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2026-2027 Budget is Finalized
Well, Friends, last week I queued up our shared values and priorities in District 5 and spoke about how this budget supports them. (click above to hear my comments)
We approached this budget as a team. I served on the four-member Budget Leadership Team which worked to create a budget representing the values of all nine districts.
The Executive and our Budget Chair did a great job keeping the ship on course and, through partnership and collaboration informed by public engagement, Council finalized the 2026-2027 biennial budget – passing it unanimously.
Below are a few results the District 5 team worked hard for and wanted to share with you.
Supporting Education
I led the Council Budget Leadership Team to expand and enhance King County Promise to identify a path toward full-tuition assistance for King County graduates to attend a 2-year college. Full tuition assistance is essential to making a college education accessible to all.
We’ve also added $150,000 funding for a partnership between the Highline College Foundation and King County Housing Authority to support students experiencing homelessness through the While In School Housing (WISH) program.
We also restored funding for the Kent School District 5th grade Outdoor Education and provided additional funds for Renton Schools capital athletic facilities.
CM Quinn participates in Des Moines Earth Day
tree planting event – April, 2025
Protected Public Safety
At the beginning of the year we faced a budget deficit of $175 million. Thanks to work by the State Legislature we were able to pass a criminal justice sales tax which protected King County public safety services from dramatic cuts including sheriff, prosecutor, public defense and courts.
CM Quinn with King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion.
CM Quinn joins union representatives and public sector employees advocating for
fair labor practices in May 2025
Expanding Access to Healthcare
We prioritized organizations that provide culturally competent care to communities with limited options.
CM Quinn and Tukwila Mayor Tom McLeod commemorate the
groundbreaking for Healthpoint Tukwila – June 2025
We added $750,000 to complete phase one of the HealthPoint Tukwila Commons clinic, which offers culturally appropriate medical, dental, behavioral and pharmacy services.
We increased funding for pediatric interim care by $25,000, to ensure that babies born into drug abuse get a better chance at a quality of life that everyone deserves.
Increasing Access to Parks and Green Space
We directed the new Executive to advance partnerships to increase access to athletic facilities, green space and parks so that all kids have a field to play on and every King County resident [inside the urban growth boundary] will someday live no further than a quarter-mile from a county green space or park.
We also expedited plans to improve the Interurban Trail bicycle trail wayfinding, connections to points of interest and businesses in the Kent Valley cities.
This budget was a great cap on my work on the parks levy this year combined with my work as Chair of the Transportation, Economy and Environment (TrEE) Committee.
Check out this clip about how King County continues its commitment to protecting open space. I was honored to be joined by former King County Councilmember Larry Phillips.
 Protecting Our Waterways
We also invested $300,000 towards the Giliam Creek Fish Barrier Removal Project. As the project is currently in the planning and design phase, once completed it would:
- Improve flood control by replacing an aged, static and high maintenance system with a flood management system that responds to the full range of water levels.
- Restore fish access into Gilliam Creek for the first time in more than 60 years, providing critically needed rearing and refuge habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon.
- And provide a public amenity, allowing people to experience an essentially ‘lost urban creek’
I am also proud to announce we are investing $200,000 for the Mill Creek 2 Expansion and $200,000 for Middle Green Acquisitions both of which are foundational to flood risk reduction.
CM Quinn tours the flood protection levies in District 5 – July, 2025.
Controlling Costs and Making Wastewater More Affordable
This year’s budget includes language directing the Wastewater Treatment Division to expand the criteria of eligibility for their capacity charge payment plan program, in order to lessen the financial burden on working families. We’ve also written new guidelines that require WTD staff to report to the Regional Waste Quality Committee about projects whose costs are skyrocketing.
 Providing Emergency Shelter, Housing and Ending Homelessness
We allocated $650,000 to bolster support for tiny home villages, organizational programming through the Urban League to help young people thrive and home repair programs that help seniors age in place.
CM Quinn supporting local farmers, local businesses and entrepreneurs
at the Renton Farmer’s Market in August, 2025.
Supporting Local Businesses
We invested $250,000 to support black-owned business development in South King County with Tabor 100.
CM Quinn toured the work at Food Lifeline – a major distributor of food to food banks in our region
and located in South King County – September, 2025.
Improve Food Security; Local Area Food Bank Capital and Operations
No one in King County should have to choose between paying rent or putting dinner on the table.
In anticipation of additional federal funding cuts, Council increased both operational and capital funds for food security countywide.
We allocated $250,000 of 2026 councilmanic funds to replace aging freezers, trucks and other equipment needed for essential food bank operations in Des Moines, Renton, Kent, SeaTac, Burien and Tukwila.
We also distributed half of the $107,000 biennial allotment for food security to foodbanks in District 5.
And we provided $25,000 worth of bus tickets to two food banks to distribute to those in need who no longer can access the Fred Meyer which closed in Kent.
CM Quinn and King County Council join with staff to the Executive Climate Office on passage of the
2025 Strategic Climate Action Plan – October, 2025.
Strategic Climate Action
King County has decreased emissions on a per capita basis by 16% since 2007 and we have created a climate action equity framework to ensure that our climate policies benefit people who are most impacted by climate change. Through collaborative leadership of the Transportation, Economy and Environment committee, we strengthen updates to the County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) with input from the community.
TRANSIT: Improving Safety and Expanding Service
In order to make riding Metro transit safer countywide and a with a focus on those routes with higher levels of safety incidents, we invested $500,000 for implementation of the King County Safety Taskforce recommendations.
In order to smooth out the rider experience, I also worked to improve interjurisdictional coordination of fares, FIFA preparation and safety issues.
Through my engagement in the budget leadership team, we added $300,000 for transit agencies to coordinate.
CM Quinn joined Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, Sound Transit Boardmember Pete von Reichbauer and
CEO Dow Constantine to announce the opening of 3 new transit stations. November 2025.
We will also be opening three new Sound Transit Light Rail Stations in Kent-Des Moines, Federal Way and Star Lake in 2027.
And, the new Metro RapidRide I-line will upgrade and replace the 160 route, connecting Renton, Kent and Auburn with new express service. Construction has already begun, and service starts in 2027.
CM Quinn with Larry and Rhonda Gossett
Doing Our Part to Keep Social Justice in the Fore
We’re contributing $300,000 to a Washington Department of Commerce study that explores questions around reparations.
Council ensured the Office of Equity, Race and Social Justice budget remained whole to ensure that King County’s leadership will continue in the spirit of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
CM Quinn and D5 staff thanked Metro drivers
on Driver Appreciation Day in March 2025
It has been an honor to serve you these past nine months. We have met the challenge with the solemnity and diligence that it demands. Thank you all who have supported me over the years in my roles as City and County Councilmember.
The path to justice is not a straight line. The path to justice is paved with stones of empathy, hope and struggle. This is the way to success.
We must work together to meet the challenges of the day, acknowledging that it is the journey and our work together that defines us as a community. That is why partnership and collaboration This is why we have engaged stakeholders to help identify needs and solutions. This is why YOU are so important to the solution. This is about us, all of us and yes, I mean ALL of us.
District 5 staff team – Rob Gala, BrynDel Swift, Saeed Mahamood and Jazmin Pairazaman join CM Quinn
at a new natural area acquisition in the Cedar River watershed.
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