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Seattle council advances resolution to lay groundwork for police hiring incentives

SEATTLE — Two proposals related to hiring incentives for police officers and other hard-to-fill citywide positions in Seattle were passed out of the Seattle city council’s public safety committee on Tuesday.

The two pieces of legislation were passed following Mayor Bruce Harrell and two city council members’ announcement of plans for a unified approach to passing legislation related to hiring incentives for the Seattle Police Department on Monday.

Council member Sara Nelson proposed a resolution that would lay the groundwork for a staffing incentive program at SPD by signaling the city council’s support.

“I put forward this resolution because violent crime and property crime are skyrocketing during the most severe staffing shortage in Seattle Police Department’s history,” said Nelson. “We don’t have enough officers on the street to address this public safety crisis.”

The resolution, with the help of a separate ordinance proposed by Council member Lisa Herbold, would authorize the use of salary savings to fund staffing incentives at SPD.

Herbold’s ordinance asks the Seattle Department of Human Resources to provide relocation bonuses for a variety of citywide job positions that are typically challenging to hire, with prioritization given to police officers.

SPD would be granted $650,000 to pay for the relocation benefits for officers and to hire a recruiter who would help attract more qualified candidates to Seattle.

Nelson offered an amendment to Herbold’s ordinance, which would increase SPD’s recruitment advertising and outreach budget by $350,000 and support the nationwide search process for the department’s next police chief.

“Both council members Nelson and Herbold understand and appreciate that we need to gain more dedicated and compassionate public servants following considerable attrition over the last few years,” said Harrell. “I hope that between these two council members’ efforts, and following a robust policy debate, we can work together toward what we’re all striving for: A safe and healthy Seattle.”

Both proposals passed the council’s Public Safety and Human Services committee by a 4-1 vote.

The two proposals will be up for a vote in the full council on May 24.