KC Council approves $431 million supplemental budget

Published 11:00 am Monday, July 6, 2026

The King County Council has approved a $431 million supplemental budget for the 2026-2027 season.

At the June 23 meeting, the council unanimously approved King County Executive Girmay Zahilay’s supplemental budget with several amendments.

“This budget makes significant investments in housing, human services, public safety, transit and enhanced oversight for county programs in light of recent audit findings,” King County Council Budget Chair Rod Dembowski said. “I am firmly committed to ensuring that our county programs effectively deliver needed services to our residents, especially in light of adverse actions at the federal level. This supplemental budget makes important investments on those commitments to enhance community well-being and improve county operations.”

Approximately $49 million of the funds will be supported by the General Fund and have a net increase of 47.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and 5.5 temporary limited term (TLT) positions. The largest portion of the additions and all of the offsetting reductions are tied to the administrative changes from the executive-office reorganization.

To accelerate the purchase of 115 40-foot hybrid bus coaches, the ordinance moves $164 million from the 2028-2029 budget to the 2026-2027 budget. In 2025, King County Metro proposed delaying their goal of 100% zero emissions by 2035 to the “mid-2040s or beyond.” Instead of purchasing only zero-emission coaches after 2023, the metro proposed delaying the retirement of the existing hybrid fleet and resume purchasing new diesel-electric hybrid buses at least through the mid-2030s. In order to have the new buses in service by Fall 2028, the order needs to be placed by July 2026. The metro committed to prepare a Zero-Emission Implementation Plan in 2026.

Roughly $25 million will pay for the allocated overtime and electronic data processing equipment needed for FIFA World Cup security. This will come from anticipated grants related to the World Cup.

The ordinance will appropriate approximately $22.8 million to begin work on the future home of the Harborview Pioneer Square Clinic, which serves low-income residents with health care services, from the County Hospital Levy fund.

Notably, $6 million and 21.5 FTEs will be dedicated to the district court’s photo enforcement to accommodate the increasing volume of traffic photo enforcement work for contract city and school district partners. The court experienced a 54% increase in filings from 2024 to 2025 and is expecting an 11% increase in 2026, according to the staff report on the ordinance.

The Department of Public Defense will receive $8.1 million for 25 FTE positions in the Seattle Municipal Court and other professional staff positions.

The ordinance appropriates $1.5 million to support flood response efforts, such as the Salvation Army connecting residents to housing assistance and furniture, and to King County’s Housing Repair Program to help residents return to safe and habitable homes as quickly as possible.

The budget transfers $9 million to the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) to protect immigrant and refugee communities, rental assistance and jail diversion funding.

Jail Health Services (JHS) will receive about $13 million, including almost $7.5 million for an opioid treatment expansion. This expansion would ensure county compliance with a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which classifies substance use disorders as disabilities. This will require JHS to significantly expand offerings of methadone treatment, including offering methadone induction.

To continue implementing the county’s long-term hybrid workplace plans, $5.4 million will be allocated to tenant improvements to underutilized office space. The council will receive an assessment of the timeline, cost and progress on future occupancy in order to inform future budget requests.

COUNCIL ADDITIONS

The King County Council made several additions to the approved budget, focused on internal oversight and law and justice programs.

The $1.75 million dedicated to internal oversight will fund a new Division of Inspector General and a hotline to receive reports of suspected fraud, waste and abuse. It also includes funds to work to update ethics codes and support the DCHS in contract management and fiscal compliance improvements related to the executive’s corrective actions for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.

The council added $773,000 for law and justice programs. This includes funds to support investigation and resolution of cold cases at King County Sheriff’s Office, to support the Survivors First program that diverts domestic violence survivors from prosecution to supportive services, and for the Regional Office of Gun Violence to collaborate with Rainier Beach High School for safe passage walkers and address safety concerns in the school area.

CEDAR RIVER BASIN PRESERVATION

The ordinance approval included an amendment made by councilmember Reagan Dunn to allocate an additional $1 million to the purchase of the site of a proposed asphalt plant along the Cedar River. The purchase was originally allocated $10 million, but after the Department of Natural Resources and Parks appraised the property at $16.7 million, the negotiated purchase price was $14 million.

“The acquisition is part of a plan to prevent the siting of an asphalt plant and other industrial uses in the rural unincorporated areas of King County,” Dunn said. “Importantly, this site is part of a much larger plan to preserve an open space corridor to connect McGarvey Park at the top of the valley, all the way down to the river.”

The $1 million will be combined with existing funds from other governments to close the gap. The amendment will use $400,000 allocated to District 9 capital projects, while the other $600,000 was added to the budget. Dembowski said this adds more spending but is a pressing need in the budget.

“There’s a deadline we’re running with respect to the ability to acquire this parcel from the sellers,” Dembowski said. “So because of timing, councilmember Dunn has brought it forward at this time and I think it’s a prudent investment to cap off all of the work we’ve already done to acquire this site.”

MARYMOOR PARK CRICKET

The new budget disappropriates $4.4 million from the Marymoor Park Expansion Acquisition and $5.9 million from Marymoor Park Parking and Infrastructure Improvements to a roads project to support flood recovery projects.

The $4.4 million was originally appropriated in the 2023-2024 2nd Omnibus to acquire the Bellevue Ballfields but executive staff have not been able to come to an agreement with the City of Bellevue and the acquisition is unlikely to move forward in the near-term.

The $5.9 million, dedicated at the same time, was for parking improvements, but only one percent of the budget has been spent on preliminary planning work.

The 2025 Parks Levy included $16 million for improvements at Marymoor, which are in addition to this project, and the executive staff noted that if the need for additional revenue arises in the future, they will work with the parks department to identify alternative funding.

Marymoor Park is set to be the home of Seattle Orcas Major League Cricket team, which currently does not have a home stadium and plays home matches in California. In 2022, the council passed a motion of support for the county to work with the cities of Bellevue and Redmond to site a facility.

“The Seattle Orcas are at risk of losing their Major League Cricket license if they don’t meet the requirements to have a facility to host a Major League Cricket game in 2027,” Council Chair Sarah Perry said.

The council included an amendment in the ordinance for an update on what the executive is doing to keep the Seattle Orcas from losing their license and how the council can help those efforts.

“Our needs studies on the Eastside, for a long time, have been showing the need for more cricket facilities,” councilmember Claudia Balducci said. “It is a growing sport, it’s one of the biggest sports in the world and it is growing here.”

The approved budget is one of several to occur throughout the span of the biennial budget to make adjustments based on changes in predicted revenue and expenditures as well as add funding for new or expanded programs.

“This supplemental budget makes targeted investments to address immediate challenges across King County while navigating ongoing uncertainty in state and federal funding,” Councilmember Steffanie Fain said. “It reflects a balanced approach by prioritizing critical services, supporting vulnerable communities, and remaining responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”