Seattle City Council Approves Another Pandemic Relief Package

SEATTLE — Seattle City Council has unanimously passed a new round of pandemic relief funding.

The proposal, called the Seattle Rescue Plan 2, passed with a unanimous 8-0 vote this week. It sets aside $52.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay for social services, rental assistance and invest in infrastructure and transportation.

Council members say the money will help significantly as the city buckles down to weather the current, fifth wave of COVID-19 transmissions caused by the Delta variant.

“As the Delta variant shows, we’re not out of the woods yet when it comes to battling this virus and returning to a new normal," said Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda in a written statement. "Many Seattle families are still struggling financially and unable to pay their rent, many seniors are still isolated from their loved ones and communities, and our transportation systems struggle with ridership as more businesses push back their return-to-office dates. While these are targeted federal dollars that must be allocated to certain spending categories, I know this latest infusion of $52.2 million will serve our City’s recovery by boosting relief to our most impacted communities.”

The $52.2 million in federal funding spent by the Seattle Rescue Plan 2 includes:

• $28.7 million for rental assistance. Money will go to community-based organizations, the United Way of King County, and Seattle's Office of Housing, who have been directed to spend it on rental assistance or other housing-related costs like homelessness prevention services.
• $13.5 million for transportation and infrastructure. This includes construction on the Madison Bus Rapid Transit project, which aims to create a new RapidRide G Line from downtown through Madison Valley. Money will also go to the support the Seattle Monorail and Seattle Streetcar.
• $7.8 million to support seniors. City Council says that money will pay for transportation, case management, meal deliver, caregiver support, and other critical senior services.
• $2.2 million for McCaw Hall. As the City explains it, Seattle Center's McCaw Hall has received a grant to pay expenses like its payroll and utility payments. The money was predetermined by the federal government, but sent to the City of Seattle to pass along directly.

The first Seattle Rescue Plan, initially announced back in May, allocated $128.4 million in ARPA funding. Of that, $49.2 million went to housing and homelessness services, $23 million to small business recovery projects, and $7.6 million went to reopening city programs and resuming services, among other expenditures.