Join the Queen Anne Community Council virtually on Wednesday, October 2nd at 7 pm for an engaging discussion with Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Tanya Woo, candidates for Seattle’s City-wide Council Position 8.
After hearing from both during the primary, this hour-long event will allow virtual participants to delve deeper into community-driven concerns and hear their perspectives.
Don’t miss this chance to get informed and involved. Sign up HERE to attend.
September 16, 2024. The Magnolia community continues to have residents and families respond to last week’s announcement that the Seattle School Board is recommending the closure of schools, including Catherine Blaine K-8 School, due to budget shortfalls.
Former School Board member Michael DeBell penned an editorial in response to the proposed closure plan, which ran in the Seattle Times on September 13th. In it, he called for a different approach while highlighting the challenges created by the school closing proposal.
We offer additional resources for those who want to learn more or engage with the district to offer comments and suggestions regarding the proposal:
The Blaine PTA has set up an excellent advocacy page, which can be accessed here. It includes the following information and ideas on how to engage:
In addition to the efforts of the Blaine PTA, concerned citizens can sign the latest All Together for Seattle Schools form letter that urges SPS to design a student-centered school system full of diverse, high-quality schools and not attempt to solve a budget crisis at the expense of students. Interested residents and families can also sign up to receive email updates from All Together for Seattle Schools or visit Fund SPS.
September 12, 2024. The Magnolia Chamber aims to closely follow the proposed school closure plan released by the Seattle School Board on Wednesday, September 11th.
Background. Seattle Public Schools’ enrollment has been declining since 2019. The district estimates it will face a $100 million deficit in the coming year if it does not reduce costs.
In May, the Seattle School Board voted to authorize Superintendent Brent Jones to draw up a consolidation and closure plan, which was released on Wednesday. The Superintendent was expected to present the preliminary proposal in June. However, the rollout was delayed after a series of community engagement sessions, during which some parents questioned the district’s rationale for closures and the projected savings.
Under one proposal released Wednesday, the Seattle school district could close 21 schools, some of which also serve middle school students. The district’s application-only option schools would close or become neighborhood schools. That plan would keep 52 schools open and save the district $31.5 million annually. Catherine Blaine K-8 School is slated to be closed under this proposal.
The second proposal closes 17 schools and leave one K-8 school open in the district’s five regions. The proposal keeps 56 schools open and saves the school district about $26 million annually. Catherine Blaine K-8 School is also slated to be closed under this proposal.
The district has posted the proposals on its “well-resourced schools” landing page.
What’s Next? If you are interested in learning more, there are several resources.
The Magnolia Chamber is concerned with how the proposed school closure proposal could impact families and the children served by the school, but also how such a closure could affect the Magnolia Community Center and adjacent playfields. The unique relationship between the Catherine Blaine K-8 School and the community center, playfields, and Mounger Pool is historically significant and has been a feature of our community since the 1950s. We look forward to sharing more information in the weeks ahead and staying engaged in this vital community issue.
August 24, 2024. The Magnolia Chamber is working in coalition with the Seattle Metro Chamber, neighborhood chambers including Fremont, Ballard, West Seattle, and others to ask the Seattle City Council to continue what is working for employers and employees alike and protect small businesses by eliminating the sunset of total compensation affecting small business, particularly local restaurants.
We have joined many other business advocates in signing the following letter to the Seattle City Council for their consideration.
Background. Since the 2020 pandemic, restaurants in Seattle have faced increased costs due to inflation and decreased flexibility. The Seattle City Council can act this year to support small businesses and a workforce with jobs and benefits.
Currently, small businesses may count $2.72 per hour in tips or medical benefits toward their wages based on the 2015 law requiring a $15 per hour minimum wage for workers. In addition, the law requires the minimum wage in Seattle to increase every year on January 1 and is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle Tacoma Bellevue area. Seattle’s minimum wage is now $19.97 per hour for large employers with 501 or more employees. Small employers, like most restaurants in neighborhoods like Magnolia, with 500 or fewer employees, can pay $17.25 per hour if they pay $2.72 per hour toward medical benefits or if the employee earns $2.72 per hour in tips. Otherwise, small employers must pay $19.97 per hour.
This system has worked as intended for a decade.
However, in 2025, all employers will pay the same minimum wage, regardless of size.
Without council action, the total compensation credit will sunset on Jan 1, 2025. That means every small restaurant operator faces a 20% increase in labor costs.
We encourage our Chamber members to stay up to date on Council action and to contact your Seattle City Council representative. We will continue to post articles that share more information about the issue and represent various points of view, including the three articles below.
Why Seattle restaurant owners are sounding alarms ahead of wage hike | The Seattle Times
Seattle’s hair salons are expensive to visit and to run. Here’s why | The Seattle Times
Seattle’s 2025 Restaurant Minimum Wage Increase Could Upend the Industry – Eater Seattle
July 29, 2024. The hospitality industry, particularly those with 500 employees or less, faces significant change at the end of this year with the sunset of the total compensation credit in the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance, effective Jan 1, 2025.
