OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Meeting - April 14, 2026: Library Levy, Homelessness Funding, and Appointments

City Council — Tuesday, April 14, 2026
BodySeattle, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:14:17

Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

Awesome.

0:18

Is this microphone on?

0:20

Hello, everyone.

0:21

Good afternoon.

0:22

The April 14th, 2026 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

0:27

It is 2 03 p.m.

0:28

I'm Joy Hollingsworth, your council president.

0:31

Will the clerk please call the roll?

0:33

So we're starting.

0:34

We have started the meeting, everyone.

0:37

Good afternoon.

0:38

Good afternoon.

0:39

Good afternoon.

0:40

Good afternoon.

0:41

Good afternoon and welcome to Seattle City Council.

0:45

We're ready to rock.

0:46

Okay, awesome.

0:48

Thank you.

0:48

All right.

0:49

We will go ahead and start our meeting.

0:51

The April 14th, 2026 meeting of Seattle City Council will come to order.

0:55

It is 2 04 p.m.

0:57

My name is Joy Hollingsworth, your council president.

0:59

Will the clerk please call the roll?

1:01

Councilmember Saka.

1:03

Councilmember Strauss.

1:05

Councilmember Foster.

1:07

Councilmember Warz.

1:09

Councilmember Lynn.

1:12

Councilmember Rink.

1:14

Council Member Rivera.

1:16

President.

1:16

Council President Hollingsworth.

1:18

I'm here.

1:19

Stay present.

1:20

Awesome.

1:20

Thank you.

1:21

And for the record, Councilmember Kettle is excused.

1:23

Councilmember Rink will present a proclamation recognizing the 51st anniversary of uh Khmai Rouge genocide.

1:31

Councilmember Rink, uh, will you please share us your comments today?

1:34

Thank you.

1:35

Thank you, Council President.

1:36

Um, colleagues, it is a real honor to be presenting this proclamation, and I thank you for your participation and signatures on it.

1:43

Um, like I said yesterday at council briefing, um, it's a real honor to have worked on this in partnership with so many a part of our local Khmai community.

1:53

And so with that, um, I'm excited also for you all to hear directly from folks in communities.

1:57

So I'm gonna read the proclamation to the record and then turn it over to some of our invited speakers for today after presenting the proclamation.

2:05

Whereas Cambodia is one of the original civilizations of Southeast Asia dating back nearly 4,000 years, and whereas between 1969 and 1973, the United States dropped 540,000 tons of of bombs into Cambodia, destabilizing the country's already fragile government and helping fuel the rise of the Khmer Rouge.

2:30

And during the Cambodian genocide from April 1975 to January 1979, approximately two million people lost their lives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.

2:43

And whereas currently over half of the members of the Cambodian population experience varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder or other forms of mental health issues brought forth by the Cambodian genocide.

2:57

And whereas the greater Seattle metropolitan area is home to over 22,000 individuals of Khmai descent, and whereas this year marks the 51st anniversary of the Khamae community coming together to remember the atrocities that occurred to the Khmer community 51 years ago under the Khmer Rouge regime.

3:18

And whereas the current U.S.

3:20

immigration policies have increased the vulnerability of Cambodian Americans to deportation through targeted ice rates, expedited removal proceedings, and the rollback of protections for long-standing U.S.

3:32

residents, leading to renewed trauma and instability for Khamae American communities.

3:38

And whereas the city of Seattle has served as a sanctuary and home for Khamae refugees and immigrants for over five decades, with local organizations, schools, and community centers playing a vital role in supporting Khamae Americans and rebuilding their lives, preserving their cultural identity, and advocating for policies that protect immigrant and refugee communities.

4:00

Now, therefore, the mayor and Seattle City Council proclaim April 14th, 2026 to be the 51st anniversary of the Khmer Rouge genocide.

4:10

Thank you.

4:16

Councilmember Rink.

4:17

Are there any other comments on the floor before we invite our guests up to come and speak?

4:23

Okay, awesome.

4:23

So if there's no objection, we're gonna suspend the rules.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness████████████████████████████████████36%
Public Comment████████████████16%
Procedural███████████11%
Fiscal Sustainability████████8%
Arts And Culture███████7%
Economic Development████4%
Public Safety███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Land Use and Zoning███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Meeting - April 14, 2026

The Seattle City Council met on April 14, 2026, at 2:04 PM in Council Chamber, City Hall. Presided by Council President Joy Hollingsworth. 8 members present (Councilmember Kettle excused). The meeting included a proclamation, public comment, consent calendar, and committee reports on the library levy, homelessness response, and utility easements.

Proclamation

  • Councilmember Rinck presented a proclamation recognizing April 14, 2026 as the 51st anniversary of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Six community speakers addressed the council, sharing personal stories and calling for support for the Khmer community, including a proposed cultural center and opposition to deportation.

