CITY OF SEATTLE

ORDINANCE __________________

COUNCIL BILL __________________

AN ORDINANCE relating to grant funds from non-City sources; amending Ordinance 126237, which adopted the 2021 Budget; authorizing the Mayor or Mayor’s designees to accept specified grants and execute related agreements for and on behalf of the City; changing appropriations to various departments; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

WHEREAS, more than half of Seattle’s residents are renters, and even before COVID-19, a substantial share of renters paid more than 30 percent of their income to remain stably housed; and

WHEREAS, the global COVID-19 crisis shows that our collective health depends on people being stably housed; and

WHEREAS, Seattle renters are facing job loss, struggling with childcare, and dealing with other unprecedented financial burdens stemming from the global COVID-19 crisis, leaving many unable to pay rent; and

WHEREAS, notwithstanding Governor Inslee’s eviction moratorium, renters need to pay their rent to ensure long-term housing stability; and

WHEREAS, before the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color already experienced more negative health and life outcomes due to systemic inequities and discrimination; and

WHEREAS, these outcomes have become especially apparent during the pandemic as reflected in communities of color being disproportionately impacted by infections, deaths, and the resulting economic fallout; and

WHEREAS, national best practices highlight that, in order to have the most effective and greatest impact in providing equitable access to rent assistance programs by those most impacted by the pandemic, racial equity strategies are necessary; and

WHEREAS, these strategies are best informed and implemented by the people most deeply and directly impacted by the pandemic, most often by organizations based in communities of color and led by members of those communities with priorities on cultural competence, language access, and focused on addressing barriers caused by institutional and structural inequities; and

WHEREAS, data shows that those most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 include the following communities: Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and Immigrant/Refugees; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. The Mayor, the Director of the Office of Housing, the Director of Seattle Public Utilities, the General Manager of Seattle City Light, and their respective designees, are authorized to accept the following non-City funding from the grantors listed below; and to execute, deliver, and perform, on behalf of The City of Seattle, agreements for the purposes described below. The funds, when received, shall be deposited in the receiving funds identified below to support the appropriations in Section 2 of this ordinance.

Section 2. Contingent upon the execution of the grant or other funding agreement authorized in Section 1 of this ordinance, the appropriations for the following items in the 2021 Budget are increased from the funds shown, as follows:

Unspent funds so appropriated shall carry forward to subsequent fiscal years until they are exhausted or abandoned by ordinance.

Section 3. Of the appropriations in items 2.1 and 2.2 of this ordinance,

A. $6,200,000 from item 2.1 will be appropriated to community based agencies that have an established track record of serving communities that 1) have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19; and, 2) have a disproportionate need for rental assistance; and that have experience in managing rent assistance and/or homeless prevention dollars particularly during the current COVID-19 public health emergency for the purposes of rent assistance and other housing related costs including internet services, homelessness prevention services, and associated administration costs, and may be spent for no other purpose.

B. $8,000,000 from item 2.1 is appropriated via a subaward as a subrecipient to United Way of King County for the purposes of rent assistance, homelessness prevention services, and associated administration costs, and may be spent for no other purpose. The Office of Housing, in cooperation with United Way, will do proactive outreach to landlords who may be struggling with mortgage debt, regarding availability of rental assistance funding.

C. $6,322,605 from item 2.1 and $700,000 from item 2.2 is appropriated to the Office of Housing for the purposes of rent assistance, homelessness prevention services, and associated administration costs, for publicly-subsidized rent- and income-restricted affordable housing units, and may be spent for no other purpose.

Section 4. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.

Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2021, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2021.

____________________________________

President ____________ of the City Council

Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this ________ day of _________________, 2021.

____________________________________

Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor

Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2021.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)