WE MADE SOME MISTAKES, TECHNICAL MISTAKES, IN PREPARING THE LEGISLATION THAT YOU APPROVED LAST WEEK TO SEND TO THE VOTERS FOR THEIR REVIEW, THE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD AFFECT CITY'S RATES. GOOD NEWS IS YOUR LEGISLATIVE INTENT WAS VERY CLEAR, AND IT WAS INCONSISTENT WITH THE MISTAKE IN VERSION OF THE ORDINANCE. THE OTHER THING IT IS VERY GOOD, THERE IS STILL TIME FOR YOU TO PASS AN ORDINANCE AT TOMORROW'S MEETING. WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING TODAY IS TO REFER THAT CORRECTIVE ORDINANCE TO THE FULL COUNCIL TOMORROW. LET ME BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT IT IS YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING TOMORROW, IF YOU APPROVE THIS CORRECTIVE ORDINANCE. WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING IS AMENDING THE ORDINANCE THAT IS BEING SENT TO THE VOTERS. WHAT THE VOTERS WILL SEE, AND YOU'LL BE DOING THIS BEFORE IT'S SENT TO THE VOTERS. SO WHEN THEY GET THEIR PACKET IN THE MAIL THAT DESCRIBES WHAT IS BEFORE THEM, IT WOULD BE THE CORRECTIVE VERSION OF THE ORDINANCE THAT WILL ADDRESS THE TECHNICAL ISSUES, WHICH I CAN DESCRIBE IN MORE DETAILS IF YOU WANT. SO THERE'S NO PROBLEM HERE IN TERMS OF THE TRANSPARENCY TO THE VOTERS. THEY WILL SEE THE RIGHT THING. KING COUNTY ELECTIONS IS AWARE OF THE PROCESS WE INTEND TO FOLLOW, AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THEIR PROCEDURES, SO THEY'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT THIS CORRECTION. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE IT IN THIS TIMELY WAY. SO WITH REGARD TO THE ERRORS THEMSELVES, I'M EMBARRASSED TO TELL YOU MISTAKES WERE MADE BY COMBINATION OF BOTH CENTRAL STAFF AND LAW FOLKS INVOLVED IN REVIEW OF LEGISLATION DOWN TO THESE TECHNICAL DETAILS. I AM AMONG THOSE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED IT IN THAT PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS. SO AMONG THE HUMANS THAT HAVE FAILED IN THE SITUATION, I JUST WANT TO BE VERY DIRECT ABOUT THAT. BUT WE ARE GOING TO DO THE AFTER ACTION AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE DID WHAT WE DID, WHAT WE DID WRONG, BUT FORTUNATELY IT'S A SIMPLE FIX, AND THAT ORDINANCE BEFORE YOU TODAY, IDEALLY APPROVE TOMORROW WILL IMPLEMENT THAT FIX. SO THAT'S REALLY THE SUM TOTAL OF IT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. >> I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL JUST -- YOU SAID CORRECTION AND ERROR MANY TIMES. WHY DON'T YOU SAY BRIEFLY WHAT IT IS FOR THE PUBLIC. >> ABSOLUTELY. SO THE WAY THE PROPOSAL TO VOTERS IS ESTABLISHED, THEY WOULD BE APPROVING ONE SET OF RATES TO RUN FROM THE BEGINNING OF '26, WHAT WAS SUPPOSE TO RUN UNTIL THE END OF 2032, AND THEN THEY WOULD FALL BACK TO A LOWER LEVEL. IF YOU RECALL, THE RATES FOR THE FIRST SEVEN-YEAR PERIOD ARE SET UP, SO THEY PAY FOR THE LOST REVENUE ASSOCIATED WITH ESTABLISHING A $2 MILLION THRESHOLD BEFORE THE TAX KICKS IN. AND ALSO TO RAISE ADDITIONAL REVENUE. AFTER THAT INITIAL PERIOD, RATES FALL BACK TO A LEVEL THAT'S NEEDED TO PAY FOR THE $2 MILLION EXEMPTION, BUT NOT TO RAISE ADDITIONAL REVENUE. IT'S THE DATE OF THAT FALLBACK THAT WAS WRONG IN THE ORDINANCE YOU APPROVED, IT SAID 2029, IT NEEDS TO SAY 2032. IF IT DOESN'T, THAT COULD END UP IN A SITUATION WITH OUR RATES FOR A PERIOD. SO TRULY AN ERROR AS DESCRIBED, TRULY A TECHNICAL ONE. THE TITLE OF THE PROPOSAL TO THE BALLOT AND ALL OF YOUR LEGISLATIVE DELIBERATIONS, IT WAS CLEAR WHAT THE INTENT WAS, AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT THE CORRECTION. SO IT'S THE SAME DATE GETTING CORRECTED IN FOUR DIFFERENT PLACES, ESSENTIALLY, BUT THAT'S THE LEVEL OF TECHNICALITY, BUT HUGELY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF ITS ACTUAL IMPACT. ON THE TAX POLICIES AND THE TAX RATES. >> OKAY. SO TODAY WE ARE APPROVING THE INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL CALENDAR TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THIS? BECAUSE WE CAN'T