Consent Calendar

  • Adopted by 8-0 vote, excluding Appointment 3470 (Evan Smith). Items included: minutes of April 7, 2026; claims ordinance (CB 121194); and appointments to Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (Lino, Khandelwal) and Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board (Rodriguez, Glover, Horn, Kelly-Gray, Lachman) – all confirmed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • 41 speakers (30 in-person, 11 remote). Topics included:
    • Support for library levy (Yasmin Mehdi, Library Board President).
    • Strong support for homelessness bills CB 121184 and 121185 to expand shelter and tiny home villages, with personal stories from shelter residents, social workers, and advocates (e.g., Margaret Shield, Alyssa Scott, Anitra Freeman, Amin Hassan).
    • Opposition to the appointment of Evan Smith due to his company Ethosphere's worker surveillance technology (Charlotte Phillippe, Councilmember Rinck).
    • Concerns about sweeps, police funding, and need for wraparound services.

Discussion Items

Library Levy (CB 121181)

  • Councilmember Rivera moved to amend the levy language to update the funding amount from $410 million to $479,760,000 (technical amendment). Passed 8-0.
  • Debate: Rivera expressed concern about the 70% increase over inflation, affordability, and impact on other city needs. Foster noted the cost is about $191/year for median homeowner. Saka, Strauss, Lin, Rinck supported the levy, citing state tax code limitations and essential services. Final vote: 8-0 to pass the amended bill to the August 4, 2026 ballot.

Homelessness Response – Lease Authority (CB 121184)

  • Passed 7-0 (Rivera excused). Expands FAS director's authority to execute leases for transitional encampments.

Homelessness Budget (CB 121185)

  • Passed 7-0. Amends 2026 budget to allocate $4.9 million for shelter expansion, including tiny home villages. Discussion emphasized need for higher acuity services and collaboration with mayor's office.

Grant Acceptance (CB 121187)

  • Passed 7-0. Authorizes acceptance of non-city grants.

SPU Slope Stabilization Easements (CB 121192)

  • Passed 7-0. Acquires easements at two properties for $9,900 from SPU funds, no rate increase.

SPU Property Acquisition (CB 121193)

  • Passed 7-0. Acquires two parcels for pump station replacement for $380,000 from SPU wastewater funds, no rate increase.

Appointment of Evan Smith (Appt 03470)

  • Removed from consent calendar by Councilmember Rinck. After debate, confirmed 5-3 (Hollingsworth, Juarez, Rivera, Saka, Strauss in favor; Foster, Lin, Rinck opposed). Smith to serve on Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.

Alley Vacation Resolution (Res 32199)

  • Adopted 7-0. Sets public hearing for May 7, 2026 on petition by The Yew, LLC to vacate alley in Greenwood.

Key Outcomes

  • Library levy placed on August 4, 2026 ballot with $479,760,000 funding level.
  • Homelessness expansions approved: expanded lease authority and $4.9 million budget allocation.
  • Evan Smith confirmed to Ethics and Elections Commission.
  • Councilmember Rivera excused from remainder of meeting; Councilmembers Strauss and Juarez excused from April 28 meeting.
  • Meeting adjourned at 4:17 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Awesome. Is this microphone on? Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. The April 14th, 2026 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order. It is 2 03 p.m. I'm Joy Hollingsworth, your council president. Will the clerk please call the roll? So we're starting. We have started the meeting, everyone. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon and welcome to Seattle City Council. We're ready to rock. Okay, awesome. Thank you. All right. We will go ahead and start our meeting. The April 14th, 2026 meeting of Seattle City Council will come to order. It is 2 04 p.m. My name is Joy Hollingsworth, your council president. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Saka. Councilmember Strauss. Councilmember Foster. Councilmember Warz. Councilmember Lynn. Councilmember Rink. Council Member Rivera. President. Council President Hollingsworth. I'm here. Stay present. Awesome. Thank you. And for the record, Councilmember Kettle is excused. Councilmember Rink will present a proclamation recognizing the 51st anniversary of uh Khmai Rouge genocide. Councilmember Rink, uh, will you please share us your comments today? Thank you. Thank you, Council President. Um, colleagues, it is a real honor to be presenting this proclamation, and I thank you for your participation and signatures on it. Um, like I said yesterday at council briefing, um, it's a real honor to have worked on this in partnership with so many a part of our local Khmai community. And so with that, um, I'm excited also for you all to hear directly from folks in communities. So I'm gonna read the proclamation to the record and then turn it over to some of our invited speakers for today after presenting the proclamation. Whereas Cambodia is one of the original civilizations of Southeast Asia dating back nearly 4,000 years, and whereas between 1969 and 1973, the United States dropped 540,000 tons of of bombs into Cambodia, destabilizing the country's already fragile government and helping fuel the rise of the Khmer Rouge. And during the Cambodian genocide from April 1975 to January 1979, approximately two million people lost their lives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. And whereas currently over half of the members of the Cambodian population experience varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder or other forms of mental health issues brought forth by the Cambodian genocide. And whereas the greater Seattle metropolitan area is home to over 22,000 individuals of Khmai descent, and whereas this year marks the 51st anniversary of the Khamae community coming together to remember the atrocities that occurred to the Khmer community 51 years ago under the Khmer Rouge regime.

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