City budget: SWCC fans @ first hearing; SPD toplines earlier

That’s Sadie, 6 1/2. You might remember her from our story about Southwest Community Center users – including the Family Learning Program she attends – concerned about the big changes ahead for SWCC if the mayor’s 2012 budget goes forward unchanged. The day we visited Sadie’s program, she showed off the donations brought in by her new weekly food drive. Tuesday night, she and other SWCC supporters went downtown for the first of two City Council public hearings on the budget. It wasn’t an overflow crowd, but did include supporters of other community centers facing changes.

As first announced last month, the budget proposes changing SWCC into a Teen Life Center and Department of Neighborhoods’ service center (basically relocating West Seattle’s lone remaining NSC from Delridge to the SWCC building). We’re awaiting the Seattle Channel‘s video of the hearing, to link here. (added midday Wednesday – here’s that video)

The next one is same time, same place, October 26th (more on the council’s budget page).

But that wasn’t the only budget event of the day. The City Council is well into its schedule of presentations from individual departments, and Tuesday’s lineup included the Seattle Police Department presentation. Among its line items of note: “Maintain current number of Crime Prevention Coordinators …” which is good news for neighborhoods (though still not the former level of one coordinator per precinct). We also are checking on whether the proposal to add six more red-light cameras and relocate two would affect West Seattle. The budget also would keep the West Seattle-headquartered SPD Mounted Patrol Unit officers, as PubliCola reports here.

sybil October 5, 2011 (7:56 am)

Thank you Sadie and everyone else who able to attend last night!

redalert October 5, 2011 (11:13 am)

Stupid red light cameras. Re-locate all of them. If we get more than that is an issue they need to go to other parts of the city. Big Brother is too much right now.

boy October 6, 2011 (1:04 am)

may be when all these levis are passed people would hope that thiers money to maintain the new stuff thats built. But that makes to much sense and good sense is what seattle city concial does not have.