Seattle City Council’s Finance, Native Communities & Tribal Governments Committee (Councilmembers Dan Strauss, Maritza Rivera, Joy Hollingsworth, Robert Kettle, Rob Saka) voted on Aug. 4 to approve a proposed budget amendment that would set aside $300,000 for local LGBTQIA+ organizations. Next week, City Council will decide on whether the proposed amendment should be enacted.

Introduced by Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, the proposed amendment would allocate money from the JumpStart Fund to Seattle’s Human Services Department to “support a funding process for LGBTQ community organizations.” 

If approved, the funds would be given to local LGBTQIA+ organizations providing essential services to vulnerable populations such as emergency shelter/housing, employment services, food insecurity, and other services.

At the Seattle City Council meeting later in the day, several LGBTQIA+ community members including some from MANTIS (Mutual Aid Network for Trans and Intersex people in Seattle) and Traction Executive Director Michael Woodward, came to give public comment urging the council to approve the measure; with some also demanding the council still declare a state of emergency for Queer and Trans refugees.

Since May, Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ organizations and their leaders have been sounding the alarm regarding the influx of Queer and Trans refugees that have relocated to flee hostility from other parts of the country. With these groups’ lack of capacity to service the increase, the Seattle LGBTQ Commission wrote in a letter addressed to Seattle City Council and Mayor Katie Wilson requesting the city declare a state of emergency to help put forward funding. 

Although city officials have rejected the emergency declaration proposal, both City Council and the Mayor’s Office have been working with the Seattle LGBTQ Commission to come up with alternative ways to address the crisis. 

In their most recent update on July 26, the commission wrote that the Mayor’s office did not plan to include any funds to address the refugee crisis in its budget planning.

The next Seattle City Council meeting will be held on August 11 at 2pm.