The Libraries, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee met on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 9:35 AM in the Council Chamber. Chair Maritza Rivera presided, with members Dionne Foster, Eddie Lin, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck present; Council President Joy Hollingsworth was excused. The meeting covered three informational briefings: an update on the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) 2025 investments, the Seattle Public Library (SPL) levy implementation and Seattle Reads 2026, and the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy Year 1 implementation. No public comments were made. The meeting adjourned at 10:53 AM.
1. Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) Update on 2025 Investments Interim Director Oksana Bilobran presented an update on the $4 million investment from the Seattle Shield initiative. She reported a significant increase in ICE enforcement in Seattle, noting 477 arrests within city limits from January to July 2026 (approximately 2–3 arrests per day). The investment focuses on removal defense (legal services doubled to $2.6 million), rapid response (small grants up to $10,000 for 28 organizations), backfill for federal funding cuts (naturalization, English classes), and support for key sectors (workers, small businesses, families with children in Seattle Public Schools). Partnerships include the Alliance for Education for emergency assistance (e.g., towing expenses) and the Seattle Foundation to leverage philanthropic dollars. Director Bilobran emphasized flexibility and noted that listening sessions will inform future pivots. Councilmember Foster asked about unmet needs, particularly for housing and healthcare, and the towing assistance program. Director Bilobran confirmed multiple funding streams and ongoing discussions with the Mayor’s Office and SPD. Councilmember Rinck thanked voters for the Seattle Shield initiative and asked about measuring impact; Director Bilobran said data will be available by year-end. Rinck also raised concerns about a chilling effect on services and the need for virtual options. Director Lin inquired about regional coordination; Bilobran noted King County’s $2 million investment and ongoing collaboration at state and county levels.
2. Seattle Public Library (SPL) Levy Update and Seattle Reads 2026 Chief Librarian Tom Fay presented an update on the library levy, which passed with 75% voter support in August 2026, authorizing $479.8 million over seven years (2027–2033). Key investment areas: hours and access, early learning, programming, collections, building maintenance, and technology. Staff are developing the operations plan in coordination with the Library Board, with a biannual budget to be approved in December 2026. Fay committed to quarterly levy reports and an annual impact report. Stasha Brandon, Literature and Humanities Program Manager, introduced Seattle Reads 2026: the citywide book club selects True Biz by Sara Novic, a novel about Deaf culture. Seattle Reads is the original “One Book, One City” program, now replicated in over 400 communities. Events with the author will be held September 25–27 at Central Library, Ballard Library, Hugo House, and Southeast Seattle Senior Center, with ASL interpretation and captioning. Councilmember Foster shared her positive experience with the audiobook; Councilmember Rinck expressed excitement about attending events.
3. Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy Year 1 Implementation Update Director Dwane Chappelle provided an update on the first year of the FEPP levy. The levy oversight committee has been confirmed (12 appointees) and will begin monthly meetings in October. An interdepartmental team (IDT) of cabinet members from all levy-funded departments is forming to coordinate implementation. Programmatic updates:
All right, good morning, everyone. The September 9th, 2026 meeting of the Library's Education Neighborhoods Committee will come to order. It's 9 35 a.m. I'm Maritza Rivera, Chair of the Committee. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Lynn. Here. Councilmember Rink. Present. Councilmember Foster. Here. Chair Rivera. Present. Four council members are present. Thank you. Please note for the record that Council President Hollingsworth is excused from today's meeting. Good morning again, everyone and colleagues and those of you watching on the Seattle Channel and our staff and chambers and our visitors and chambers this morning. Today we will be hearing from three of the departments in this committee's portfolio the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, the Seattle Public Library, and the Department of Education and Early Learning. I know the departments have been hard at work, and I appreciate your staffs for all they do every day on behalf of our constituents. I look forward to your updates as we head into the budget process. This is our last meeting before committee meetings are put on hold so that council and our staffs can work on budget. If there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted. Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted. We'll now open the public hybrid excuse me, the hybrid public comment period. Public comment should relate to items on the agenda or within the purview of this committee. Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today? I think we have none online. None in person and none in person. Thank you, Clerk. Given that, um, we will uh close public comment now and we'll proceed to our items of business. Will the clerk please read item one into the record? Agenda item one, Office of Immigrant and Refugees Affairs update on 2025 investments for briefing and discussion. Thank you, Clerk. This item has been read into the record. The first of our three presentations today will be from the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Interim Director Oksana Bilibrand will be giving us an overview and update on how the four million dollar investment is being implemented to help communities. And Shanice, you can state your name for the record, and you can begin your presentation. Thank you. For the record, my name is Oksana Bilobran, and I am the new interim director of the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. And I'm joined today by my colleague, Shanice Wilson, who is YRS Special Project Specialist. We are here today to give you some important updates about the work of immigrant and refugee affairs office of Seattle. And the two main updates that I want to relate to you today is that we are facing a significant increase in immigration enforcement in our area, and that our city is well prepared to meet the moment with the investment and new programs that we've developed over the last year. And as you might have heard from the news or reports from our constituents, there is a significant uptick in ICE enforcement activities in our region and also across the country. After a very aggressive and tragic and politically unpopular operation Metrosurge in Minnesota, ICE temporarily shifted in winter of this year towards a quieter and less visible enforcement, which resulted initially in the dipped number of immigration enforcement from December to February this year. Though backed by substantial congressional funding in 2025 and 2026, I has been able to achieve and maintain high and record numbers of arrests across the country. Recent data by the depart uh deportation data project and also University of Washington Center for Human Rights show that there is a record number of ICE arrests in our region, and Seattle alone, just this year from January to July of this year has seen 477 arrests of our immigrant neighbors. And Seattle alone, just this year from January to July of this year has seen 477 arrests of our immigrant neighbors. This amounts to about two to three arrests per day within the city of Seattle only. And this has a huge impact on our community as these 477 people are not only our neighbors, they are business owners, their children go to our schools, they are workers, they work for Seattle employers, and so this has a huge impact not only on those people, but everybody around them and the city overall. Next slide, please.