King County Approves $631 Million Emergency COVID Budget
KING COUNTY, WA — In an 8-1 vote this week, the Metropolitan King County Council approved a record COVID-19 emergency budget, funded primarily by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The final budget is $31 million higher than King County Executive Dow Constantine's initial proposal and includes more money than the six previous supplemental budgets combined.
“This is transformational — providing support for the mother struggling to provide for her child, for the renter on the edge of eviction, for the business owner getting relief from the new BIPOC economic resiliency fund, for the survivor of sexual assault or gender-based violence seeking justice, and many, many more,” said Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, the budget chair. “I appreciate the ambitiousness of Executive Dow Constantine’s budget, and the collaboration of my colleagues in crafting this budget. Our work is not finished but these investments will help us find our way out of this extraordinary challenge.”
Council members said the approved budget was crafted to support several facets of a post-pandemic recovery, including improving housing stability, funding homeless services, addressing food security and supporting workers and businesses in a regionwide economic recovery.
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Councilmember Dave Upthegrove also secured $800,000 to fund a commercial affordability program designed to protect small businesses from being displaced. More than half of the budget's funding comes directly from the county's ARPA funds, with another $249 million from state and FEMA grants and $16 million from King County's general fund.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/king-county-approves-631-million-emergency-covid-budget/ar-AAKsH1e