Council Embarks Upon 2025 Budget Process

September 23, 2024

The King County Council, under the leadership of Budget and Fiscal Management Chair Girmay Zahilay, is set to begin reviewing a proposed $10.2 billion budget for King County for 2025.

The Budget Committee will offer multiple opportunities for the public to learn about and weigh in on the Council’s budget priorities. The budget review process began Monday with the transmission of the King County Executive’s proposed budget, and will wrap up in late November, when the Council is expected to approve a finalized budget.

The schedule below lays out upcoming town hall meetings taking place around King County and budget panels. The panels are meetings that focus on specific budget issues. In addition to these, the Council will hold meetings to take final action on the proposal at committee and full Council. Dates for these will be shared once they are confirmed.

This week at the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, Chair Zahilay will host agency and department heads. They will share presentations on the proposed budget and how it relates to their agencies. Presenters will include:

• John Arthur Wilson, King County Assessor
• Julie Wise, King County Elections Director
• Leesa Manion, King County Prosecuting Attorney
• Ketu Shah, Presiding Judge, King County Superior Court
• Rebecca C. Robertson, Presiding Judge, King County District Court
• Matthew Sanders, Interim Director, Department of Public Defense

The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Stream it live on KCTV or attend in-person at the King County Courthouse, 10th Floor, 516 Third Ave, Seattle.

The Budget Committee is hosting three upcoming evening town halls: 

• Bellevue
  6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, October 10, 2024
  Bellevue City Council Chambers Room 1E-126, 450 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue 98004 
• Kent
  6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, October 24, 2024
  Kent Senior Center Social Hall, 600 E Smith St, Kent 98032 
• South Seattle
  6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, 2024
  New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave South, Seattle 98118

Six upcoming budget panel meetings (two meetings of each panel) will focus on different aspects of the budget:

• Budget Panel 1:  Public Transit, Climate, Local Services, and Infrastructure
  Chaired by Councilmember Sarah Perry
  9:30 a.m. Tuesdays, October 8 and 15
• Budget Panel 2: Public Safety
  Chaired by Councilmember Rod Dembowski
  9:30 a.m. Wednesdays, October 9 and 16
• Budget Panel 3: Health, Housing and Human Services
  Chaired by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda
  9:30 a.m. Thursdays, October 10 and 17