The City of Seattle is facing an expected budget shortfall of around $230 million by next year. But that deficit could increase even more by next week, if the Seattle City Council approves pay raises above what was budgeted for. Next week, the Seattle City Council is expected to consider legislation allowing for pay raises for approximately 11,000 city employees. Although Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said they had budgeted for these increases, the cost ended up being millions of dollars more than expected. “There's always concerns when looking at the budget restraints in the city. We put through adequate reserves to address this, but still there's approximately $10 million for this year that we'll address,” said Harrell. A financial impact review done by the city stated, "the cost of the final terms of the coalition agreement, and the comparable terms to be provided to other city employees, exceed the costs anticipated and planned for in the 2024 budget process” and that there will be “immediate budgetary impacts." READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle-budget-deficit-could-increase-240-million-next-year/281-9cbc70c8-56d6-46a2-a9c4-9c240942972a