Currently, small businesses may use $2.72 per hour in total compensation (tips and/or payment towards medical benefits). This system has existed since Seattle’s minimum wage was enacted on April 1, 2015, and has worked as intended for a decade.
Many small business owners are now asking the Seattle City Council to continue to protect small businesses by eliminating the sunset of total compensation.
Without total compensation, every small restaurant operator faces a 20% increase in labor costs on Jan. 1. Several organizations, including the Seattle Restaurant Alliance, are lobbying the Seattle City Council to make the total compensation credit in the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance permanent.
Background
Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance went into effect on April 1, 2015, and categorized employers into two categories. Schedule 1 (large employers) has 501 or more employees, and Schedule 2 (small employers) has 500 or fewer employees worldwide. (Franchises count all employees in the franchise network.) Former Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden shares an insightful historical piece concerning the development of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance here.
Schedule 1 employers—all large employers—pay the full minimum wage. On Jan. 1, 2023, the minimum wage for large employers was $18.69/hour, and starting on Jan. 1, 2024, it is now $19.97/hour.
Schedule 2 employers may pay the hourly minimum compensation, or the minimum wage shown in the following schedule, and make up the balance with employee tips reported to the IRS and payments toward an employee’s qualifying medical benefits plan (total compensation).
In 2025, total compensation ability expires without the Seattle City Council passing a new law protecting small business owners. If the Council does not pass a new law, small employers will pay the same minimum wage as large employers and can no longer count employee tips and payments toward an employee’s medical benefit plan. This will increase by over 20 percent and more than $3 per hour.
Continuing total compensation for small businesses
From the outset of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance, total compensation has been a critical option for small employers, and the city council recognized this policy need back in 2014. At that time, the city council recognized that small businesses, especially restaurants, operate on small profit margins and also compete with supply chain issues, rising costs of goods, and inflation. Allowing for the continuation of tips in industries where they are common gives those businesses the flexibility to reach Seattle’s minimum wage.
Local small businesses, particularly restaurants and other hospitality businesses, are fundamental to building a thriving neighborhood like Magnolia. Our restaurants have reported challenges in running their businesses, especially through the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. It has been reported that the average restaurant accumulated $160,000 in debt after any government relief programs, which could take four years to retire. Several restaurants have altered menus, raised prices, and reduced hours of operation to meet current economic challenges.
Currently, total compensation can also include medical benefits. Allowing for the cost of medical benefits to be counted to make up the balance towards the minimum wage not only incentivizes small businesses to provide health benefits to their employees but also assists in the overall cost structure.
Many in the hospitality sector are encouraging the city council to support continuing total compensation through employee tips and payments toward an employee’s medical benefits plan for small employers.
If total compensation is not extended by new legislation, starting in 2025, small employers will see their labor costs jump significantly, placing additional strain on the small business community.
Next steps and Actions Taking Place
The Seattle Restaurant Alliance is actively meeting with council members and staff to discuss this issue, introduce a legislative fix for the sunset clause, and extend the total compensation credit.
If you are interested in learning more, you can reach out to Austin Miller, Washington Hospitality Association Senior Manager for Local Government Affairs at austinm@wahospitality.org with questions. We also attach more information from the Seattle Restaurant Alliance here.
For additional news, information, & action kits on the issue so you can contact your city council member, please see:
Total Compensation Talking Points by the Seattle Restaurant Alliance
Seattle Minimum Wage Total Compensation Ability for Small Businesses Backgrounder, Seattle Restaurant Alliance.
July 9, 2024. Have an issue with graffiti on a building or bridge? Are you concerned about a vehicle parked for more than three days in a public right of way? Found some illegal dumping on your street? The city of Seattle may have the solution for you.
“Find It, Fix It” is a smartphone app offering mobile users one more way to report selected issues to the City of Seattle.
With Find It, Fix It, reporting an issue is as easy as snapping a photo with your smartphone, adding detailed information, and hitting submit. The map’s “drag and drop” feature or the phone’s own technology can be used to pinpoint the location.
Android users can download the app from the Google Play Store and iPhone users can download it from the App Store. The app offers the following service request categories:
Magnolians have reported relatively good success in receiving the city’s response to challenging issues such as those listed above. Download the app today to have a unique and innovative service available in Seattle, right on your smartphone device.
June 26, 2004. Construction is starting soon in Ballard with work scheduled to begin on the 15th Ave NW and Ballard Bridge Paving and Safety Project as soon as July 8, 2024 and continue through 2025. After years of planning, design, and community input, SDOT is getting ready to kick off work this summer and continue beyond. SDOT’s work is planned to begin on the northern end of the 15th Ave W/NW corridor on NW 57th St and NW 56th St and move south towards the Ballard Bridge.
