(The Center Square) – Leaders from a Seattle-area neighborhood want answers from Mayor Katie Wilson after she proposed a $7 million cut to the Seattle Fire Department’s overtime budget that could take several units offline.
Wilson proposed a $9.1 billion citywide budget for 2027 last month after inheriting an estimated $175 million general fund deficit from former Mayor Bruce Harrell. The budget pulls back in some areas and expands spending in others, but city council staff are skeptical it will solve the ongoing structural gap.
To help fill the hole, the administration proposed cutting $7.06 million in fire overtime funding.
Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins has warned that the cuts represent 17% of SFD’s overtime budget, and now residents in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood are speaking out about how it could affect areas with only a few ways in and out.
“We know many neighborhoods share concerns about emergency response, and every Seattle neighborhood deserves reliable coverage,” Amy Plantenberg, president of the Magnolia Community Council, wrote in an email to The Center Square. “For all neighborhoods, including Magnolia, we hope geography and access will be part of how these decisions are made.”
Plantenberg penned a letter to Wilson and the Seattle City Council last Friday on behalf of the Magnolia council, requesting clarification on how the planned SFD outages will affect their community.
The neighborhood relies on two bridges, both nearly a century old, to get in and out of Magnolia.
The Magnolia Bridge, built in 1930, connects the community to 15th Avenue West. MCC’s website says about 17,000 vehicles cross it daily. The West Dravus Street Bridge was built in 1935 and crosses the rail yard to Interbay. Seattle’s Transportation Levy invests $16 million into preservation for the first bridge, but the Magnolia council’s letter says that “does not resolve the long-term need for replacement.”
A planning study is underway to determine whether to replace or repair the West Dravus Street Bridge.
Plantenberg wants Wilson and the Seattle City Council to clarify their plans for the Magnolia Bridge and West Dravus Street Bridge projects and identify a path to funding their “eventual implementation.”
If either bridge became unavailable, it could delay backup units heading to Magnolia when Station 41, the neighborhood’s only fire station, is tied up with other calls for service. Those units would have to take the other aging bridge or the West Emerson Street overpass, which was built in 1959, according to My Ballard, a local news outlet.
“We ask SFD and the Council to identify which stations and units would be affected, and to evaluate how the overtime reduction and planned unit outages could affect response capacity in Magnolia, including circumstances in which Station 41 requires additional resources or one of our primary access routes is unavailable,” the Magnolia Community Council wrote to Wilson and the city council on Friday.
Plantenberg said MCC hasn’t heard back from the city yet, but looks forward to working with the city ahead of budget adoption, anticipated toward the end of November. Seattle officials are meeting several days this week to hash out different aspects of the budget, including whether it’s sustainable.
Wilson’s office did not respond to The Center Square’s interview request before publication. The Center Square also contacted Seattle City Councilmember and Public Safety Chair Robert Kettle, but did not receive a response.
SFD Public Information Manager Kristin Hanson responded to an inquiry from The Center Square via email, noting that their administrative offices are closed on Monday for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The Center Square asked whether Wilson’s proposed cuts could affect services in Magnolia; Hanson said SFD would gather information on the topic this week.
“As a nonpartisan neighborhood organization, we recognize the difficult choices the City faces in balancing its budget, and we appreciate the investments it has proposed in Magnolia. We look forward to working with the City on solutions,” Plantenberg wrote in an email to The Center Square on Monday.