VOTE AND REFER SOMETHING ON THE SAME DAY? >> EXACTLY. THE REQUIREMENT FOR ORDINANCES IN PARTICULAR IS THEY NOT BE REFERRED AND VOTED UPON AT THE SAME MEETING, SO AGAIN, SPECIAL MEETING TODAY, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO REFER THIS CORRECTIVE ORDINANCE FOR A VOTE TOMORROW. >> OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS EXPLANATION, DIRECTOR NOBLE. I APPRECIATE YOU, YOU RECOGNIZING THE ERROR. BUT I WILL ALSO SAY LAST WEEK THERE WAS AN OBJECTION WHEN I CHARACTERIZED OUR APPROVAL OF THIS PROPOSAL AS RUSHED. I MEAN, WHAT WE DID IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME WAS RESTRUCTURE CURRENT TAX POLICIES FOR A BALLOT MEASURE, WHICH HAS EXTERNALLY IMPOSED BY THE KING COUNTY DEADLINES. SO I JUST WANTED TO NOTE, I RECOGNIZED YOU WERE UNDER, CENTRAL STAFF WAS UNDER A LOT OF STRAIN. THIS ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A TIME OF THE YEAR THAT IS OUR MOST BUSY BECAUSE COMMITTEES ARE SCRAMBLING LEGISLATION IN OUR PIPELINES BEFORE RECESS, AND THEN BEFORE BUDGET. AND THIS YEAR WE ALSO HAVE THE COMP PLAN UPDATE, WHICH IS TAKING A LOT OF TIME. YOUR STAFF HAS PREPARED A HUNDRED OR SO OR OVER A HUNDRED AMENDMENTS TO THAT LEGISLATION. SO JUST WANTING TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS A LOT TO DO WITH THE LAST MINUTE, AND WE KNEW WE WOULD BE HAVING PROBABLY SOME -- THAT THE REVENUES WERE COMING IN UNDER PROJECTION. WE COULD SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL THAT WE COULD BE FACING SOME FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS AS WELL, WHICH THIS LEGISLATION OR THIS PROPOSAL IS INTENDED TO ADDRESS. SO JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR STAFF'S HARD WORK, AND ALSO WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT KING COUNTY ELECTIONS ALLOWED US TO GET THIS IN, THIS TITLE IN AFTER THE DEADLINE, SO THANK YOU KING COUNTY AS WELL. >> I APPRECIATE YOUR GRACE AND THANK YOU. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, IT'S NOT THE TITLE, THE TITLE IS THE ONE THING THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE CHANGED. LET ME JUST SAY ONE MORE THING. ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, I WORRY THIS ISSUE ENDS UP BEING A DISTRACTION FROM WHAT I REGARD AS THE REALLY AMAZING WORK, TOM MIKESELL PUT INTO THIS. YOU ALL EXPRESSED YOUR THANKS, BUT IMPORTANT FOR ME TO ACKNOWLEDGE I FAILED HIM AT THIS. I WAS MORE INVOLVED IN THE REVIEW PROCESS. HE WAS REALLY CRANKING THROUGH ON THE POLICY SIDE, THE LEGAL SIDE, THE TECHNICAL SIDE. SO REALLY TREMENDOUS WORK. I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THAT EVEN IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. BUT AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOUR GRACE. IT WAS A COMPLICATED PIECE OF LEGISLATION. THERE WERE COMPLEX AMENDMENTS MOVING AROUND AT THE LAST. BUT FORTUNATELY WE HAVE A FIX. IF THERE'S ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS I CAN'T ANSWER TODAY OR HERE IN MY OFFICE, AT ANY POINT, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO. >> THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU ALSO TO TOM MIKESELL, VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. NOT SEEING ANY OTHER COMMENTS. SO WITH THAT, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, THE INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL CALENDAR WILL BE ADOPTED. HEARING NONE, THE INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL CALENDAR IS ADOPTED. SO THIS IS A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING. SO IS THERE ANY FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, WE'VE REACHED THE END OF TODAY'S AGENDA, AND THE CITY COUNCIL WILL MEET AGAIN TOMORROW, AUGUST 12 AT 2:00 P.M. HEARING -- AND WE WILL BE HAVING OUR COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING SHORTLY AFTER THIS AT 2:00, WHICH IS WHEN IT OFFICIALLY STARTS NORMALLY. SO HEARING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU, EVERYONE.