This project will bring safety and mobility improvements. SDOT is maintaining and modernizing our streets, making transit more reliable, and ensuring our essential bridge infrastructure stays in good shape. SDOT’s goal is to make 15th Ave NW safer and friendlier for people walking, biking, and rolling.
Ballard Bridge overnight southbound closures (starting as early as July 8)
As part of the paving and maintenance work, SDOT will be doing on the bridge, and will need to conduct a series of overnight closures, Monday-Thursday, as early as July 8 for approximately 6-8 weeks.
Lane reductions will begin as early as 7 p.m. and all southbound are expected to close at 10 p.m. and remain closed overnight until 5 a.m.
In general, here’s what commuters can expect:
SDOT will temporarily close southbound lanes on the Ballard Bridge overnight (Mondays through Thursdays after 10 PM) and reduce northbound travel to a single lane overnight to complete the bridge maintenance and paving work on the Ballard Bridge this summer, starting as early as July 8.
The Ballard Bridge has two lanes in each direction. A lane reduction in each direction may begin as early as 7 PM, and SDOT expects to close all southbound lanes from 10 PM to 5 AM Monday through Thursday for approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
Detour routes are still being finalized, but SDOT anticipates redirecting people driving to Aurora Ave N (SR 99). The Fremont Bridge is also available, although with limited capacity.
SDOT expects to keep one side of the Ballard Bridge’s path open to people walking and biking, though access locations may shift as work takes place. Please follow all instructions and detour signs posted around the work zone.
To get the latest updates, you can sign up for SDOT project email updates. They also encourage transit riders to follow King County Metro’s service advisories and sign up for transit alerts to stay informed.
Ballard Bridge full weekend closures (September/October 2024)
SDOT also needs to fully close the Ballard Bridge on select weekends in the early fall for maintenance to keep the 107-year-old bridge safe and strong. Potential weekend closure dates (to be confirmed and may change):
Friday evening, September 6, 2024, through Monday morning, September 9, 2024
Friday evening, September 13, 2024, through Monday morning, September 16, 2024
Friday evening, September 27, 2024, through Monday morning, September 30, 2024
Friday evening, October 4, 2024, through Monday morning, October 7, 2024
Friday evening, October 11, 2024, through Monday morning, October 14, 2024
June 5, 2024 – per the Magnolia Community Council.
Neighbors,
The Mayor and City Council have once again increased the size of the much needed Move Seattle Levy renewal. Overall, the levy, the largest property tax levy in Seattle’s history, puts safety at the fore, with spending aimed at slowing drivers down, fixing old bridges, planning replacement of the BIRT Corridor bridges, building new sidewalks and bikeways, and maintaining and installing crosswalks. Each District will be allocated an additional $1M for its specific needs.
The Select Committee on 2024 Levy Renewal will discuss amendments in committee at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (June 4th), and the public will have a chance to weigh in 4:30 p.m., either in person at City Hall, or remotely by phone or email. The council has two more meetings to amend the levy proposal, June 18 and July 12, before it sends it to voters on the November ballot. [emphasis added]
We recommend that Magnolia residents submit written comments to Councilmembers at Council@seattle.gov. Helpful comments will include concern about Magnolia’s infrastructure connections to the rest of the city, and appreciation that the levy proposal is directing appropriate funding to plan for the future. Mention that the Magnolia community is eager to engage in real dialogue about planning to the Magnolia Bridge replacement, since the last study was inadequate in its scope and assessments.
Thank you for your support of this important initiative!
The Magnolia Community Council
April 21, 2024, per the Magnolia Community Council
Three quick action steps and information Magnolia needs to know!
Dear Neighbors,
The draft Move Seattle Levy renewal proposes $218M for Seattle’s Bridges. The Magnolia Bridge is a “candidate bridge” among their list of five bridges for “structural repairs”, and there is also a proposed funding category of “early design of five structures to seek funding partnerships for replacement.”
The Magnolia Community Council welcomes its dedicated funding stream for what we know to be aging infrastructures such as the Magnolia and Ballard Bridges.
MCC is seeking more details in addition to the general themes of the draft proposal, particularly if and how the City is planning to leverage governmental grants and partnerships to move the Ballard-Interbay corridor work forward, leading to the 1:1 replacement of the Magnolia Bridge. There will be more opportunities for input to the final draft, and we advocate commenting early and often.
In the meantime, there are three easy actions to help the neighborhood:
March 20, 2024. Mayor Bruce Harrell hosted a public forum on March 14th to discuss his vision for creating a safer Seattle and to hear directly from community members on safety challenges, accomplishments, and opportunities. Other city leaders joined him in the Creating a Safer Seattle forum, including:
Chief Adrian Diaz, Seattle Police Department
Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, Seattle Fire Department
Chief Amy Smith, Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE)
Director Tanya Kim, Human Services Department (HSD)
To watch the forum, click here.
